Every state authority is tasked with the responsibility of providing affordable education to its citizens. Several educational policies advocate for an equal representation of all students to create inclusive learning. The federal laws of the US are among the global rules meant to forester equitable students’ success. However, implementing a fair representation in the funding of learning institutions across the federal states of the US is still a major factor hindering learning outcomes. In the past decades, the funding of educational facilities failed to guarantee equal access to education-based resources. The inequitable funding has, therefore, resulted in varying performance records in educational setups with highly funded schools enjoying the benefits of such allocations in boosting student success. On the contrary, poorly resourced centers present low academic progress attributable to a lack of financial support. As such, presenting the information on the biased nature of educational funding is key in implementing an independent evaluation of the economic status of educational facilities in availing individualized funding to these schools.
Targeted Stakeholders
To present my idea for implementation, I focus on maintaining a collaborative approach to proposal analysis. I plan to seek the support of the federal governments as well as the members of the larger community. I will engage the federal authority involved in the current funding of institutions to interpret the implications of my initiative. This team of experts will also recommend possible best practices while incorporating the idea and provide necessary procedures that must be followed in the implementation of an individualized funding program. Engaging the representatives of the US Congress will also be crucial in gaining enlightenment on the due procedure of enacting the bill into becoming a law. The Congress members will help in seeking the required testimonials and witnesses to defend the proposed policy’s implementation.
Problem Statement
The current federal funding process utilizes an integrated system of disbursing school-based finance from a centralized authority. The evaluation of the school funding needs is collectively assessed by this department raising myriad issues on the inclusivity of the funding process to address the needs of each educational setup. For example, the data relied upon in evaluating an institution’s funding requirements is generated from the past disbursement records which do not reflect the current economic status of major schools (Eller, 2020). This approach of funding also fails to address the disparity between the wealthy and impoverished states as the poor communities are more likely to generate low tax-based educational funding as compared with the other richer states. The current funding procedures are also bureaucratic and are managed by a centralized authority (Hodges et al., 2021). As such, this approach of school budgeting manifests numerous problems that must be addressed in attaining non-biased funding of educational institutions. To solve these problems, I propose the implementation of independent evaluation of every learning facility in ascertaining their economic status for the provision of individualized resource allocation.
Justification of the Proposed Policy
Several expert opinions have also confirmed the challenges associated with the current federal funding of schools. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that the current state of resource allocations is full of corruption. In its reports, the NCES also highlights that several attempts to address the funding disparity have often resulted in resistance from some individuals keen to benefit from the controversial funding of educational institutions (McClellan et al., 2018). These officials have constantly termed such accusations as mere allegations unprovable before any court of law. These assertions, however, do not effectively address the root cause of the existing disparity in the funding of federal learning facilities. Adopting individualized funding of these institutions would be crucial in addressing the source of these challenges while availing resources that meet the situational needs of major learning centers. The reported performance of major institutions across the federal states of the US also presents an unequal level of educational success attributable to the disparity of funding of schools. For instance, better-financed schools in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia states show a record of good performance as compared to the commonly underfunded institutions of poor states including those of South Carolina and Mississippi (Knight & Toenjes, 2020). These data depict the significance of providing necessary funds to an institution in enhancing students’ performance. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that institutions with few numbers of students are likely to perform better as a result of less competition on the available resources. The overpopulated schools, however, present overutilization of available resources posing little impacts on influencing the success of students (Owens & Candipan, 2019). To address such performance disparity, it would be important for the federal authorities to implement the idea of selective funding of schools based on their economic status.
Proposed Recommendations
For effective implementation of individualized funding, the following actions must be adopted in contrast to the present funding process. Federal authorities must consider additional funds in meeting the funding gaps likely to occur as a result of equitable disbursements. Incorporating necessary checks and balance procedures in ascertaining the credibility of the funding of schools must also be implemented. For instance, a single entity must not conduct the overall funding processes as it may encourage collusion among the officials in corrupting school funding. Engaging other independent firms in money allocations will also provide better pieces of evidence in comparing the disbursement procedures to ascertain the validity of those processes (Kenny et al., 2020). Implementing strict policies on the funding processes will also ensure a prioritized resource allocation in meeting the requirements of each learning setup. The central government also needs to provide financial management systems capable of detecting fraudulent acts in resources allocation to enable fast tracking of disparities in the due process of school funding. These recommendations will ensure that the entire school resource allocation process is free of malicious practices and effectively meets the needs of every educational setup in enhancing students’ success.
References
Eller, J. M. (2020). Superintendents’ perceptions in relationship to competitive education marketplace and the impact on traditional public school funding. (Publication No: #18-458 EP 1902) [Doctoral dissertation, Charter Schools in Alabama]. Auburn University Institutional Review Board Publishing.
Hodges, J., Crutchfield, K., & Lee, L. E. (2021). Equitable access, locale, funding, and the alignment to performance ratings in Texas Gifted Programs. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 44(1), 3–30. Web.
Kenny, N., McCoy, S., & Mihut, G. (2020). Special education reforms in Ireland: Changing systems, changing schools. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 1-20. Web.
McClellan, O. A., Kilibarda, A., Sinozich, S., & Shapiro, R. Y. (2018). Veil of valence: Consensus and disagreement in public opinion towards school funding, 1998–2016. Public Opinion Quarterly, 82(4), 769-783. Web.
Knight, D. S., & Toenjes, L. A. (2020). Do charter schools receive their fair share of funding? School finance equity for charter and traditional public schools. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 28 (51). Web.
Owens, A., & Candipan, J. (2019). Social and spatial inequalities of educational opportunity: A portrait of schools serving high-and low-income neighborhoods in US metropolitan areas. Urban Studies, 56(15), 3178-3197. Web.
Appendix
Appendix A: Cover Letter
From:____________________________________________
Name:_____________________________________________
Address:____________________________________________
Date:_______________________________________________
To:_________________________________________________
Name of Congress Representative:____________________________
Postal address:_________________________________________
Date:________________________________________________
Re: Request for your participation in implementing a selective evaluation and funding of educational institutions in enhancing students’ welfare.
I consider your membership in the house of Congress crucial in assisting me in the passing of my proposed bill into law. As a sponsor of youth group welfare activities, kindly introduce my idea as a bill to the Congress members. In my opinion, your popularity within the Congress house is useful in gathering witnesses and testimonials to approve my statement. I also request that you provide your report on the necessary procedures that I may need to incorporate within the proposal and possible implications of the proposal, which, in your opinion, are not fully addressed. I am also interested in engaging you to finance an educational campaign in sensitizing members of the public about my proposed bill. My idea is in line with the goal of addressing citizens’ needs for better representation in the funding of school resources. It addresses the current bureaucratic money allocation process, which fails to consider necessary priorities in the economic support of learning centers. Finally, I recommend that you engage me with the central government in discussing actions required to ensure a free and transparent finance allocation to every training facility. I wish to work with you in implementing the idea of independent resource allocation to learning institutions in line with the government’s goal of creating an affordable learning environment for all students.
Yours faithfully______________________________________