School Finance Equity through Accountability? Exploring the Role of Federal Oversight of School Districts under the Every Student Succeeds Act

The Interplay Between Fiscal Institutions and the Great Recession: Evidence From U.S. School Districts

“…Overall, our findings indicate that the framework of fiscal institutions and policies played a crucial role in explaining the large differences in recession outcomes across districts as well as the large gap in recovery from these effects (Baker, 2014;Knight, 2017;Leachman et al, 2017;Swain & Redding, 2019). Governments formulate and establish fiscal institutions and policies to promote prudent financial stewardship and ensure sustainable growth across business cycles, but fiscal institutions and policies can put a formal constraint on fiscal discretion and make school districts more vulnerable to recession effects.…”

Teacher Quality and Students’ Post-Secondary Outcomes

“…Barriers to equity become even more apparent when coupling these storied histories with the pernicious schooling realities facing students of color. These students are already more likely to learn in racially and socioeconomically isolated schooling contexts (McNeal, 2009;Owens et al, 2016), which are inadequately funded (Adamson & Darling-Hammond, 2012;Knight, 2017Knight, , 2019 and concentrated with less qualified and experienced teachers (Goldhaber et al, 2015;Lankford et al, 2002). Therefore, lawmakers should meaningfully account for these historic and disparate circumstances when devising policies related to teacher sorting patterns and students' access to quality teachers.…”

A new coat of paint: The bluewashing of justice reinvestment and realignment to community reinvestment

“…Heuer and Stullich (2011) reveal that within district variation in funding exists: higher‐poverty schools received less per‐pupil expenditures than lower‐poverty schools in the same school districts at the same grade level. In addition to already poor funding, school districts in higher‐poverty neighborhoods were disproportionately affected by the Great Recession and federal austerity measures (Knight, 2017). Federal stimulus money was distributed so that high poverty schools bore the majority of the impact of state level funding cuts (Knight, 2017), a move that is obviously classist and subtly racist.…”

“…In addition to already poor funding, school districts in higher‐poverty neighborhoods were disproportionately affected by the Great Recession and federal austerity measures (Knight, 2017). Federal stimulus money was distributed so that high poverty schools bore the majority of the impact of state level funding cuts (Knight, 2017), a move that is obviously classist and subtly racist. It is important to highlight an assertion from above: the baseline funding, stimulus, cutting, and redistribution of educational funding are distinct and intentional policy choices made by state policy makers that have real effects on crime and recidivism.…”

“…Heuer and Stullich (2011) reveal that within district variation in funding exists: higher-poverty schools received less per-pupil expenditures than lower-poverty schools in the same school districts at the same grade level. In addition to already poor funding, school districts in higher-poverty neighborhoods were disproportionately affected by the Great Recession and federal austerity measures (Knight, 2017).…”