Implementing a Student-Based Funding Policy: Considerations for School Districts

As education budgets continue to tighten, increased attention is focused on how school districts can best distribute existing funds to schools and how schools can best use these funds. Student-based funding (SBF)--sometimes referred to as a weighted student formula--is one approach that school districts have taken during the past decade. SBF policies replace the traditional district budgeting model in which the central office allocates resources to each school based, for the most part, on what central-office staff believe is needed. In contrast, SBF policies allocate funds to schools based on individual student need, with the goal of increasing the equity of funding. However, SBF policies are not without controversy; after using a weighted student formula for almost a decade, Seattle recently returned to a more traditional budgeting model. Still, many other districts around the country are considering implementing an SBF policy. Given that school districts around the country are considering this policy, this article outlines eight key considerations that districts face when designing and implementing an SBF policy, based on the authors' study of San Francisco's and Oakland's policies.