{"id":1144,"date":"2023-12-15T07:04:48","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T07:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:declasi.org\/news-and-stories\/uncategorized\/clasi-welcomes-findings-of-new-delaware-school-funding-study\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T10:28:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T15:28:53","slug":"clasi-welcomes-findings-of-new-delaware-school-funding-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.declasi.org\/es\/news-and-stories\/clasi-updates\/clasi-welcomes-findings-of-new-delaware-school-funding-study\/","title":{"rendered":"CLASI Welcomes Findings of New Delaware School Funding Study"},"content":{"rendered":"

On December 12, 2023, the Delaware Department of Education released the results of a new independent assessment<\/a> of the state\u2019s public school funding system. The assessment is the result of a legal settlement reached in 2020<\/a> with Delawareans for Educational Opportunity and the NAACP Delaware State Conference, who filed suit in 2018<\/a> seeking more equitable school funding to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children across the state.<\/p>\n

Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI), the ACLU of Delaware, and the law firm of Arnold & Porter represented the groups in the lawsuit, which sought to ensure that all Delaware children receive adequate educational opportunities, particularly low-income students, students with disabilities, and students who are English learners. As part of the settlement, the Governor agreed to obtain an independent, holistic assessment of the state\u2019s funding for its public schools.<\/p>\n

The new assessment, conducted by the American Institutes for Research<\/a>, analyzed Delaware\u2019s current funding system and compared it to those of other states. It also looked at the extent to which Delaware students receive equal educational opportunities as measured by target outcome goals, and whether resources could be more equitably distributed to help reach those goals.<\/p>\n

The assessment found that \u201cDelaware\u2019s student outcomes lag behind those of other Mid-Atlantic states and have declined over the past decade, even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic,\u201d and that \u201cDelaware\u2019s current outcomes do not meet the stated goals for student performance.\u201d In particular, it found \u201c[a]n alarmingly clear and negative relationship\u2026between the percentage of low-income students served by schools and the outcomes they achieve for students.\u201d It noted that schools with higher proportions of students with disabilities and English learners \u201calso tended to have lower outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the study\u2019s authors, these disparities indicate that Delaware\u2019s low-income and English learner students and students with disabilities \u201care not being provided an equal opportunity for academic success.\u201d Their analysis found that current funding levels fall \u201cfar short\u201d of the cost of serving these students appropriately. Further, they observed that \u201cthe current system does not provide resources based on the cost of required resources and programming\u201d and that funding should be better differentiated based on schools\u2019 level of student need. To meet target outcomes, their analysis showed a need to invest approximately $0.6 to $1 billion more in education relative to 2021\u201322 spending levels.<\/p>\n

In order to appropriately serve all students and meet outcome goals, the assessment recommended the following changes to Delaware\u2019s school funding system:<\/p>\n