Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education (Kirwan Commission) Formed in June 2016

Purpose of Commission Review and assess current education financing formulas and accountability measures Review the Study on Adequacy of Funding for Education in the State of Maryland Consider how the federal Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 will affect primary and secondary education in Maryland Consider how best to prepare students to compete on workforce and the global economy

Commission will end May 31, 2018 Purpose of Commission Recommend legislative and policy initiatives to increase the availability of innovative educational opportunities and make adequate and equitable the funding for State public education Commission will end May 31, 2018

Timeline High Quality Teachers – January 2017 High Quality Teachers & School Leadership – April 2017 Early Childhood Education & Career & Technical Education – June 2017 World Class Student Learning Systems with No Dead Ends – June 2017 Equitable, Effective, & Efficient School Finance Systems – July 2017 Pulling It All Together Draft Recommendations – August 2017 Work Sessions – September through December 2017 Finalize Recommendations – Late December 2017

Study of Adequacy of Funding for Education in Maryland Study based on Maryland’s College and Career Ready Standards was required to include: Adequacy cost studies that identify, a base funding level for students without special needs, per pupil weights for students with special needs Analysis of the effects of concentrations of poverty on adequacy targets

Study of Adequacy of Funding for Education in Maryland Study required to evaluate: Impact of school size Supplemental grant program Use of Free & Reduced Price Meals eligibility as the proxy for identifying economic disadvantage Federal Community Eligibility Provision in Maryland Pre-kindergarden services and the finding of such services Equity and the current wealth calculation Impact of increasing and decreasing enrollments on local school systems

Study of Adequacy of Funding for Education in Maryland Components of recommended formula: District Adequacy Targets Student counts used Base amount of funding per pupil Adjustment for special needs students Adjustment for regional cost of living differences State & Local Shares for Paying for Adequacy Target How to measure each districts capacity to pay for adequacy targets If minimum state aid guarantees should be included & whether local jurisdictions should be required to appropriate the local share of special needs programs

Study of Adequacy of Funding for Education in Maryland Recommendations: Student Counts Include declining enrollment in calculating total enrollment Count low income students for compensatory total program Include pre-kindergarten in full time equivalent enrollment Base amount of funding per pupil Increased based on blended results from an Evidence Based approach and a professional judgment approach of adequate resources needed for all students to meet the Maryland’s College and Career Ready Standards Base adequacy funding significantly higher while special categories (Special Ed, LEP, etc.) lower—concept is that adequacy of funding for all students should be higher, and special needs are added in to achieve full funding of adequacy

Study of Adequacy of Funding for Education in Maryland

Study of Adequacy of Funding for Education in Maryland

Study of Adequacy of Funding for Education in Maryland Recommendations: Adjustments for special needs students Compensatory Education and LEP weights are lowered Special education weight increased Prekindergarten weight added to fund programs for 4 year olds Adjustment for regional cost of living differences Use the comparable wage index approach to adjust for regional differences

Study of Adequacy of Funding for Education in Maryland Recommendations: How to measure each district’s capacity to pay for the adequacy target (Local Wealth) Use only November net taxable income data to determine local wealth Use a multiplicative approach for combining net taxable income

Study of Adequacy of Funding for Education in Maryland Recommendations: If any minimum state aid guarantees should be included and whether local jurisdictions should be required to appropriate the local share of special needs programs Minimum state aid guarantees should be eliminated for foundation and special needs programs All districts should be required to appropriate the full local share for all special needs programs

Study team suggests Phasing-in recommendations Local Impact • 25% Total funding increase for Prek-12 education, excluding transportation From $10.6 billion to $13.2 billion • 12% Local appropriations increase 12% From $5.7 billion to $6.4 billion • 39% State share increase From $4.9 billion to $6.8 billion Study team suggests Phasing-in recommendations http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/Documents/adequacystudy/APAStakeholderAdvisoryGrp10182016.pdf