The Vision Coalition of Delaware recently held an Equity in Education event to discuss the ongoing efforts to reform Delaware’s education funding formula. The event highlighted the 2018 lawsuit against the state, which challenged the lack of resources for low-income students, English language learners, and students with disabilities. As part of a settlement reached in 2020, Delaware agreed to implement Opportunity Funding, which targets providing additional resources for high-needs students. The state was required to invest $25 million in Opportunity Funding, which has now been met, and is expected to reach $60 million by the 2024-2025 school year.
The event also featured updates from the Public Education Funding Commission, which is working to review and improve Delaware’s education funding formula. The commission aims to provide preliminary recommendations by October 2025, with final recommendations possibly being pushed to July 2026. This longer process is intended to ensure that the recommendations are actually implemented, as previous attempts to reform the funding formula have failed to produce significant results.
The commission will hold its next meeting on December 9 to hear input from school districts and charter schools on how the current funding formula is working and what changes they would like to see in the new recommendations. Overall, the efforts of both the Vision Coalition of Delaware and the Public Education Funding Commission are focused on addressing funding inequities in the state’s education system and providing better resources for all students.
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Photo credit www.delawarepublic.org