1. Michael Griffith School Finance Consultant Education Commission of the States 0

2. Education Commission of the States “Equipping Education Leaders, Advancing Ideas” A national organization formed in 1965 by states, for states Helping states improve their educational systems, from pre-kindergarten all the way through college and beyond An unbiased contributor to the education policy discussion - we don’t advocate for certain education laws or policies 1

3. The Federal Government’s Role Public schools are mandated to provide the academic and fiscal resources to help ELL students to overcome language barriers and gain English fluency (U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Equal Opportunity Act of 1974) Nevada Federal Title III funding: FY 2012: $8.8 million ($106 per pupil) FY 2013: $8.0 million FY 2014: $7.2 million ($86 per pupil) 2

4. To provide sufficient funding to allow the state’s ELL population to: Meet state education goals Move students from ELL designation 3

5. Nevada Students Performing At or Above “Proficient” on 2013 NAEP Exams Non ELL StudentsELL Students Math – 4 th Grade 39.7%14.1% Math – 8 th Grade 30.3%2.3% Reading – 4 th Grade 33.4%6.1% Reading – 8 th Grade 32.5%2.1% 4

6. Research has shown that there is an additional cost to educating ELL students to state standards Research has also shown that there are factors that can influence costs, including: Small districts with few ELL students Large districts with a high density of ELL students Educating a student population with multiple languages 5

7. National studies recommend between 14% and 100% additional funding per ELL student. The 2012 study of Nevada’s school funding system recommended additional ELL funding – but did not identify a specific amount per student 6

8. What are States Doing 42 states provide some form of additional funding for ELL students The amount of additional funding ranges from 10% (Texas) to 99% (Maryland) (AIR, 2012) The average additional funding that states provide equates to 38.7% (AIR, 2012) 7

9. Time Limits for ELL Students Arizona (Proposition 203) “…require that all classes be taught in English except that pupils who are classified as "English Learners" will be educated through sheltered English immersion programs during a temporary transition period” Some states have looked at limiting the number of years that a school district could receive ELL funding for a student 8

10. Additional Funding for Moving Students off of ELL Designation In the past California and Texas provided additional funding to districts based on how many students they were able to move off ELL designation 9

11. ELL School Funding Issues Should the state provide additional funding? If so, what is the appropriate funding level? Should there be time limits for funding? Should districts receive additional funding for moving students off of ELL designation? 10

12. Questions & Answers 11