Black student achievement must be more than a slogan and the funding to make that a reality must be allocated, now! The lowest academically performing subgroup for years has been Black students. Assembly Bill 2774, authored by Assemblymember Akilah Weber in 2022 would have directed additional funding to the lowest performing students. When AB 2774 was pulled by Asm. Weber, Governor Newsom assured legislators he would include something in his proposed state budget for 2023-24 to support the lowest performing subgroup of students. A $300 million proposal called the “Equity Multiplier” was introduced by the Governor in his proposed budget. This funding would go to schools with highly concentrated poverty and from there, to the lowest performing subgroups within those schools who do not already receive supplemental funding. This blog will explain what the Equity Multiplier is,the intention behind it, and complications around it.
THE “EQUITY MULTIPLIER”
In January 2023, Governor Newsom’s proposed budget included the “Equity Multiplier.” The proposal would direct $300 million in new, ongoing funding to elementary and middle schools across the state where at least 90% of students qualify for free or reduced meals. For high schools, that number is 85%. The dollars from the Equity Multiplier would go directly to schools and the rules as to how the money is used will be stricter. According to Newsom’s education policy advisor, Brooks Allen, Newsom’s proposal will have more accountability measures to make sure schools spend the money on the students with the highest needs. It is too soon to tell how the state will allocate the $300 million to qualifying schools. The state legislature says these details will be revealed in the education trailer bill, set to be released later this year.
“Really what I want to do is some research around the other qualifications that we can use to determine how our Black students can receive the funding and can use it to determine how MORE Black students will receive the funding and have access to more resources,”
INTENTIONS & COMPLICATIONS
We applaud the Governor’s office for creating a $300 million proposal that intends to support the lowest performing students statewide. that the Governor says, is intended to provide funding for Black students. Where the problem lies: the funding formula. The Governor’s proposal directs funding to low-income schools rather than the lowest-performing subgroup of students. In California, 70% of Black students do not meet English Language Arts standards and 84% are below grade level in Math, compared to the state’s averages where 47% of students meet reading standards and 33% meet math standards. Due to systemic racism, Black students have been left behind in our education system for far too long. Black students are the least supported, most impacted student subgroup in our schools, which is evident in the fact that they as a group underperform their peers regardless of income.
“I want to see legislators truly take a look at our students and see them as people and not numbers,”
Yet, under the Governor’s current “Equity Multiplier” plan, Black students are poised to only receive $16 million. In fact, according to an analysis by the Education Trust West, very few Black students— only about 7% in California – attend a school that would actually qualify for this funding. The proposal does not reflect the intention of AB 2774, Assemblymember Akilah Weber’s bill to support the lowest performing subgroup of students that do not already have dedicated resources to support them under LCFF
ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL
The problem the Governor’s office and community leaders face is that any funding formula must not encroach on Prop 209’s ban on affirmative action. Under Prop 209, racial and ethnic groups are the only groups that cannot receive targeted funding. Under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), all students receive a base grant of funding that varies depending on their grade. On top of that, three subgroups of students receive supplemental funding–low-income students, English learners, and foster youth and homeless students. But where does that leave Black students?
The Black in School Coalition, which includes 17 civil rights and education equity organizations, has come up with a counterproposal to provide additional funding for Black students. The Coalition proposes amending the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). The LCFF is how all local educational agencies (LEAs) in the state are funded, how they are measured for results, and the services they receive to allow all students to succeed to their greatest potential. The Coalition suggests amending the funding formula to provide additional funding for any student group that has performance levels below the state average on two or more metrics on the California School Dashboard. Only students who do not receive other state or federal supplemental funding will receive funding from the equity multiplier. As of Spring 2023, Black and Native American students would qualify for additional funding, based on this year’s dashboard results. We believe that the education system was not designed to serve all children, and that the biggest barrier to all children having access to an excellent school is a lack of political will to improve the system.
THE FIGHT CONTINUES
“We stand at the precipice of a really good chance of making a change,”
On March 15, 2023, dozens of parent leaders, children, and Innovate staff took this priority to legislators in our state capitol. Tough conversations were had and ongoing conversations continue. Parent leaders met with legislators in Sacramento–particularly members of the Black Caucus–to ensure dedicated funding is set aside statewide specifically for Black students and engage Black students, families, and community-based organizations to design and implement an effective plan for this funding to serve Black students.
On April 11, 2023, more than two thousand students and community members marched at the state Capitol in Sacramento to raise their voices about the need for funding for Black students. This march was led by the Black in School Coalition and we stood beside them, unapologetically rallying and organizing for change.
CONCLUSION
Parent leaders believe Black student achievement must become more than a slogan, not only by increasingly investing in Black students but also by developing evidence-based, comprehensive plans for how those investments will be used and providing ongoing transparency and accountability around those plans.