In 2023–24, 44 states provided unique funding for at-risk students, with all 44 classifying low-income students as at-risk and 22 providing concentration-based funding¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2030: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Forty-four states provide unique funding for at-risk students, and all 44 classify students from low-income families as at-risk. → Griffith 2025 q2 i? Nearly half of these states (22) provide additional funding based on the density or concentration of low-income/at-risk students enrolled. → Griffith 2025

Evidence¶

Griffith 2025¶

Griffith, M., & Burns, D. (2025). Funding student needs: A review of state funding policies for English learners and students from low-income backgrounds. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/471.440

q2 · i? · review · r2

The report's 50-state review of funding formulas found "Forty-four states currently provide unique funding for “at-risk” students," with 32 using exclusively low-income measures and 12 combining low-income with other factors such as homelessness or foster care status.

"Forty-four states currently provide unique funding for “at-risk” students. All 44 states classify students from low-income families as at-risk, which is defined in various ways. Of these states, 32 states exclusively use low-income measures, while 12 states use a combination of low-income measures and other factors."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Thirty-seven states provide dual funding for students who are both English learners and from low-income families, with 36 adding the unique weights for each group and New Jersey adjusting the combined weight — related
• In 2023–24, 49 states provided separate additional funding for English learners, most commonly through weights in their funding formulas, with a national median EL weight of 0.25 — related
• Only four states (California, Massachusetts, New York, Washington) dedicate state funding specifically to students experiencing homelessness — related
• California is one of only five states that counts high-need students unduplicated, unlike 37 of 42 states that allow duplicated funding — related
• Five school finance costing studies (2016–2023) recommended additional funding weights of 0.15–0.40 for EL students and 0.30–0.81 for low-income/at-risk students, equivalent to $1,548–$4,976 and $3,389–$8,357 in 2024 dollars — related
• Across 11 states with transparent student group allocation, estimated combined additional funding for dual EL/low-income students ranged from $904 per pupil in Arkansas to $16,161 in New Jersey — related
• Among LCAP planned actions referencing students in foster care in the 10 largest districts, very few were unique to foster care and an even smaller fraction of funds was — related
• California's 20% supplemental grant weight falls below other states' adequacy-study recommendations for English learners and at-risk students — related