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¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2030: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? For 2023–24, 49 states provide separate, additional funding for English learners on top of base funding, while Mississippi and Montana do not. → Griffith 2025 q2 i? Thirty-three states fund EL students through an additional weight, ranging from 0.025 in Utah to 2.49 in Vermont, with a median of 0.25; ten states use per-student dollar amounts and three fund additional staff positions. → 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

A systematic review of each state's K–12 funding formulas and legislative documents conducted between spring and early summer 2024 found that "49 states provide separate, additional funding" for ELs, with 33 using weights, ten using dollar amounts, and three funding staff positions.

"We found that for the 2023–24 school year, 49 states provide separate, additional funding for students who are English learners on top of base funding for schools. Thirty-three states funded EL students through an additional weight in their funding formula, with weights ranging from a high of 2.49 (249% additional funding) in Vermont to a low of 0.025 (2.5%) in Utah, with a median weight of 0.25 (25%)."

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, 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 — 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
• California's 20% supplemental grant weight falls below other states' adequacy-study recommendations for English learners and at-risk students — 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
• Michigan provides the lowest English Learner funding weight among weighting states, allocating about 1% to 11% more versus research recommending at least twice as much — related
• California is one of only five states that counts high-need students unduplicated, unlike 37 of 42 states that allow duplicated funding — related