Weight school funding toward districts with the highest concentrations of poverty using an Opportunity Index with weights of 40%-100%

Design · All designs
Evidence · 3 claims (3 for) · 2 studies (2 review), q2 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description

The brief recommends Michigan replace its flat 11.5% At-Risk weight with a Massachusetts-style Opportunity Index in which "districts with the most students living in poverty receive the highest additional funding." Massachusetts's 2019 Student Opportunity Act used funding weights of 40% to 100% for students experiencing poverty. The brief argues targeted funding maximizes learning gains relative to across-the-board increases.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

• A funding formula mechanism that identifies district poverty concentration and applies graduated weights

Constraints

• The brief estimates full implementation would cost approximately $5.3 billion annually, against $747.5 million currently spent on At-Risk funding

Target Learners

• students from low-income backgrounds
• students in districts with high concentrations of poverty

Learning Goals

• equitable access to educational resources needed for academic success

Claims

• 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 [+W]
• California's 20% supplemental grant weight falls below other states' adequacy-study recommendations for English learners and at-risk students [+W]
• 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 [+W]

Related Designs

Examples

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Key Sources

• Jen DeNeal, Emily Hatch & Bradley Kingston. (2023). Eliminating the Opportunity Gaps: Creating a Truly Fair and Equitable Funding System. The Education Trust-Midwest. https://edtrustmidwest.org

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	design
id	opportunity-index-poverty-concentration-weights-40-100
title	Weight school funding toward districts with the highest concentrations of poverty using an Opportunity Index with weights of 40%-100%
description	The brief recommends Michigan replace its flat 11.5% At-Risk weight with a Massachusetts-style Opportunity Index in which "districts with the most students living in poverty receive the highest additional funding." Ma...
status	review
generated	by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-11
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources	1 — jen-deneal-2023

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