A new school funding plan for Ohio
After 20 years of controversy over its school funding system, Ohio
now has a new method for providing funding to its public schools.
Enacted as part of the 2010-2011 state budget, the Ohio Evidence-Based Model is designed to fund strategies that have the best chance to help students learn.
While economic realities require that the new approach be phased in over 10 years, the principles underlying the evidence-based model are now in place.
What's more, the new funding model is tied to education reforms designed to build a 21st-century system of education for Ohio.
Ohio Senate funding plan
The Ohio Senate took a different approach to school funding than the model approved by the House, relying on weighted student funding (or per-pupil funding) instead of the governor's evidence-based model.
Learn more about these two models in the School Funding Matters comparison.
Read our review of the Senate plan.
Ohio House funding plan
The Ohio House of Representatives approved a school funding plan with improvements that strengthened Gov. Ted Strickland's proposal and addressed some of its shortcomings.
Learn more about the House plan.
Learn more about how the House version compares to the original.
Read our review of the House plan.
Read our review of the governor's plan.
What changes were needed in Ohio's school funding system?
School Funding Matters believes two guiding principles are essential to creating an equitable and efficient system for funding Ohio schools:
School funding should be based on education strategies that work. The amount of funding allocated for public education should be determined by a method that relies on research into successful practices that have led to student achievement, an approach known as the evidence-based model for costing out.
Learn more about the evidence-based approach.
Schools should have a reliable source of funding. Districts need a funding mechanism that allows them to keep pace with inflation and spend less energy seeking passage of school levies. Current law and state procedures unduly handicap school districts.
Learn more about Ohio tax law and House Bill 920.
What changes to school funding did the governor propose?
The governor's plan: Gov. Ted Strickland proposed broad changes to Ohio's unconstitutional school funding system - changes that are intrinsically tied to larger reforms in public education. The plan draws on an evidence-based approach to address six major components of the education system.
Learn more about Gov. Strickland's education plan.
"Effective Funding for a 21st Century System of Education": One of the six components in the governor's plan addresses the effects of current tax law and increases the state share of the cost of education.
Learn more about Gov. Strickland's school funding proposals.
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