A new study by the Education Law Center (ELC) has revealed significant disparities in how US states fund public education, highlighting that comparing states is complex due to varying populations, resources, and policies.
Founded in 1973 by Professor Paul Tractenberg of Rutgers Law School, the ELC originally focused on New Jersey before expanding its scope nationally.
The organisation states its mission is to pursue “justice and equity for public school students” by enforcing their rights to safe, equitable, and well-funded learning environments, reports Forbes.
The report, titled “Making The Grade 2025”, analyses 2023 data across three distinct measures: funding level, funding distribution, and funding effort.
Funding levels and trends
The ELC found that the national average for per-pupil spending stands at 29,440 per student, followed by Vermont, DC, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Conversely, Idaho ranks at the bottom with $11,805 per pupil, alongside Florida, Oklahoma, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and North Carolina.
Funding trends also varied between 2022 and 2023, with Hawaii and California increasing their education budgets, while Louisiana and Wyoming recorded reductions.
Equity in distribution
The report further examined whether funding is allocated to address the additional costs associated with student poverty. While Utah ranks near the bottom for total funding, it leads the nation in distribution, providing high-poverty districts with 60% more per-pupil funding than low-poverty districts. California, Wyoming, Minnesota, and New Mexico also rank highly for equitable distribution.
In contrast, Connecticut – a top-tier state for total funding – allocates 19% less to its high-poverty districts. The ELC noted that eighteen states in total spend less on high-poverty districts than on low-poverty ones.
Funding effort and GDP
The third measure, “Funding Effort”, calculates PK-12 revenue as a percentage of a state’s gross domestic product (GDP). The national average effort is 3.10%. Vermont leads this category with a score of 5.44%, followed by New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Connecticut. North Carolina recorded the lowest effort at 1.98%, trailing Arizona, Nevada, Florida, and Tennessee.
Notably, states with less wealth often require a greater effort to fund schools adequately; South Carolina, for instance, ranks in the top ten for funding effort despite spending below the national average per student.
