Eliminating the Opportunity Gaps: Creating a Truly Fair and Equitable Funding System

Michigan has long had one of the most regressive school funding formulas, according to state and national research.

In fact, Michigan is underfunding students from low-income backgrounds and English Learners by an estimated $5.1 billion annually compared to what leading states practice and what research indicates is needed for those students to succeed, according to a new analysis by The Education Trust-Midwest.

In addition, the analysis found that Michigan is near the bottom for the additional funding the state provides for both English Learners and students from low-income backgrounds, leaving substantial funding gaps in what students currently receive under Michigan’s funding system and what they truly need. Moreover, Michigan is underfunding students with disabilities by hundreds of millions annually.

These inequities build upon a long history in Michigan of drastically underfunding students’ needs for more than two decades. This underfunding has dramatic and far-reaching consequences for Michigan’s students, especially for those who are the most underserved, including Black, Latino, and Arab-American children, those living in concentrated poverty and rural districts, students with disabilities and English Learners.

Read more in our policy brief: Eliminating the Opportunity Gaps: Creating a Truly Fair and Equitable Funding System