Two School-finance Roles for the Federal Government: Promoting Equity and Choice

The federal government could use its spending power to offset the inequalities in expenditure on elementary and secondary school students that arise from the unequal fiscal capacities of states to deal with the educational burdens they face. For example, states that agreed to make a specified tax effort for education might be guaranteed federal assistance that, together with the state's contribution, would fund a nationally-determined level of spending that takes into account both special student needs and the varying costs of educational services from place to place. Moreover, the national government could tie its provision of financial assistance to the willingness of states to eliminate unfair inequalities in school spending within their borders. This scheme could eliminate the discriminatory treatment of our nation's schoolchildren that has plagued public education from the outset. Alas, the scale of the required federal role is probably too large in the present political climate. In the meantime, however, Congress might at least assure greater fairness to poor and disabled children by guaranteeing them access to a nationallyestablished program of school scholarships. Where the family finds the education offered by the local public school district to be insufficient, these scholarships could be used to pay for education in other schools of the family's choice.