Program Equity and Adequacy: Issues from the Field

Abstract

The latest wave of school finance litigation has raised issues of educational adequacy as well as issues of funding equity in many states. This article explores the following philosophical, conceptual, technical, and political questions that state policymakers face as they struggle to address issues of adequacy and equity simultaneously. Do traditional equity issues go away if some equality of outcomes is achieved? What ought standards of adequacy look like? How does one design a school finance system based on adequacy? Can we define the production function(s) that will yield the desired outcomes? Is the political system ready to accept the additional costs (and possible redistributive effects) of a funding system linked to educational adequacy?

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