The state of Arkansas gives funding to school districts based on their levels of poverty. The money is intended to support low-income children and help public schools narrow the achievement gap in education. But many would argue that it isn’t being spent as well as it should be. School districts have a wide range of ways, allowed by law, to use NSLA dollars on things like teacher salary, academic coaches, parent education, after school programs, and tutoring.

Over the past several years, various groups like AACF, the Office of Education Policy, and  the Bureau of Legislative Research have released studies and reports about the uses of NSLA dollars and the difficulties in measuring the funding’s effectiveness. The excessive flexibility on spending NSLA dollars spreads resources to the point where no one is sure whether or not it helps poor children succeed and reduces the achievement gap.

All of the research points toward one common recommendation: that the General Assembly should narrow the list of uses and ensure that dollars are used in a targeted fashion on evidence-based programs. That way, the state can measure its effectiveness on student achievement.

The General Assembly brought in Picus, Odden, and Associates  to perform a legislative audit of NSLA dollars. They presented their report on behalf of the General Assembly’s education committees and recommended that the money be used for tutors, pupil support, and after school and summer programs.  Over the past few sessions, legislators have agreed that we need to make changes in NSLA spending, yet they choose not to take action to make the needed reforms.

Last week, the General Assembly had two opportunities to take action and fix this issue through House Bill 1958 and Senate Bill 851.

The house bill sponsored by Rep. Charles Armstrong tried to place two percent of all NSLA funding towards after-school and summer programs. Since summer and afterschool programs are part of the recommended uses of NSLA dollars, districts would have been required to work in collaboration with non-profits such as Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs to develop after-school and summer programs. This bill failed the house committee by three votes.

On the senate side, Senator Joyce Elliott brought senate bill 851 before the senate education committee. This bill would have restructured the uses of NSLA funding by creating two categories and requiring that a majority of NSLA money be spent on evidence based practices proven to reduce the achievement gap. The bill was deferred and an interim study on NSLA spending will be proposed.

With all of the research and information available, it is time for the General Assembly to step up and ensure that funding dedicated to closing the achievement gap is doing what it is intended to do.