Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson has announced he is co-sponsoring a bill to help fix how federal grants are distributed under Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
He and Democrat Jimmy Panetta of California have introduced ACE or the All Children are Equal act. They believe the current funding formula diverts funding from smaller school districts with higher instances of poverty to school districts with higher populations and lower poverty levels. Their proposal would eliminate the number weighting system used to distribute grants and make sure that funds per pupil are distributed based upon percentages of poverty, rather than weighting the formula based upon population. In a statement, Thomspon called the reform long overdue.
The act has earned the support of the School Superintendents Association and the National Rural Education Association along with the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, the Association of Educational Service Agencies and others.
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