About the Project
Can we make schools more equitable by directing state resources based on student needs and giving local communities more control over funds?
In 2013, California enacted the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), the country’s most ambitious school funding strategy. Among the major changes: rather than strict, state-mandated requirements, Local Education Agencies (LEAs) as part of the law are required to create their own roadmaps for local school spending working with key stakeholders to help craft their plans.
A decade later, we’re starting to understand where and how LCFF models are succeeding. We’re also able to look more honestly at the pitfalls of local control—especially the challenge of making participatory democracy real.
We’re working in partnership with five districts around the state to study how they have implemented LCFF to create more equitable learning conditions. We met with district and school leaders, teachers, students and parents to see where the process worked and if and how it fell short.
LCFF Case Studies & Policy Briefs
Each of our five case studies provide examples to help share lessons learned as districts continue to refine and adapt their LCFF plans:
- San Diego USD: Giving Learning and Graduation Meaning: One Student at a Time (Case Study)
- Pomona USD: Top-Down Support for Bottom-Up Change (Case Study) & Breaking Down Walls for Student and Educator Learning (Policy Brief)
- East Side Union HSD (San Jose): “Nothing About Us Without Us”: Youth Power, Voice & Participation (Case Study)
- Livingston USD: School Counselors (coming in 2023)
- Lynwood USD: Early Childhood Education (coming in 2023)
LCFF Case Study Videos
Related Work
