Study of Weighted Student Funding and School-Based Systems ( Study Instruments )

Appendix J:
District Pre-Interview Survey
for the Study of
Weighted Student Funding (WSF) and
School-Based Budgeting (SBB) Systems

Study of Weighted Student Funding and School-Based Budgeting Systems

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development

Policy and Program Studies Services

Study Conducted by the American Institutes for Research

Pre-Interview Survey for Districts

American Institutes for Research is conducting a study for the U.S. Department of Education to examine how weighted student funding (WSF) and school-based budgeting systems are being implemented, their challenges, and their benefits. You are one of nine districts participating in this study.

We want to learn more about the structure of your funding formula, what motivated the development of a WSF system in your district, and what challenges and benefits you have seen. This brief survey is voluntary and aims to gather some basic information in advance of our interview.

Responses to this survey will be used to summarize findings in an aggregate manner (across groups or sites) or will be used to provide examples of program implementation in a manner that does not associate responses with a specific site or individual. The study team will use only the survey responses you provide in its analysis and neither the name of any school site nor your name will be used in any reporting. The study team will make sure that access to all data with identifiable information is limited to members of the study team. Except for that which is already public, all information collected will be confidential. We will not provide information that identifies you or your district to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

Please complete the questions below and return the survey to Vaibhav Jain at vjain@air.org. Thank you!

Name:
Title:
District:	[pre-filled]
Date:

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number.  The valid OMB control number of this information collection is ###-####. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 18 minutes per survey, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection.  If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimates(s) or suggestion for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, 20202-4651.  If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to:

Policy and Program Studies Service, Office of the Deputy Secretary, US Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20202.

1. We are interested in the structure of your funding formula to distribute funds from the district to schools.

   1. What is the base per-pupil allocation amount for schools in your district?

Please enter dollar amounts in the box below.

Elementary school:	$	Base per-pupil allocation amount
Middle school:	$	Base per-pupil allocation amount
High school:	$	Base per-pupil allocation amount

2. Please attach a copy of your funding formula documentation.

3. Please indicate the student needs categories that receive additional resources in the school funding allocation formula by entering the weights used (in Column A)
   OR additional dollar amounts prescribed by the formula (in Column B).
   Then in Column C, please provide the definition of each applicable student needs category. If a category is not applicable, please check “Not Applicable in Column D.

Please enter a value in either column A, column B, or select “Not applicable” in column D for each row. Enter the definition in column C for all applicable categories

	Column A	Column B	Column C	Column D
	Weight Used (for example, 1.5 means students in this group generate 50% more funding than the base amount)	Additional Dollar Amount (for example, $100 means that students in this group generate an additional $100 dollars of funding on top of the base student amount)	Definition of student needs category	Not applicable
Economically disadvantaged students				 Not applicable
English learners				 Not applicable
Students with disabilities				 Not applicable
Students in foster care				 Not applicable
Homeless students				 Not applicable
Students with low academic performance				 Not applicable
Gifted and talented students				 Not applicable
Elementary school students				 Not applicable
Middle school students				 Not applicable
High school students				 Not applicable
Other, please specify below.				 Not applicable
Other, please specify below.				 Not applicable

4. Please add any explanations or additional notes on your student weights here:

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Are there other factors that generate additional funding for schools? Please explain:

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you!