Committee reviews at-risk weightings and SB 387 pilot for at-risk accountability

At a meeting of the Committee on K-12 Education Budget, state analysts and Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) staff reviewed how the formula for at-risk and high-density at-risk weightings is computed and described a pilot accountability plan created under House Sub for Senate Bill 387 (SB 387).

Matthew Willis, Senior Research Analyst for KLRDE, told committee members the core at-risk weighting is calculated by multiplying a district’s full-time-equivalent (FTE) count of students who qualify for free lunch by 0.484. He said that multiplier — up from about 0.456 under an earlier formula — represents one of the largest individual student weightings in the current funding model. "It is just taking the number of at-risk students, which for the purpose of this weighting is students who qualify for free lunch," Willis said.

The committee heard that the state average at-risk FTE is about 333.1 (roughly $1.8 million when converted using the base), while the state median is 96.8 FTE (just over $500,000). Willis walked members through spreadsheets that break down district-level impacts: for example, he showed that Erie-Galesburg USD 101 would see roughly 13.6% of its total state foundation aid tied to the at-risk and high-density at-risk weightings.

Willis also described the high-density at-risk weighting, which adds extra dollars for districts or schools with a large concentration of eligible students. The high-density calculation offers two options — a districtwide calculation or a building-by-building calculation — and statute allows districts to use whichever produces the…