Recently, Jason Willis, Director of Strategy & Performance in the Comprehensive School Assistance Program at WestEd, joined other school finance experts and advocates in a panel discussion that explored the challenges and opportunities of changing school funding policy and how to manage competing priorities to ensure the best outcomes for students.

Hosted at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC, the conversation sought to provide insights to questions facing states today, including:

  • What are common misconceptions about school funding formulas?
  • How important are “hold harmless” policies?
  • What does equitable funding look like?
  • How is improvement defined or measured?
  • What role do the courts play in school funding?
  • Is there a gold standard among state school funding formulas?

Jessica Handy (Stand for Children), Katie Roy (Connecticut School Finance Project), and Shari Runner (Chicago Urban League) also participated in the discussion. NPR Education’s Cory Turner served as moderator.

Watch a video of the forum.