Dive Brief:

• The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights asked attorneys at WilmerHale to determine whether the U.S. Department of Education has legal authority to approve its “supplement not supplant” draft provision and change the way school districts distribute federal money meant for students in poverty.
• The Washington Post reports WilmerHale’s analysis follows the Congressional Research Service’s conclusion in May that the Education Department proposal goes beyond what the Every Student Succeeds Act requires, but it reaches the opposite conclusion.
• Liz King, education policy director for the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, told the Washington Post she hopes this latest analysis puts an end to debate over the legality of the provision and ushers in a conversation about the substance of the policy.

Dive Insight:

Under No Child Left Behind, districts still had to prove they were not skimping on state and local support for high-poverty schools and using Title I money to fill the gaps. One key difference, though, was in how teacher salaries were counted. Before, teacher salaries could be averaged so spending on salaries at schools that employed a high number of veteran teachers was equalized with spending on salaries at schools that employed a high number of rookie teachers. The Obama administration’s proposal would require proof of equitable distribution of state and local funding, including actual dollar amounts on salaries. Critics say this would cause chaotic redistribution of staff members in schools while supporters argue the new provision will create true equity.

No matter what happens with the controversial “supplement not supplant” provision, school districts will have to account for all expenditures at the school level, and that information will be reported on state report cards once ESSA is fully implemented. This element of the law has gotten far less attention but will make disparities in school funding utterly clear. Its advocates say it could become an important tool for school improvement.