Ohio English Learner Cost Study

Prepared for the Ohio Department of Education in 2022

Preceding passage of school funding reforms in the state budget, the Ohio General Assembly directed the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) to engage in a series of studies to better understand the resources required to provide for specific student needs and services (as enacted in S.B. 310 in December of 2020). This includes, for example, the costs to serve several specific student groups. As the legislature stated, the intention was that the results of these studies “be the basis of legislation enacted by the General Assembly in order to take effect for fiscal year (FY) 2024 (S.B. 310 § 5(C)).”

Researchers at WestEd and Augenblick, Palaich, and Associates were contracted to complete this work with a focus on the English leaner population. The study took place over the course of 2022 and included engagement with practitioners and public education leaders at all levels of the system. This report presents the final findings and recommendations by the study team based upon the work conducted.

This cost study examined three primary research questions:

• What is the current annual cost of English learner programs, including detailed costs by context, learning support, and English learner status?

• What is the annual cost necessary to achieve program success, including detailed costs by learning support and English learner status?

• What is the cost impact of bringing current investments and investments required for success into alignment?

To address these research questions, the study team drew on both existing statewide data as well as original data collections through a survey-and-interview process to uncover additional information about current English learner programs and their associated costs. These data were analyzed, and costs were estimated primarily using the ingredients method, a standard approach to economic evaluation of educational programs.

To assess the resources and costs necessary for English learner program success, the study team conducted a series of professional judgment panels, a variation of the approach selected by the Cupp-Patterson Workgroup to develop the Fair School Funding Plan. The recommendations from these panels served as the basis for estimating the cost to implement successful English learner programs in communities across the state.

Finally, the findings from analysis of the survey and interview results paired with the professional judgment panel recommendations and findings informed a series of policy recommendations and areas for additional investigation. These recommendations and areas for additional investigation propose improvements to how funding is allocated for English learner programs and illustrate the gap between funding for success and the current system.

• Policy Recommendation #1: Differentiate Funding for All English Learners Based Upon English Language Proficiency

• Policy Recommendation #2: Increase Funding for Reclassified English Learners to Better Support Their Ongoing Needs

• Policy Recommendation #3: Reform Funding for Newcomer English Learners and English Learner Students With Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE)