A Roadmap for Improving New Jersey's School Funding Formula - The FY2026 Educational Adequacy Report

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Callum

A Roadmap for Improving New Jersey’s School Funding Formula - The FY2026 Educational Adequacy Report examines how the School Funding Reform Act (SFRA) requires periodic review of the state’s school finance formula. The report argues that prior Educational Adequacy Reports updated cost assumptions without assessing whether formula inputs align with New Jersey’s evolving academic and social-emotional standards. It emphasizes constitutional expectations for a thorough and efficient education and describes the court-mandated need for meaningful, relevant look-back analyses to sustain adequacy for students.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

The Court Mandate for Reviewing the SFRA

What is the EAR?

# A ROADMAP FOR IMPROVING NEW JERSEY’S SCHOOL FUNDING FORMULA: THE FY2026 EDUCATIONALADEQUACY REPORT Danielle Farrie, Ph.D.March 2024 About the Author Danielle Farrie, Ph. D., is Research Director at Education Law Center. Since 2008, she hasconducted research and data analysis to support public policy advocacy for ELC and partnerorganizations. Dr. Farrie is the lead author of ELC’s Making the Grade report and has authoredbook chapters and peer-reviewed articles on topics such as school finance and school segregation.She has testified about school funding issues before numerous state and national commissions andhas provided expert testimony in state school funding lawsuits. She holds a Ph. D. in sociology fromTemple University. About Education Law Center Education Law Center pursues justice and equity for public school students by enforcing theirright to a high-quality education in safe, equitable, non-discriminatory, integrated, and well-fundedlearning environments. We seek to support and improve public schools as the center ofcommunities and the foundation of a multicultural and multiracial democratic society. We strive tosecure and protect the rights of students who are underserved, experience inadequate learningopportunities, or face discrimination based on race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, language,religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigrant or migrant status, or disability. Toachieve these goals, we engage in litigation, research and data analysis, policy advocacy,communications, and strategic partnerships and collaborations. © March 2024 Education Law Center, Inc., Newark, NJ. All rights reserved. The School Funding Reform Act (SFRA), New Jersey’s school finance law, requires the Governor, inconsultation with the Commissioner of Education, to review certain components of the schoolfunding formula every three years. The New Jersey Department of Education ( NJDOE) issued fourEducational Adequacy Reports ( EAR) between 2013 and 2022, but none provided the in-depthanalysis that is required to ensure the formula is delivering adequate resources to all students.These reports updated the underlying costs of t he formula while failing to consider whether theinputs themselves are adequate for delivering the state’s evolving learning standards. Thesesurface-level reviews have left the SFRA out of step with current thinking on the resources neededto meet the state’s academic and social-emotional standards. To ensure New Jersey students arereceiving a constitutional “thorough and efficient” education, it is time for the NJDOE to conducta much more thorough analysis. ## The Court Mandate for Reviewing the SFRA In 2009, when the New Jersey Supreme Court signed-off on the constitutionality of theSFRA, the Justices cautioned that their acceptance of the formula was “tethered to theState’s commitment diligently to review the formula after its initial years ofimplementation and to adjust the formula as necessary based on the results of thatreview. ” Abbott v. Burke, 199 N.J. 140, 146 (2009) . The Supreme Court reaffirmed thatmandate in 2011 when ordering the State to restore aid cuts made to the 31 Abbottschool districts, concluding that “the State nevertheless must undertake a look-backanalysis that is meaningful and relevant for the Abbott districts so that SFRA continuesto operate optimally and as intended in future years for pupils in those districts. ”Abbott v. Burke, 206 N.J. 332, 376 (2011) . page 01 A Road map for Improving New Jersey’ s Schoo l Funding Formula:The FY2026 Educational Adequacy Report ## What is the EAR? The SFRA requires the Governor and Commissioner of Education to issue a report to theLegislature every three years with recommendations for updating certain elements of the schoolfunding formula. This provision for regular review of the sufficiency of the formula’s keycomponents was central to the New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision to declare the SFRA constitution

FAQs

What does the School Funding Reform Act (SFRA) require New Jersey to do?

SFRA requires reviewing components of the school funding formula every three years and issuing an Educational Adequacy Report with recommendations to update certain elements.

Why does the report argue earlier EARs were insufficient?

Earlier reports were described as surface-level reviews that updated underlying costs but did not analyze whether the inputs themselves were adequate to meet evolving learning standards.

What does the report say about the court’s expectations for formula review?

The New Jersey Supreme Court acceptance of the SFRA was described as tied to conducting meaningful, relevant look-back analyses after early implementation and making adjustments based on results.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Callum