A comparative and descriptive study of Texas' compensatory/remedial education cost factors and formulation of a cost index for equitable funding

Historical confusion regarding whether the status of compensatory education is a correcting factor for socioeconomic cultural deprivation or for educational disadvantages still exists. In spite of this historical confusion and existing programs which address both areas, Texas statutes have defined compensatory education as an educational program; yet, these statutes have added to the confusion by then specifying economic criteria for the funding of such educational programs. These conflicting rationales have caused confusion in program definition which has caused researchers difficulties in gathering cost and program data relevant to establishing a cost basis for funding. As well as program definition difficulties, past studies both through the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Council of Urban School Districts, have faced financial accounting dilemmas. These problems stem from past district flexibilities in cost accounting (hopefully to be corrected by drafted changes in Bulletin 679), and a district historical perspective of accounting only for funds received from non-local sources, e.g. the State Compensatory Education Allotment. Basically local expenditures were "blended" and unretrievable by program. In short, both of these earlier studies verified the 0.2 add-on weight for conpensatory education because existing accounting systems verified only the expenditure of State and federal funds received; therefore, verifiable expenditures equaled receipts, duplicating only the existing funding level (a 0.2 add-on weight). [...]