CORPORATION

KEYFINDINGS

nDelawarelocaleducationagencies(LEAs)havebeenallocatedover$100millioninOpportunityFundingandStudentSuccessBlock

Grant(SSBG)fundingandhaveexpendedroughly$86millionsince2019–2020.Althoughthesumislarge,thetwofundingstreamsstilltotalabout1to3percentofschools’totalexpenditureseachyear.

nGivenflexibilityaboutwhattoinvestin,LEAspersistentlyusedflex-ibleOpportunityFundingtohirestafftoprovideindividualizedaca-demicandsocialandemotionalsupportstostudentsexperiencingpoverty(SEPs)andmultilinguallearners(MLs).

nGapsinproficiencyratesbetweenstudentgroupstargetedbythe

OpportunityFundingandSSBGprogramshavenarrowedsince

2018–2019.ThegapinproficiencyratesbetweenSEPsandstudentswhoarenotexperiencingpovertynarrowedbyroughly5percentagepointsin2021–2022.GapsamongMLsandstudentswhoarenot

MLswerelargelysimilar,narrowingbylessthan1percentagepoint.

nHowever,wedidnotfindevidencethatthesegapsnarrowedspecifi-callybecauseofOpportunityFundingandSSBGfunding.WefoundthatacademicperformanceamongMLsdeclinedmoreinDelawarethanincomparisonstates,withmixedpatternsamongSEPs.More-over,wefoundnorelationshipbetweenproficiencyratesamong

SEPsandMLsandtheamountsofOpportunityFundingandSSBGthatschoolsexpendedin2021–2022.

ResearchReport

SYDOAN,JOHNENGBERG,SAMMORALES,HEATHERL.SCHWARTZ,LYNNA.KAROLY

EvaluationofDelaware’s

OpportunityFundingand

StudentSuccessBlock

GrantPrograms

ThirdandFinalYear

I

nthe2019–2020schoolyear,Delawareschooldistrictsandcharterschoolshadaccesstotwo

state-fundedweightedpupilfundinginitiatives—thenewlyexpandedOpportunityFundingpro-gramandtheStudentSuccessBlockGrant(SSBG)—designedtoimproveeducationaloutcomesforstudentsexperiencingpoverty(SEPs)andmultilinguallearners(MLs).1Bothprogramsdirect

additionalfundstopublicschoolsbasedonthenumberofSEPsandMLsthattheyenroll.

Thisisthethirdandfinal

reportinathree-yearindependentevaluationoftheOpportunity

FundingandSSBGprograms.

Becausethecoronavirusdisease

2019(COVID-19)pandemic

causedfirstthecancellationandthenseriousdisruptionofstate-widetestinginspring2020and

spring2021,thisreportisthefirsttimewehaveexaminedtherela-tionshipbetweenOpportunity

FundingandSSBGandstudentachievement.

ThisreportisintendedprimarilyfortheDelaware

2

DepartmentofEducation(DDOE)andtheDelawarestatelegislature.Itisalsointendedforpolicymakersinotherstatesandeducationresearcherswhostudyordesignschoolfinanceprograms.

Inthisreport,wefirstdescribehowDelaware’s

42schooldistrictsandcharterschools(alsoknownaslocaleducationagencies[LEAs])spenttheirOppor-tunityFundingandSSBGdollars,whatportionof

theirallocationstheyspent,andwhatLEAleadersdeemedtheirmosteffectiveinvestmentswiththose

dollars.Wethenexaminewhetherboththealloca-

tionofthefundsandtheactualexpenditureswereassociatedwithimprovedperformanceonspring

2022mathandreadingtests.Thepandemicforcesustoplaceseriouscaveatsonourachievementanalyses,asweexplainlaterinthereport.

OverviewofOpportunity

FundingandtheSSBGFundingPrograms

AsshowninFigure1,SEPsandMLshavebeenaslightlydecliningorsteadyportionofDelaware’spublicschoolstudentsoverthepastfiveyears,makingup29and11percent,respectively,oftheoverallDelawarepublicschoolpopulationinthemostrecentcompletedschoolyear,whichwas2021–2022.2

However,statefundingthatLEAsreceiveforthesestudentgroupshasgrownsubstantially,asshowninFigure2.ThegrowthisduetotheOcto-

Abbreviations

COVID-19DDOE

ELA

ESSER

FY

LEA

ML

SBAC

SEP

SSBG

coronavirusdisease2019

DelawareDepartmentofEducationEnglishlanguagearts

ElementaryandSecondarySchoolEmergencyRelief

fiscalyear

localeducationagency

multilinguallearner

SmarterBalancedAssessment

Consortium

studentexperiencingpovertyStudentSuccessBlockGrant

ber2020legalsettlementbetweenGovernorJohn

Carney,DelawareansforEducationalOpportunity,

andtheDelawareNAACPtomakeOpportunity

Fundingpermanentandtoincreasetheamountthatthestateallocateseachyear.TableA.1inAppendixAprovidesthestateappropriationsforeachprogramfrominception.

Below,wesummarizehowtheOpportunity

FundingandSSBGfundingprogramsallocated

fundsasofthe2021–2022schoolyear;TableA.1andouryear1report(Doanetal.,2021)detailhowtheseprogramshavechangedsincetheirinception.

?Thefirstoftwostreamsiscalledflexible

OpportunityFunding,whichprovidesLEAsanextra$524.25perSEPand$600perML

duringthe2021–2022schoolyear,withtotalallocationssummingto$30million,substan-tialincreasesfromper-pupilallocationsin

priorfiscalyears(FYs).TheDDOEderives

thenumberofSEPsandMLsservedbyDela-wareLEAsinagivenyear.3ThetotalflexibleOpportunityFundingallocation($30millionduringthe2021–2022schoolyear)isthen

dividedproportionallyamongLEAsaccord-ingtotheirtotalenrollmentofSEPsandMLs.LEAsmustannuallysubmitspendingplanstotheDDOEthatspecifytheintendedusesofthesefunds.TheLEAscanusethefunds

topayforstaff,curriculum,orotherservicesthattheLEAsidentifyasbeingmostneededtoservetheirSEPsandMLs,subjecttostateapprovalbasedonawrittenplan.

?Thesecondstream,calledmentalhealthandreadingsupportOpportunityFunding,pro-videsschool-basedgrantsformentalhealth

servicesand/oradditionalreadingsupportsin

ANoteAboutTerms

WecollectivelyrefertoDelaware’s16traditionalschooldistricts,threevocational-technicaldis-

tricts,and23charterschoolnetworksasLEAs

throughoutthisreport.AndwerefertoFYs,whichrunfromJulytoJuneinDelaware,throughout

thisreport.Forexample,FY2022correspondstoJuly1,2021–June30,2022.

3

PercentageofK–12enrollment

TotalK–12enrollment

Totalallocatedfunds($millions)

100

90

80

70

60

50

SEPs

Totalenrollment

146.684

MLs

149,571

147,557

146,684

OpportunityFunding(flexible+mentalhealthandreading)

SSBGreading

2525

6

3.573.973.503.63

1

146,168

FIGURE1

SEPsandMLsasaShareofTotalPublicSchoolEnrolleesinDelaware

145,589

40

30

20

10

0

35.6

33.5

31.3

28.8

28.3

9.910.010.410.010.8

20182019202020212022

Year

152,000

150,000

148,000

146,000

144,000

142,000

140,000

SOURCE:FeaturesinformationfromDelawareOpenData,2021.

NOTE:ThisfigureplotsthetotalK–12enrollmentinDelawarepublicschools(gray)andthepercentageofthatenrollmentthatisclassifiedasanML(blue)oranSEP(orange).

FIGURE2

GrowthinOpportunityFundingandSSBG

100

90

80

70

60

60

50

50

38

38

40

30

20

10

0

20182019202020212022202320242025

(projected)(projected)(projected)

Year

NOTE:OpportunityFundingcombinestheflexibleandmentalhealthandreadingsupportfunds,whileSSBGshowsfundingforreading

interventionists.InOctober2020,GovernorJohnCarney,DelawareansforEducationalOpportunity,andtheDelawareNAACPreachedalegalsettlementtomakeOpportunityFundingpermanentandtoincreasetheamountthatthestateallocateseachyearuntilitreaches$60millionbyFY2025.

4

high-needelementaryschools.Forthe2021–2022schoolyear,elementaryschoolswithat

least30percentSEPsand/oratleast10percentMLsqualifyforthesefunds;87schoolswereeligibleforthesefundsduringthe2021–2022schoolyear.Amongqualifyingschools,the

DDOEproratesthetotalallocation($8mil-lionin2021–2022)basedontheelementaryschool’senrollmentofSEPsandMLsasa

shareoftotalstate-wideenrollmentofSEPs

andMLs.Theseschool-basedgrantscancoverschoolcounselors,socialworkersorlicensedclinicalsocialworkers,psychologists,and/oradditionalreadingsupportsforgradesK–5.

?Asofthe2021–2022schoolyear,theSSBG

programallocatesfundsthroughonepro-

gram,theSSBGreadinginterventionistpro-gram.4TheSSBGreadinginterventionistpro-gramfundsonereadinginterventionistperschool(attherateof$82,537)forelementaryschoolswhoseenrollmentsareeitheratleast

60percentSEPsor20percentMLs.Atotal

of44schoolswereeligibleforSSBGreadinginterventionistsduringthe2021–2022schoolyear.

BoththeOpportunityFundingandSSBGpro-

gramsfundprovidevaluablesupportforneeded

investmentsinDelawareschools,particularlyintheformofstaffingtosupportstudentmentalhealth

andthestate’sMLpopulation.However,thesefundscollectivelyprovideforarelativelysmallproportionofoverallLEAspending(Figure3).Ofthe$2.9bil-lionexpendedbyDelaware’sLEAsduringFY2022,only1percentoftotalexpenditureswascomposedoffundsallocatedthroughtheOpportunityFundingorSSBGprograms.Bycomparison,federalCOVID-19relieffundsaccountedforroughlyfivetimesasmuchspendingfromDelawareLEAs.

RAND’sEvaluationofOpportunity

FundingandSSBG

TheDDOEcontractedwiththeRANDCorporationtoconductanindependentevaluationoverthree

yearstounderstandhowLEAsuseOpportunity

FundingandSSBGandwhetherthetwoinitiatives

arehavingtheirintendedpositiveeffectsonSEPsandMLs.Thisreportisthelastofthreeannualreports,

asshowninTable1.Asacompaniontothisreport,

wearealsopublishingabestpracticeguideintendedforDelawaredistrictandschoolleadersabouttheuse

ofOpportunityFunding(Lawrenceetal.,2023).

Inthesectionsthatfollow,weaddresseachofthequestionsshowninTable1forthefinal,third-yearevaluation.Todoso,wedrawonDDOEfiscaland

administrativedataaboutOpportunityFundingandSSBGimplementation,aswellasLEAs’midyearcon-ferencereportsregardingprogresswithOpportunityFundingandSSBGimplementationsubmittedtotheDDOE.(WeprovidemoredetailsaboutourmethodsinAppendixB.)Wherepossible,wecomparepat-

ternsacrossthethreeyearsofthisevaluationinthetextbelow.Weofferourconclusionsandadiscussionoftheimplicationsoftheresultsinthefinalsection.

LimitationsofThisReport

Ofourthreeannualreports,thisistheonlyonethatanalyzestherelationshipsbetweenOpportunity

FundingandSSBGandstudentachievement.Thisisbecausethe2021–2022schoolyearistheonlyschoolyearduringourthree-yearevaluationperiodin

whichstudentparticipationinthestate’sstandard-

izedtest,theSmarterBalancedAssessmentConsor-tium(SBAC)assessment,wasabove95percent.SBACtestingdidnottakeplaceduringthe2019–2020

schoolyearbecauseoftheCOVID-19pandemic,andtestingparticipationwaslimitedtoonly60percentofeligiblestudentsduringthe2020–2021schoolyear.

Evenwithcomprehensivestudentachievementdatafromspring2022,thedisruptionstoschool-

ingandlearningduringtheCOVID-19pandemic

complicatedourevaluationoftheseprogramsin

severalways.First,theexpansionoftheOpportunityFundingprogramcoincidedwithCOVID-19duringthe2019–2020schoolyear,likelyconfoundinganypotentialpositiveeffectofthesefundswiththedet-rimentaleffectsthatCOVID-19hashadonstudent

learningandwell-being.Remoteinstructionfollow-ingtheCOVID-19pandemicwasfoundtobeapri-marydriverofthewideningofachievementgapsintheUnitedStates,especiallyformathachievementsinmiddle-andhigher-povertyschools(Goldhaber

5

40%

36%

FIGURE3

FY22SharesofTotalSchoolExpendituresinDelaware’sLEAs

5%

1%

Federalstimulus(CARES,ARP)

Opportunityfunding/SSBGreadingOtherfundingsources

Localdiscretionaryfunds

Stateunitfunding

18%

NOTE:ThisfigureshowstheallocationsourcesofthetotalDelawareLEAexpendituresinFY2022.StateunitfundingincludesallDivisionI(personnel),DivisionII(otherandenergy),andDivisionIII(equalization)spending.Thelocal

discretionaryfundscategoryincludesallfundsallocatedunderappropriationcode98000.OpportunityFunding/SSBGreadingincludesallexpendituresfromfundsallocatedtoflexibleOpportunityFunding,mentalhealthandreading

supportOpportunityFunding,andSSBGreadinginterventionistfunds.The“Otherfundingsources”categoryincludesanysourcesoflocal,state,orfederalfundsnotexplicitlylistedinthefigure.ARP=AmericanRescuePlanActof2021;CARES=CoronavirusAid,Relief,andEconomicSecurityAct.

TABLE1

OverviewoftheQuestionsThatEachRANDReportAnswers

Questions

Year1Report

(Doanetal.,

2021)

Year2Report

(Doanetal.,

2022)

Year3Report

(thisreport)

BestPractice

Guide

(Lawrenceetal.,

2023)

WhatdoesresearchsayarethemosteffectiveinvestmentsforSEPsandMLs?

X

HowmuchhaveLEAsspentoftheirtotalOpportunityFundingandSSBGallocations?

X

X

X

WhatinvestmentsdidLEAsandschoolsmakewiththeirOpportunityFundingandSSBG?

X

X

X

WhatbarrierstoimplementationdidLEAsencounter?

X

X

X

WhatbestpracticesdidLEAsidentifyforSEPsandMLs?

X

X

X

HowhaveLEAsadaptedtheiruseofOpportunityFundingandSSBGtoCOVID-19?

X

X

WhichaspectsofOpportunityFundingandSSBGdoLEAswishcouldchange?

X

X

X

Whatdidimplementationlooklikeinpractice?

X

X

X

IstheexpenditureofOpportunityFundingandSSBG

correlatedwithimprovedperformanceamongSEPsandMLs?

X

WhatarerecommendedwaysthatLEAsshoulduseOpportunityFunding?

X

NOTE:Theyear1report(Doanetal.,2021)examined2019–2020.Theyear2report(Doanetal.,2022)examined2020–2021.Thisyear3reportexaminesdatafromthe2019–2020to2021–2022schoolyears.

6

etal.,2022).Datafromthe2022NationalAssessmentofEducationalProgress(NAEP),whichprovides

acommonassessmentacrossstates,suggestthat

COVID-19–induceddecreasesinacademicachieve-

mentmayhavebeenmoreprominentinDelaware

thaninotherstates.Forexample,in2019,39percentofDelawarefourthgradersscoredproficientoraboveontheNAEPmathassessment,1percentagepoint

behindthenationalaverageof40percent.In2022,only26percentofDelawarefourthgradersscoredproficientontheNAEPmathassessment,aratethatwasnow9percentagepointsbehindthenational

average(35percent).

Thesemajorchangesininstructionalmethodsfromin-persontoremoteandhybridlearningledtosignificantchangesinparticipationratesthroughoutSBAC.ParticipationratesforEnglishlanguagearts(ELA)testingwithinSBACstatesfellanaverageof

6.4percentfrom2019to2021,withparticipation

formathassessmentsfallingevenfurther,withan

11.1percentaveragedecrease(McRae,2022).Along

withsetbacksinclassroominstructionandtestingforhigher-povertyschoolsanddistricts,somestatesalsoidentifiedachievementgapsbetweenMLsandnon-

MLs,giventhatMLswerenotabletodeveloptheirlanguagedevelopmentthroughconversationalinter-actionswithinstructorsandpeerswhileinremoteorhybridlearningmodels(Lazarin,2022).

Second,federalElementaryandSecondary

SchoolEmergencyRelief(ESSER)fundsinresponsetoCOVID-19infusedmassiveamountsoffund-

ingforpublicschoolsnationallythroughoutthe

2020–2021and2021–2022schoolyears.Theco-

occurrenceofboththeOpportunityFundingand

SSBGprogramsandfederalESSERfunds—inaddi-tiontothefactthatfederalstimulusfundsaccountedforroughlyfivetimestheamountofspendingthattheOpportunityandSSBGfundsdidinFY2022

(Figure3)—makesithardforustodisentanglethespecificeffectsofOpportunityFundingandSSBGoverandabovethefederalstimulusfunds.

InlightofthechallengesposedbyCOVID-19,weadoptedmultipleapproachestoassessingthe

impactsofOpportunityFundingandSSBGon

studentachievement.Specifically,weconducted

twoseparatecomparisonsofstudentachievement:

(1)Wecomparedaggregatedachievementdataacross

states(Delaware,Connecticut,andWashington),

studentgroups(SEPs,MLs,andstudentsnotidenti-fiedasSEPsnorMLs),andtime(2018–2019versus

2021–2022),and(2)wecomparedschoolsthatdid

anddidnotexpendOpportunityandSSBGfunds

during2021–2022.Wediscussthestrengthsand

drawbacksofeachapproachinsubsequentsectionsofthisreport.Weencouragereaderstolookforpat-ternsacrossthetwoanalysesratherthanplaceundueweightonanyoneanalysis,givenhowtheCOVID-19pandemiccloudsthepicture.

LEAs’UseofOpportunity

FundingandSSBG

Inthissection,wedescribehowDelawareLEAsspentfundsfromthreefundingstreamsduringFY2022:

(1)flexibleOpportunityFunding,(2)mentalhealthandreadingsupportOpportunityFunding,and

(3)SSBGfundsforreadinginterventionists.

HowWereOpportunityandSSBG

FundsAllocated,andWhatProportionofAvailableFundsDidLEAsSpend?

InFY2022,thestateofDelawareallocatedatotalof$30milliontoflexibleOpportunityFunding,$8mil-liontomentalhealthandreadingsupportOppor-

tunityFunding,and$3.6milliontoSSBGfundsforreadinginterventionists.BothOpportunityFundingallocationsrepresentsizableincreasesfromFY2021:a$10millionincreaseintheflexiblefundallocation

anda$3millionincreaseforthementalhealthandreadinginterventionistallocation.Theincreased

allocationforflexibleOpportunityFundingmeantgreaterper-pupilallocationsforSEPsandMLs,andtheincreasedallocationforthementalhealthand

readinginterventionistfundingstreamcorrespondstoexpandedeligibilitycriteriaforthesefunds.InFY2022,theDDOEloweredtheeligibilitythresholdforthisfundfrom60percentSEPsdownto30percentandfrom20percentMLsdownto10percent.Thisexpandedeligibilitycriteriameantthatatotalof87gradeK–4servingschoolswereeligibleinFY2022toreceiveOpportunityFundingformentalhealth

andreadinginterventionists,whichisdoublethe43

7

Percentageofavailablefundsspent

97

76

66

70

65

50

40

30

20

10

0

schoolsthatqualifiedduringFY2021.Meanwhile,theeligibilitycriteriaforSSBGdidnotchange.

Accordingly,atotalof44schoolswereeligibletoreceiveSSBGreadinginterventionistfundinginFY2022,whichwasnearlyidenticaltothenumberofschools(43)eligibleforthesefundsinFY2021.TheStateofDelawareallocatedatotalof$41million

acrossallthreefundingcomponentsinFY2022.

Withsubstantialincreasesinallocations,expen-dituresacrossbothOpportunityFundingprogramswereaccordinglyhigher:LEAsspentatotalof

$24millioninOpportunityFundinginFY2022,

comparedwiththeapproximately$15millionspentinpriorFYs.Likewise,expendituresofmentalhealthandreadingsupportOpportunityFundingtotaled$5.9million,anincreasefrom$3.9millionand

$3.5millioninFY2021andFY2020,respectively.

AsshowninFigure4,theproportionofavail-

ablefundsthatLEAsspent—whichincludesboth

allocationsfromFY2022plusunspentrolloverfundsfromprioryears—remainedsteadyinFY2022acrossallthreefundingprogramsdespitesizableincreasesinthetotalamountofexpendedfunds.Including

unspentrolloverfundsfromprioryears,Delaware

LEAshadroughly$51millioninavailablefunds

tospendacrossthesefundingstreamsduringFY

2022.Oftheseavailablefunds,DelawareLEAsspentapproximately$33million,or65percentoftotal

availablefunds.LEAsspentslightlyover60percentofthefundsavailabletothemthroughtheflexibleOpportunityFundingprogram(63percentofavail-ablefundsspent)andthementalhealthandreadingsupportOpportunityFundingprogram(62percent).LEAsspent86percentoftheiravailableSSBGread-inginterventionistfunds,comparabletopercentagesspentinprioryears(85percentinFY2021,97per-

centinFY2020).

ThereareseveralreasonswhyDelawareLEAsdonotspendalloftheirallocatedfunds,includinglackofstaffcapacitytoprocurenewservicesandsecurenewpersonnel,uncertaintyaboutfunding,delaysinprocurementandapprovals,andtheaddedlayerofCOVID-19–relatedstaffingshortagesandchangesinschoolschedulesandservices.SomeLEAshaveindi-catedthatcarryingfundsoverforcontractualsalarypaymentspasttheJune30fundingcyclecanbedif-

FIGURE4

ThePercentageofOpportunityFundingandSSBGFundsThatLEAsSpent

100

90

86

_________________________________85

80

70

63

60

62

--OpportunityFunding,flexible

--OpportunityFunding,mentalhealthandreadingsupport--SSBG,readinginterventionists

2021

2022

2020

Year

NOTE:ThisfigureshowsthepercentageofavailablefundsexpendedbyDelawareLEAsinFY2020,2021,and2022offlexibleOpportunity

Funding;mentalhealthandreadingsupportOpportunityFunding;andSSBGfundsforreadinginterventionists.InFY2021andFY2020,

“availablefunds”includedbothallocationsinthatFYandrolloverfundsunspentfrompriorFYs.SpecificallocationandexpenditureamountsarereportedinTableA.1.

8

Percentageofschools

45

ficultgivenuncertaintyaboutthespecificamountoffundingtobeallocatedinthefollowingacademicyear.Finally,LEAsreceivedanunprecedented

amountofstimulusfunds,whicharetimelimitedandrequiresignificantcapacitytodrawdown.

WhatTypesofSchoolsWereMost

LikelytoExpendFlexibleOpportunityFunding?

AlthoughtheDDOEallocatesflexibleOpportunityFundingdollarstoLEAsbasedontheirnumberof

SEPsandMLs,LEAsthenhavesomediscretionin

howtoallocatethosefundstotheirschools.(LEAs

needtospecifyinawrittenplan,thattheDDOE

mustapprove,howtheLEAwillusetheflexible

monies.)Weusedschool-levelexpendituredatafromthe2021–2022schoolyeartoexaminewhattypesofschoolsweremostlikelytoexpendflexibleOppor-tunityFundingtogaugewhetherflexiblefundsare,infact,flowingtoschoolswithhigherenrollments

ofSEPsandMLs.Figure5showsthat,asintended,schoolswithhigherpercentagesofSEPswere,infact,

morelikelytoexpendflexibleOpportunityFund-inginFY2022.Over80percentofschoolsserving

30percentormoreSEPsexpendedflexibleOppor-tunityFundinginFY2022,comparedwithonly

45percentofschoolsinwhichfewerthan20percentofstudentswereidentifiedasMLs.Wefoundsimilar

patternswhenexaminingpatternsofflexibleOppor-tunityFundingexpenditurebyschools’percentageofMLenrollment.Thatis,schoolsservinghigherpro-portionsofstudentstargetedbytheflexibleOppor-tunityFundingprogram(SEPsandMLs)weremorelikelytohaveexpendedthesefundsduringFY2022.

WhatInvestmentsDidLEAsMakewithOpportunityFunding?

SubjecttoapprovalfromtheDDOE,DelawareLEAswereabletouseflexibleOpportunityFundingtosup-portawiderangeofinvestments,rangingfromstaffmemberstoinstructionalmaterials.Wereviewed

LEAs’approvedspendingplansfor2021–2022flex-ibleOpportunityFundingandmidyearconferenceformsfrom42DelawareLEAs.Fromthesetwodata

sources,weidentifiedatotalof223listedinvestments

FIGURE5

PercentageofSchoolsExpendingFlexibleOpportunityFunding,byEnrollmentofSEPs

100

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

84

82

73

<20%20%to<30%30%to<40%40%+

PercentageenrollmentoflSEPs

NOTE:ThisfigureshowsthepercentageofDelawareschoolsthatexpendedflexibleOpportunityFundingduringFY2022.WecreatedcategoriesofschoolsbyenrollmentofSEPssothatapproximatelyone-quarterofDelawarepublicschoolsareineachofthefourcategoriesshown.

9

StaffwerethemostpopulartypeofinvestmentinFY2022(67percentofalltotalinvestments),followedbysuchprogrammingtypesas

professionaldevelopment(12percent)andcurriculum,assessments,andinterventionmaterials(11percent).

withtheFY2022flexibleOpportunityFunding.Onaverage,LEAslisted5.3investmentsintheirflexibleOpportunityFundingplans,withoneLEArequest-ing23investments.

UsingdefinitionsoutlinedinAppendixB,we

categorizedeachofthe223investmentsintocatego-riestoidentifypatterns.Ourcategorizationofthe

223investmentsisshowninTableA.3.LEAsnoted

thattwo-thirdsofflexibleOpportunityFunding

investmentsinFY2022werecontinuationsofinvest-

mentsinitiatedinprioryears.Accordingly,patternsofinvestmentinFY2022wereverysimilartoprioryears,withstaffcontinuingtobethemostpopulartypeofinvestment(67percentofalltotalinvest-

ments),followedbysuchprogrammingtypesaspro-fessionaldevelopment(12percent)andcurriculum,assessments,andinterventionmaterials(11percent).

WethenfurtherclassifiedthetypesofstaffthatLEAsemployed,whichisshowninTableA.4.Amongthe150flexibleOpportunityFundinginvestments

tofundstaffhires,themostcommontypeofstaff

hireinFY2022wasforstaffspecificallytosupportMLs(40percentofallstaffinvestments),followedbysocial,behavioral,ormentalhealthhires(23percent).StafftoprovideotherformsofacademicsupportnotspecifictoMLswere21percentofthestaffhires,and16percentweregeneral,cross-purposehires.

WhatBarrierstoImplementationDidLEAsEncounter?

ThemidyearconferenceformthatLEAleadersfilledoutinspring2022providedLEAleaderswithalist

of11potentialbarrierstoimplementationofOppor-tunityFundin