No.6, December 2017: District Administrators' Perspectives on the Impact of The Local Control Funding Formula on English Learners

Two years into implementation, this policy brief examines how California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and its accompanying Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) meet the needs of English Learners (ELs). Researchers seek to understand district administrator perspectives on the impact of LCFF for ELs through interviews and focus groups with administrators that represent districts from Northern, Central, and Southern California. Findings reveal that although the LCAP serves as a mechanism to increase personnel and PD efforts to address EL needs, it is still largely viewed as a compliance document that requires alignment with other strategic documents and is sensitive to changes in leadership. The following policy recommendations are made as a result of these findings: 1) re-design the LCAP to support districts in specifying EL learning goals, services, assessments and expected outcomes; 2) differentiate support for district administrators; and 3) invest (long-term) in district-level and site-level professional development with a focus on EL success.