California’s New Equity Multiplier Still Fails Black Students

By Adonai Mack, Word In Black

The state’s 2023-24 proposed budget includes an Equity Multiplier, which would direct money to schools based on high concentrations of poverty. As it’s currently structured, it would only reach 6% of Black public school students.

The Equity Multiplier is a proposal by California’s Governor to address a legislative measure that stalled during California’s 2022 legislative session and is intended to improve the academic achievement of Black students, which significantly lags behind other student groups irrespective of wealth or income. This measure, AB 2774, authored by Assembly member, Dr. Akilah Weber, would have changed the state’s school funding formula by directing resources to school districts based on the lowest-performing subgroup of students. By that measure, this would direct resources to support black students. 

As an alternative to AB 2774, the governor has proposed the Equity Multiplier, which allocates money based on high concentrations of students living in poverty instead of on the specific needs of students. Thus, allowing funding to flow to the schools the students attend instead of districts. The intention of this legislation is to focus on improving outcomes for students at specific schools and prevent districts from diluting support by spending on district-wide purposes.  

As currently structured, the Equity Multiplier would only reach 6% of the Black students attending California’s public schools. The remaining 94% of Black students, who have historically and consistently struggled the most, won’t receive any additional support because they attend schools that the Equity Multiplier will not fund. 

As beneficial as the Equity Multiplier could be, the Equity Multiplier also doesn’t address the issue of Black student success. Children Now’s scorecard data shows that Black students’ struggle to meet or exceed academic standards isn’t directly linked to poverty levels. If the Equity Multiplier’s intent is to address the issue of Black students’ success, thousands of Black students, and an overwhelming majority in our schools, will go without the tools needed to succeed.  

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