The Public School Forum of North Carolina released a report on August 26, 2026, that models what a weighted student funding formula would mean for every school district and charter school in the state. The report follows a two-year study involving more than 100 education leaders, elected officials, and school finance experts, with modeling done by the national firm Bellwether using 2024-25 state data.
Modeling scenarios and trade-offs
The report tested four funding scenarios that used the same set of student weights but different base amounts. Under a revenue-neutral scenario, the base would be $5,133, meaning the formula redistributes existing state money without adding new dollars. In that scenario, 73 of North Carolina's 115 school districts and 111 of 212 charter schools would lose funding. At the other end, a scenario with $8.8 billion in new investment and a base of $9,450 would ensure all districts and charters gain. Two intermediate scenarios added $1.4 billion and $4.1 billion.
The weights used for modeling, not recommended as final, included: Economically Disadvantaged at 40 percent, Students with Disabilities on a sliding scale of 110 to 150 percent, Multilingual Learners at 17.5 percent, Academically or Intellectually Gifted at 5 percent, Career and Technical Education at 16.1 percent, Sparsity up to 25 percent, and Concentrated Poverty at 5 percent.
The report states that no districts or charter schools should lose funding during any transition. It recommends short-term adjustments to the current allotment system, such as combining certain allotments and adopting a state-proposed weighted model for Exceptional Children funding that ties dollars to service hours rather than diagnosis.
Recent precedent in other states
North Carolina has used its current hybrid resource-based and program-based allotment system with more than 40 separate allotments for over 90 years, according to the Carolina Journal. Mississippi passed a weighted student funding formula in April 2024 and implemented it with a base of $6,700 and $240 million in additional state funding. Tennessee adopted a weighted model in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Public School Forum report.
A 2017 report commissioned by the North Carolina General Assembly's Joint Legislative Task Force on Education Finance Reform studied weighted funding systems in six states. It concluded there is no single correct way to fund public schools and that success depends on policy choices within the model, not the model type itself.
Research and previous findings
A 2016 report by the North Carolina General Assembly Program Evaluation Division found that the state's existing allotment system favors wealthy counties over low-income areas. The evaluation recommended either adopting a weighted student funding model or reforming the current system. At that time, only seven states used a formula similar to North Carolina's.
The Public School Forum's own modeling found that a cost-neutral weighted formula would produce a more equitable distribution for high-need students but would cause significant funding losses for most districts and charters, with the smallest, often rural districts hit hardest. The report concluded that the success of any weighted formula depends heavily on the specific design, the amount of new investment, and how the transition is managed.
State work group to study transition
The 2025-2027 state budget includes $300,000 for a weighted student funding formula work group through the NC Collaboratory. According to the Collaboratory's 2026 legislative studies portfolio, the group is charged with developing recommendations for transitioning North Carolina to a weighted student funding model. The work group must report back to lawmakers by July 15, 2027.