BOSTON—State Senator Jason Lewis filed new legislation last week to create a special commission to revisit the K-12 public school funding formula. The commission is tasked with making recommendations to the legislature for necessary updates and changes to the funding formula in order to ensure adequate and equitable funding for all school districts in Massachusetts.
Senator Lewis was a strong advocate for the creation of the Foundation Budget Review Commission in 2014, and then helped lead the effort to pass the Student Opportunity Act (SOA) that was signed into law in 2019. The SOA is being implemented over seven years and once fully implemented will increase state funding for public K-12 education by more than $1.5 billion (in real dollars).
Although the SOA is making a significant difference in closing equity gaps in funding and enabling school districts that serve large numbers of low-income students to make important new investments, many districts are facing fiscal challenges due to a variety of factors, including: the end of federal pandemic relief funds; high inflation in previous years; and the escalating cost of special education, student transportation, and other services.
In her 2025 Inaugural Address earlier this month, Senate President Karen Spilka said, “At the K-12 level we have maintained our commitment to the Student Opportunity Act, providing record levels of funding to our public schools. But it has been some time since we closely examined some aspects of K-12 funding and policy, and so I hope to tackle that this session.”
An Act to ensure adequate and equitable funding for public education (SD.1912) creates a special commission composed of a wide variety of education stakeholders and financing experts, and charges them with examining both the foundation budget and the local contribution components of the Chapter 70 school funding formula. The SOA requires that the foundation budget be revisited at least every 10 years.
“The importance of public education and having high-quality, well-funded public schools for all our children is what first motivated me to run for elected office,” said State Senator Jason Lewis. “I’m proud of the Student Opportunity Act and everything we’ve done in the legislature to support public education, but it is time to once again revisit the school funding formula and ensure that it continues to accurately and fairly reflect the needs and fiscal capacity of school districts and municipalities across the Commonwealth.”
The commission will solicit public input from hearings held throughout the state and will publish a report with their findings and recommendations by the summer of 2027, which is when the SOA is expected to be fully implemented.
