才能教育における州補助金制度の公正性課題

—米国オハイオ州の改革事例に着目して—

抄録

This study aims to identify issues related to the equity of state subsidy systems for gifted education based on the Ohio case study. States have several funding systems for gifted education, including a reimbursement system that compensates school districts for all or a percentage of their actual expenditures for state-approved gifted education services. Additionally, census-based funding formula calculates the support needed on the basis of statistical data on schooling. However, these allocation formulas vary by state and often change over time even within the same state. This paper focuses on the state of Ohio, which has recently undergone a major overhaul of its subsidy system; furthermore, it examines specifically the status of and issues related to the financial assistance provided by the state government.

In Ohio, the State Administrative Code requires school districts to identify gifted students. Over 90% of school districts provide some form of gifted education to the identified gifted students. Grants for gifted education are primarily for identifying gifted students and personnel costs for teachers and staff involved in providing gifted education, with the amount of each item calculated on an average daily membership (ADM) basis.

Many administrative supervisors and school administrators recognize regional disparities between school districts as a major problem for implementing gifted education in Ohio. Additionally, a large gap exists between school districts in rural areas with many low-income students and other school districts, especially those near urban areas with many affluent students. Therefore, beginning in FY2022, the state share percentage (SSP) has been considered in calculating subsidy amounts, and improvements are being made to ensure that poorer school districts receive more subsidies.

In addition, the Ohio Education Research Center found a significant number of school districts not providing gifted education or diverting the grant funds to other purposes despite receiving a grant for gifted education. Therefore, the state is taking measures, such as prohibiting the diversion of grant funds.

Furthermore, the problem with Ohio's subsidy allocation system is that the subsidy amount for each school district is calculated without accurately estimating the costs involved in implementing appropriate education. Therefore, the current systemic reform clarifies the basic stance that the state and each school district will share fairly the cost of each item after calculating the costs in detail for implementing gifted education appropriately.

Thus, the state government, through this reform, has shifted from a subsidizing position of assisting the school districts in meeting the shortage in their expenditures and is now trying to be more proactive and aggressive in achieving appropriate gifted education. However, introducing SSP into the state subsidy allocation formula has substantially increased the share of the school district's financial burden. In addition, this could be a major issue in the future.