Lesson plan

Minimum Foundation Program

In Louisiana, the Minimum Foundation Program is the formula that determines the cost to educate students at public elementary and secondary schools and defines state and local funding contributions to each district. Education officials often use the term "MFP" to refer specifically to the portion the state pays per student to each school district. The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) is required by the Louisiana Constitution to adopt a formula to determine the total cost of a minimum foundation program of education in public schools and to equitably allocate funding to school systems. The Louisiana legislature must approve the formula each year. Local and state contributions to the MFP vary based on student needs and local tax bases. MFP funding has been frozen at the same rate for two years. In 2010, the Louisiana Legislature moved to restructure the MFP formula. Critics say the formula does not encourage districts to implement taxes to pay higher amounts than the state for the cost of education.

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Article summary

In Louisiana, the Minimum Foundation Program is the formula that determines the cost to educate students at public elementary and secondary schools and defines state and local funding contributions to each district. Education officials often use the term "MFP" to refer specifically to the portion the state pays per student to each school district. The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) is required by the Louisiana Constitution to adopt a formula to determine the total cost of a minimum foundation program of education in public schools and to equitably allocate funding to school systems. The Louisiana legislature must approve the formula each year. Local and state contributions to the MFP vary based on student needs and local tax bases. MFP funding has been frozen at the same rate for two years. In 2010, the Louisiana Legislature moved to restructure the MFP formula. Critics say the formula does not encourage districts to implement taxes to pay higher amounts than the state for the cost of education.

Key claims

  1. date of foundation: 2007 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of foundation is "2007". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1323647647

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.