The ABE funding cap
The United States government has a long history of promoting and regulating adult education . From the civics and literacy programs in the 1960s to the workforce training in the 1990s , the federal government continues to set a standard for all states to meet . In Minnesota , adult learners are very fortunate ; our state values adult basic education and English language learning above the federal level . For every dollar the federal government funds adult education and English language learning , Minnesota matches with nine dollars . In 2020-2021 , the federal government provided $ 5,900,000 while Minnesota provided $ 49,800,000 . Beyond the larger share of funding , Minnesota also strives to have the funding equitably spread across the state . Twenty-two years ago , the state created a funding formula to make sure every Minnesotian has access to quality education .
The state allocates funds to school districts that partner with other school districts , libraries , and nonprofits to form a consortium . Consortia are reimbursed for the services they provided the previous year by a hourly rate . However , the state recognizes that it is more expensive to serve learners in higher concentrations of need or if they are spread over a larger geographic area . Therefore , the formula holds some funds from the total amount and allocates those funds to each consortium based on its population in three ways . First , as base aid which is determined by how many people live within the geographic boundaries of the consortium ($ 1.73 per person .) Second , the state looks at the rate of English Language learners in the school districts in the consortium ($ 19.81 per English Language learner .) And third , the number of adults 25 years old and older with no high school equivalency ($ 8.56 per adult .) So each year , constortium are reinbursed based on the need of the population they serve and the total number of contract hours they provide .
Policy update
This budgeting formula created a consistent and predictable process for adult basic education providers . It allowed communities to plan for adult learner services and as populations slowly changed and educational needs increased or decreased , it allowed school districts a solid funding formula to plan and provide great adult learning . However , as learners have grappled with the pandemic , these dramatic changes are creating some challenges for this funding formula .
In the 2020-2021 school year , adult education saw a 50 % drop in the total number of contact hours across the state . And even this year , the state has not fully recovered and continues to have a 30 % drop in hours from prepandemic rates . Because the total amount of funds has not changed , the hourly rate consortia are reimbursed will increase if there are fewer total hours across the state . The challenge comes from a safeguard that was placed in the original funding formula . The state wanted to make sure that programs that needed more funds received them , it also wanted to encourage efficient programs to innovate . Therefore , the funding law is written that no consortium can receive more than $ 22 per contact hour . What has been termed “ the cap ”.
While Metro North ABE is not at risk of hitting the cap , this might affect smaller programs whose proportion of aid by population is a higher . The worry is that this might cause some consortia to close , others may merge to create larger groups spread over larger distances , or not serve all adults in our state .
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