Christian Barnard
Senior Policy Analyst, Reason Foundation
Christian Barnard is a senior policy analyst at Reason Foundation.
Barnard's work includes research and analysis of state education and school district finance systems, with the goal of making them more equitable and innovative.
Barnard's writing has been featured in outlets including USA Today, Los Angeles Daily News, Washington Times, and The Hill, among others.
Barnard previously worked with the Foundation for Government Accountability, where he conducted research on labor policy and criminal justice. He also worked for the Pioneer Institute.
He holds a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and economics from Messiah College.
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Best practices for K-12 special education funding
There is no one right way to fund special education because each student and school district is unique. However, several principles can be a useful guide for lawmakers looking to improve how they fund special education students.
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Best practices for funding low-income K-12 students
States vary substantially in how much additional funding they allocate to low-income students, how the funds are delivered, and how they identify low-income students.
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California’s public schools are not underfunded
Inflation-adjusted education spending in California grew by a massive 44.03% between 2013 and 2019—the fastest growth among any state.
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Administrative bloat isn’t the biggest problem facing school district budgets
Growing employee benefit debt costs - not administrative spending - is the biggest line item keeping new education dollars out of the classroom.
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Catholic schools get shortchanged by California and school districts
Federal law says that private schools serving disadvantaged students should receive some federal education funding, but they don’t always get it.
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Spending data show the U.S. has not been defunding public education
When looking at the data, the verdict is clear: nearly every American state has increased per-pupil revenues in the last two decades, often by substantial margins.
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K-12 Education Spending Spotlight 2021: An in-depth look at school finance data and trends
Reason Foundation’s 2019 K-12 Education Spending Spotlight provides critical insight into key school finance trends across the country by providing policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders easy access to K-12 education spending data in every state.
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School choice needs to be more than an escape hatch for kids in failing public schools
The next step in school choice is to embrace education funding models that appeal to families looking for a way to customize and have more control over their student’s education wherever they are at.
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Gov. Newsom’s Misguided Proposal for California’s Education Funding Formula
The key to promoting both flexibility and fairness is better transparency and California can do this with better data, not more bureaucracy.
