Giving Compass' Take:

• The 74 examines a new report from the Center for American Progress that shows why equal access to educational services should be a priority in school finance reform.

• What are we doing to build more equity in the education system? How can we develop better programs for low-income students and those who are learning English as a second language?

• Here's what new governors across the U.S. have promised schools.

School finance systems, perpetually at the center of legal and legislative battles across the country, should go beyond funding to ensure equal access to core educational services, with outcomes-based accountability as a check, the Center for American Progress says in a new report.

This next wave of school finance reform should go beyond efforts in years past to ensure sufficient funding overall and equal funding between school districts, the authors wrote.

“In our mind, there’s been equity debate, there’s been adequacy debate, and we need to move beyond that. That’s what we tried to really hit on,” Ulrich Boser, one of the report’s authors, told The 74.

An ideal school finance system should start with a weighted student funding system that provides more resources for higher-needs kids, like English learners or those growing up in poverty. Though many factors influence a child’s education, a school finance system should at minimum ensure access to “a strong teaching workforce,” high-quality preschool, and “a robust curriculum and instructional tools,” according to the report by the left-leaning think tank.

Read the full article about why school finance reform should focus on key programs by Carolyn Phenicie at The 74.