While there is not one definitive answer to how much is spent on k-12 education yearly, in 2023 roughly 794.7 billion dollars was spent for the fiscal year. However, only 10.5% or around 83.4 billion dollars of that funding was from the federal government (Hanson, 2023). That means that roughly 89.5% comes from State and Local governments. With that in mind, it is reasonable to make the conclusion that states with higher populations or higher tax rates have larger education budgets. But how that money is distributed and goes is relatively unknown to the average person. “Roughly 80% goes to salaries and benefits,” (Gartner, 2018). During the 2018-2019 school year, Virginia alone received approximately 19.28 billion dollars in funding between the state, federal, and local levels: or $15,420 dollars per pupil (Hanson). This money is spent in a variety of areas such as food and health services, transportation, building maintenance, libraries and other resources (Gartner). 

During the 21st century we have had two major economic crises that impacted the education budget; the 2008 recession and the COVID-19 Pandemic (Kim, 2020; Knight, 2017). The recession of 2008 caused massive job loss and sent massive waves through all sectors of the economic world, especially housing. When people are out of work, that means less money is collected in taxes, and as previously established the education budget is heavily reliant on taxes. The 14th amendment guarantees pupils the constitutional right to "a basic, minimum education," according to a ruling made by the 6th US appeals court in April 2020 stating that school conditions played a role in whether schools could function and could make it impossible for students to thrive, after Michigan schools were found to have hazardous conditions such as rodent infestations (Kim). The COVID pandemic, while pointing out flaws in what needed funding, also changed how school funding was allocated. Many return-to-school policies were extremely costly; more intense cleaning standards meant more time being spent cleaning by staff, and smaller class sizes increased the demand for teachers. 

One of the federal government's biggest forays into education in American history is the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.  The NCLB's standards are difficult for schools to achieve, particularly those in urban areas (Brown, 2007). Every year, states are required to implement state examinations in reading, mathematics, and science; these examinations take place across the 3rd to 12th grade levels. Assessments must be in line with the high academic achievement and state content standards (National Center for Education Evaluation, 2008). As defined by Robert C. Knoeppel, Adequacy is “the attempt to link resources to student education and outcomes”, (Knoeppel, 2007). In Virginia, Adequacy and Accreditation go hand in hand, and are determined by factors such as test scores, chronic absenteeism, dropout and graduation rates (Jaquth,2023). When schools lose accreditation, they are forced to close and often reopen under another name. However, not every student is the same, and some require more resources than others; and getting them the resources they need is not always a possibility. This inability to obtain resources depends on a multitude of variables but is mainly dependent on State and Local ability to obtain funds.