CURRENT STATUS OF THINGS
8
States With Tax Gap Studies11
19
States With SMR Legislation 2025
40
States With Medicaid Expansion
$16,526
Avg Per-Pupil Spending (FY2023)
36
States With Data Center Tax Breaks
WHAT YOU CAN DO — NOW
CHECK YOUR STATE
Step 1 · Check Your State
Showing all 50 states.
GRADE AND CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR
STEP 2Accountability Tool · 2025–2026 Session
Grade and Contact Your Legislator.
Use this rubric to evaluate any state legislator against the 10 fundOurKids.org priority actions. Generate a shareable grade card to post on social media, send to constituents, or bring to a town hall. Legislators respond to public accountability.
Legislator Information
FundOurKids.org Grade
0 / 100 points · 0 of 10 actions
Find & Contact Them
Legislator directories are maintained by Open States and your state legislature. Select a state to jump straight to its roster.
The 10-Action Grading Rubric
For each action select: Done · Partial / Sponsored · Not Done — score updates live
Education Priority Actions
Actions that directly protect and increase education funding
A1 · Education-First Budget Statute
Has this legislator introduced, co-sponsored, or voted for legislation requiring education to be funded at formula level before any discretionary spending is approved? Does the state have such a law, or is one pending?
A2 · Education Stabilization Fund
Has this legislator supported creating a ring-fenced Education Stabilization Fund requiring a percentage of budget surpluses to flow to education, protecting school funding in downturns?
A3 · School-Level Spending Transparency
Has this legislator required or enforced ESSA school-level spending disclosure in plain, publicly accessible language? Has the state published and promoted per-school spending reports?
Medicaid Efficiency Actions
Actions that reduce waste, fraud, and mismanagement in the largest state budget category
B1 · Expand Medicaid Fraud Control Units
Has this legislator supported increasing MFCU staffing and budget? MFCUs return $4.64 for every $1 invested10. Has the state MFCU budget increased proportionally to Medicaid spending in the past 4 years?
B2 · Real-Time Eligibility Verification Mandate
Has this legislator required quarterly cross-agency Medicaid eligibility verification using IRS, SSA, and DMV data? Has the state implemented automated systems to catch ineligible enrollees before payment?
B3 · Medicaid Savings → Education Transfer
Has this legislator created or supported a mechanism requiring that documented Medicaid savings (from fraud/waste reduction) flow directly to K-12 education funding formulas?
New Revenue Actions
Actions that grow state revenue without raising taxes on working families
C1 · State Tax Gap Study
Has this legislator passed or supported legislation requiring the state to measure and publish its tax gap? Only 8 states have ever done this. Connecticut found $3B annually uncollected11. Every state has one.
C2 · SMR Nuclear Enabling Legislation
Has this legislator filed, supported, or voted for SMR enabling legislation? This includes repealing nuclear moratoriums, allowing utility cost recovery, establishing grant programs, or streamlining permitting for reactors under 300MW.
C3 · Data Center Accountability Reform
Has this legislator introduced or supported legislation to cap data center tax exemptions, require performance conditions (jobs, local spend, education partnerships), mandate public disclosure of recipients and amounts, and add clawback provisions?
Systems Reform Action
Actions that fix structural problems in how government manages public funds
D1 · Correctional Education & Recidivism Reduction
Has this legislator funded vocational training, substance abuse treatment, and evidence-based reentry programs in state prisons? RAND: 43% recidivism reduction, $5 returned per $1 invested9. Every prevented re-incarceration saves $45,000+/year.
Grade Card:
GO TO THE BALLOT
Step 3 · Go To The BallotThe Votes That Fund Schools
The Votes That Fund Schools
Happen When Nobody Is Watching.
You've checked your state. You've graded and contacted your legislator. The last step is the one that decides everything: showing up. State budget committees vote on education formulas in rooms with no cameras, and the legislators who sit on them are elected in primaries that draw single-digit turnout. Subscribe below and we'll tell you when elections are approaching, when important votes are happening, when education legislation needs public pressure, and when it's time to vote.
Sign Up for Election AlertsSources16 references
- 1.NASBO nasbo.org
- 2.educationdata.org educationdata.org
- 3.KFF kff.org
- 4.NCSL ncsl.org
- 5.MultiState multistate.us
- 6.Pew Charitable Trusts pew.org
- 7.GAO (Georgia Medicaid work requirement administrative costs) gao.gov
- 8.JLARC (Virginia).
- 9.RAND Corporation, Evaluating the Effectiveness of Correctional Education (43% recidivism reduction) rand.org
- 10.HHS OIG, Medicaid Fraud Control Units Annual Report FY2025 ($4.64 per $1) oig.hhs.gov
- 11.Pew Charitable Trusts, state tax gap (Connecticut ~$3B; 8 states) pew.org
- 12.Virginia data center exemption ($1.6B, FY2025) goodjobsfirst.org
- 13.Meta Advertising Standards transparency.meta.com
- 14.Meta, Ads about Social Issues, Elections or Politics transparency.meta.com
- 15.James Heckman (return on early education investment) heckmanequation.org
- 16.HHS OIG (Medicaid improper payments, PBM and DME fraud).
