Figure 2. Current expenditures per pupil in public elementary and secondary schools, by function: School years 2010–11 through 2020–21
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[In constant 2022–23 dollars]
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1 The support services expenditures function is divided into seven subfunctions: student support services, instructional staff support, general administration, school administration, operations and maintenance, student transportation, and other support services. Student support services include expenditures for guidance, health, attendance, and speech pathology services. Instructional staff support includes expenditures for curriculum development, staff training, libraries, and media and computer centers. Other support services include business support services concerned with paying, transporting, exchanging, and maintaining goods and services for local education agencies; central support services, including planning, research, evaluation, information, staff, and data processing services; and other support services.

2 Consists of the subfunctions food services and enterprise operations. Enterprise operations include expenditures for operations funded by sales of products or services (e.g., school bookstore or computer time).

NOTE: Data in this figure represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Per pupil expenditures are calculated with fall enrollment. Expenditures are reported in constant 2022–23 dollars, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). In 2018–19, 2019–20, and 2020–21, excludes prekindergarten expenditures and prekindergarten enrollment for California. In 2019–20 and 2020–21, includes expenditures paid from funds authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act of 2021, and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) of 2021. Excludes expenditures for state education agencies and “other current expenditures,” such as community services, private school programs, adult education, and other programs not allocable to expenditures per pupil in public schools. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding in the data labels. Figures are plotted based on unrounded data. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), “National Public Education Financial Survey,” 2010–11 through 2020–21. See Digest of Education Statistics 2018, table 236.60, Digest of Education Statistics 2019, table 236.60, and Digest of Education Statistics 2023, table 236.60.