Historically, private education has been an option mostly for families who could afford the cost or received financial help. Years of research have shown that many families would choose private schools and other educational resources for their children if they did not face insurmountable financial or geographical limitations. Private educational…

The purpose of this dissertation is to describe the factors that support and hinder reform of career and technical education in Maine. The single case study design examined the experiences of eleven participants connected to a single Career and Technical Education (CTE) Regional School in Maine. Based upon the lived experiences at a single site,…

Higher education in the United States has seen incredible change over the past year and a half due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Postsecondary institutions have had to become increasingly flexible as they continue to deal with myriad changes including but not limited to: social distancing, mask mandates, virtual and hybrid…

This report was commissioned of the Maine Education Policy Research Institute (MEPRI) by the Maine Legislature's Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs in the spring of 2021. At that time, there were widespread anecdotal reports that students' mental health was suffering after a year of disrupted schooling from the global coronavirus…

School finance reforms are not well defined and are likely more prevalent than the current literature has documented. Using a Bayesian changepoint estimator, we quantitatively identify the years when state education revenues abruptly increased for each state between 1960 and 2008 and then document the state-specific events that gave rise to these…

States have recognized the impact of high-quality early childhood education (ECE) on a child's later college and career readiness and success in life. Yet disparities in program access, quality, and resource allocation continue to deprive many young children and their families of adequate support. By investigating and applying state boards'…

The first of three "bright spot" briefs dives deeper into examples of how states are leveraging ARP funds to improve SEL for all students. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act (2021) provides a $122 billion historic federal investment to help states and districts safely reopen schools while addressing students' academic, social, and…

During a time of historic COVID-related federal investment in child care and early education, states are working to leverage this opportunity to provide significant relief and recovery to providers and families. This fact sheet highlights the actions that select states have implemented to make the most of this critical time and opportunity. As…

This policy memo examines some fundamental shifts, along with their real-world implications, within the past 60 years of Supreme Court jurisprudence, up to and including the current "Carson v. Makin" case. The Supreme Court is just a few small steps away from transforming every charter school law in the U.S. into a private-school voucher…

Can an academic institution be truly free if it relies on government funding? Federal dollars mean federal mandates, and those mandates grow increasingly draconian. More and more, they stifle debate on open questions, demand denial of verifiable scientific truths, eliminate due process for students accused of misdeeds by other students, or insist…

Digital inequity has been a long-standing issue in the education community. A lack of home internet and technology devices can not only hinder students' ability to access educational resources at home, but can also have a detrimental effect on student achievement. Education agencies have taken steps over the past decades to address digital…

In late 2020, Maine community colleges participated in a national study of community college workforce education. Maine was one of 14 states where education authorities volunteered to encourage colleges to respond early enough in 2020 to receive preliminary statewide results in January 2021. This brief compares Maine to the 14 states in this…

This study examined student access to school counselors and the link between school counselor-to-student (SC-S) ratios and student outcomes in six states in the United States. Access to school counselors was often greater for White students, but less for Asian students, English learners, or those in larger schools. In the two states with the…

Test-score data show that both low-income and racial-minority children score lower, on average, on states' elementary-school accountability tests compared with higher-income children or white children. This report explores the relationship between racial and socioeconomic test-score gaps in New England metropolitan areas and two factors associated…