The U.S. Department of Education (ED) funds and administers education programs for a variety of purposes and recognizes and rewards excellence and improvement by students, schools, and communities. As publicly funded schools, charter schools are eligible to apply for federal formula grants as well as discretionary grants administered by various ED…

Charter schools' autonomy and flexibility provides them with the opportunity to find ways to close the performance gap between students with and without disabilities, but deep-seated, systemic challenges often cause individual charters to struggle to do so on their own. For cities with an established charter sector, a city-wide, collaborative…

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) funds and administers education programs for a variety of purposes and recognizes and rewards excellence and improvement by students, schools, and communities. As publicly funded schools, charter schools are eligible to apply for federal formula grants as well as discretionary grants administered by various ED…

Creating smart, coherent education policy is painstaking work; there are technical, budgetary, and political challenges at almost every turn. But it is some of the most important work that state leaders can undertake. As Ohioans prepared to elect a new governor in late 2018, we at the Fordham Institute began rolling out a set of policy proposals…

The "Annual Joint Report on Pre-Kindergarten through Higher Education in Tennessee" complies with the requirements established in T.C.A. § 49-1-302(a)(10). State law directs the State Board of Education (SBE) and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) to provide an annual report to the Governor, the General Assembly, all public…

In compliance with the provisions of A.C.A.§§6-20-2201 et seq., the Annual Statistical Report of the Public Schools of Arkansas, Public Charter Schools, and Education Service Cooperatives, 2013-2014 Actual and 2014-2015 Budgeted, (ASR) is presented here. The Rankings of Selected Items of the Public Schools of Arkansas, 2013-2014 Actual, (Rankings)…

The "Annual Joint Report of Pre-Kindergarten through Higher Education in Tennessee" complies with the requirements established in T.C.A. §49-1-302(a)(10). State law directs the State Board of Education (SBE) and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) to provide an annual report to the Governor and General Assembly, all public…

This essay traces the roots of the equity approach to school choice to the work of Coons & Sugarman, which began as an outgrowth of their involvement with the landmark California school finance case, "Serrano v. Priest" (1971). Comparing the equity approach to the market model espoused by Milton Friedman, the author argues that the former is…

Surprisingly little is known about the financial management practices of charter schools. The literature offer policymakers only anecdotal answers to the following important questions: Who manages charter school finances and what educational and previous employment experiences do they bring to their positions? What do audited financial statements…

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorized the Secretary of Education to establish a $650 million Innovation Fund to expand the work of schools that have made gains in closing achievement gaps. With growing discussion and considerable money heading in the direction of innovation, Grover "Russ" Whitehurst provides recommendations…

Many education reporters are drawn to the beat because of its complexity and rich variety. Few topics provide such a wealth of political, business, human interest, breaking news, feature, and investigative stories. A reporter's day can start in a classroom with 4-year-olds struggling to learn to read, and end at a school board meeting with…