Most Americans today need some education beyond high school to secure a well-paying job, and higher education is a key factor in social and economic mobility. But higher education is not accessible to all students. To further equalize opportunity, states must understand options for improving the way they fund higher education. America's public…

Lawsuits challenging state methods for funding public schools have been launched in 46 of the 50 states, and in recent years they have been extraordinarily successful. Since 1989, plaintiffs have prevailed in over 65 percent of the final liability decisions in cases based on "adequacy claims"--assertions that all students have a…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Keeping the Public in Public Education." Contents include: (1) Texas Must…

The data presented in this combined report provide facts about the extent to which local, state, and national governments commit resources to public education. NEA Research offers this report to its state and local affiliates as well as to researchers, policymakers, and the public as a tool to examine public education policies, programs, and…

The data presented in this combined report--"Rankings & Estimates"--provide facts about the extent to which local, state, and national governments commit resources to public education. As one might expect in a nation as diverse as the United States--with respect to economics, geography, and politics--the level of commitment to…

The data presented in this combined report provide facts about the extent to which local, state, and national governments commit resources to public education. As one might expect in a nation as diverse as the United States--with respect to economics, geography, and politics--the level of commitment to education varies on a state-by-state basis.…

Over the past two decades, public higher education has become widely recognized for its contribution to socio-economic adjustment. This paper probes its evolution in two large and affluent democracies, the United States and Germany, whose higher education systems represent distinct ideal types. The analysis argues that public authorities in both…

Nationally, families of color--particularly African American and American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN)--are over-represented in child welfare systems. These families also tend to have worse outcomes--such as children more likely to be removed from their homes, less likely to receive family preservation services, and in the case of African…

The data presented in this combined report--"Rankings & Estimates"--provide facts about the extent to which local, state, and national governments commit resources to public education. The National Education Association (NEA) Research offers this report to its state and local affiliates as well as to researchers, policymakers, and…

The Center for National University Finance and Management in Japan requested a study that would investigate the specifics of the higher education budgeting process in each of the states. Recognizing the value such a study would have for its members, the national association of State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) created a survey…

In a period of student loan scandals and U.S. financial market instability impacting on the cost and availability of student loans, this paper looks at alternative models of higher education funding. In this context, it also considers the level of financial support that the government should provide to higher education.

The effectiveness with which vocational education programs respond to the objectives set for them will ultimately be determined by the adequacy of vocational education funding. Present systems of vocational education financing (both federal and state) do not generally ensure the adequate funding of vocational education. (LRA)

This paper examines the forces behind political integration through the lens of school district consolidations, which reduced the number of school districts in the United States from around 130,000 in 1930 to under 15,000 at present. Despite this large observed decline, many districts resisted consolidation before ultimately merging and others…

Identifies issues that Congress and the general public will very likely be concerned with in considering future vocational education legislation and discusses issues the American Vocational Association basic state grant study team have identified within the basic state grant program. (LRA)

Even as the United States extends a free public education to all children, it rigs the system against the success of some of the most vulnerable by taking those who arrive at school with the greatest needs and giving them less in school. Low-income and minority students, in particular, get less of what matters most; these students get the fewest…