This "Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) Plan Guidance" provides instructions for designing, operating, and reporting on all State nutrition education and obesity prevention grant program operations. It describes the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)…

Equitable school funding is key to achieving overall educational fairness. Successful state education finance reform advocates must address the causes of funding inequity and create solutions that consider the effects of changes from different perspectives. "Designing Change: A Toolkit for State Education Finance Reform" gives advocates…

Many library directors and Associate University Librarians (AUL) are looking for support in diversifying library collections. Ithaka S+R developed this guide to contribute to the efforts emerging in response to this need. The guide presents a series of takeaways, exercises, and examples that those in leadership positions in academic libraries,…

This guidance is intended to clarify that the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) in 45 C.F.R. Part 1302 Subpart C--Education and Child Development Program Services are required for preschool programs supported with funds under Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA); and provide…

In order to expand high quality public preschool, a 3-step approach to ensuring adequate funding is needed. First, design a program to meet a state's goals and then determine the cost of that program. Second, designate how the resources to pay for that cost will be obtained. Third, specify how the funds will be distributed to local entities. The…

The Maryland State Board of Education and Maryland State Department of Education are developing a multiyear Strategic Plan that will be released in three phases leading up to June 2023. The Strategic Plan will anchor the vision, mission, values, priorities, enablers, goals, and flagship programs, initiatives, and strategies to realize the…

Because of the pandemic, many states will likely need to determine how they can best address shrinking revenues with the least harm to students, even as the needs of students have increased and the crisis has exposed gaping disparities. ExcelinEd, in partnership with a diverse group of organizations--the Aspen Institute, the District Management…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires that state education agencies (SEAs) conduct periodic resource allocation reviews (RARs) in districts that serve low-performing schools. The mandate represents a new opportunity for states and districts to examine the connection between resource allocation and academic outcomes, but the language of…

The Maryland State Board of Education and Maryland State Department of Education are developing a multiyear Strategic Plan that will be released in three phases leading up to June 2023. The Strategic Plan will anchor the vision, mission, values, priorities, enablers, goals, and flagship programs, initiatives, and strategies to realize the…

This policy guide, created in partnership with the College in High School Alliance, Everyone Graduates Center, Linked Learning Alliance, and National College Attainment Network, encourages state and district leaders to use federal coronavirus relief funds to improve college access and success, especially for students who are historically…

The number of students experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts has grown substantially over the last few years. More than 31,000 Massachusetts students experienced homelessness during the 2023-2024 school year, a 20 percent increase from the previous year. We know homelessness puts an immense strain on child development and that experiencing…

State education agencies (SEAs) are working to deliver equitable education opportunities to every student, and that can require a hard look at how the agency is managing capacity, coherence, and equity in pursuit of this work. To build capacity, SEAs are taking stock not only of how they are allocating existing resources but also examining how…

Nearly 70 years after one of the most important U.S. Supreme Court rulings was handed down in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) declaring segregated schools unconstitutional, the promise of desegregation has remained unfulfilled. However, there are still actions that can be taken to address the extant disparities in schools that exist in large…

Student-Based Budgeting (SBB)--also called weighted student funding, fair student funding, student-based allocations, or student-centered funding--is a school funding system where schools receive dollars based on the number of enrolled students and their individual needs (such as English language learners, or students from high-poverty…

This Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) Plan Guidance provides instructions to SNAP-Ed State and implementing agencies for developing and submitting State nutrition education and obesity prevention grant program plans, commonly referred to as State SNAP-Ed Plans, and preparing and submitting the…