Many important issues are being debated including but not limited to student debt reduction, a national policy for K-14 that may include free community college education, and the creation of new federal funding policies in the form of federal matching or maintenance of effort policies that hold state legislatures more accountable for maintaining…

Several states have invested in 1915(c) Home and Community Based Service (HCBS) Medicaid policies to improve outcomes and reduce costs for children and youth with significant behavioral health needs, or Severe Emotional Disturbance (SED). However, little is known about these programs and the children they serve. Through a retrospective…

As a result of patchwork policies, early childhood education (ECE) providers combine funding from multiple sources, known as blended funding. However, little is known about the consequences of blended funding for policy goals. We use national ECE provider data to identify the prevalence of blended funding models, and detailed state quality rating…

States are coordinating with two-year institutions on workforce programming for unemployed or underemployed residents. Reskilling residents is especially vital for states that endured historic unemployment rates as a result of COVID-19-related layoffs. Nationally, the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) is making…

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by Congress in 2020 included significant aid to state education systems. These included direct aid to K-12 districts and higher education institutions, and funds to be used at the discretion of Governors through the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER). We examine…

After two centuries of public higher education in the United States, the covenant between public colleges and universities and the public that created and funded them is under strain. In a time of scarce resources and changing policy in many corners of the country and around the globe, privatization has emerged as a possible replacement for the…

Purpose: Charter schools are unique public schools in part because this type of school can close if it fails to meet objectives set forth by the chartering body that approved it. Thus far, however, little research has been conducted into the causes of charter school closures. In this article, we examine charter school accountability. Research…

The nearly $54-billion that Congress is directing to the states for education as part of the stimulus bill President Obama signed last week may stave off the worst budget cuts proposed for public colleges. But the money is unlikely to save institutions from the state budget ax entirely. And some states slated to get the most aid from that pot of…

Congress has recently focused on the complex relationship between federal student aid, states' funding appropriations for higher education, and institutional tuition and fee levels. Fueling this focus is the ongoing cost shit in public higher education, from states to students and families, as well as to the federal government via student aid…

Describes opportunities and challenges for states presented by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. Discusses the plan to pay incentives to states and the possibility for greater flexibility in the state welfare program. Predicts increases in expectations for effectiveness and efficiency in child support enforcement…

When Congress killed the immigration bill recently, the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act was one casualty as a component of that bill. The DREAM Act is needed to allow the 65,000 American-raised, but undocumented students that graduate from high school each year to apply for conditional residence status. These…

Short-term problems caused by California's Proposition 13 are: maintenance of effort; federal supplemental funding; use of federal funds for excess costs; and matching and full service. Long-term implications include: rescuing the states; maintaining traditional federal policies; improving or revising federal aid; and encouraging improved state…

Provides an overview of some of the key provisions in the Individual with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 and its accompanying regulations. Discusses changes in provisions affecting student placement in the least restrictive environment, the Individualized Education Program including transitional services, funding, reevaluations, and…

In Mark Greenberg's view, a national child care strategy should pursue four goals. Every parent who needs child care to get or keep work should be able to afford care without having to leave children in unhealthy or dangerous environments; all families should be able to place their children in settings that foster education and healthy…

This article reports on a federal legislation that may chart a new course for states considering whether to grant in-state tuition to undocumented immigrant students. Experts say college attendance by undocumented students would be much higher if they did not have the added burden of financing public education at out-of-state or foreign student…