This brief argues that charter school programs can have direct fiscal impacts on school districts for two reasons. First, operating two systems of public schools under separate governance arrangements can create excess costs. Second, charter school financing policies can distribute resources to or away from districts. Using the city school…

Should charter schools be required to enroll students labeled special needs at the same rate as local school districts, that is, educate their "fair share"? Or is it reasonable for a charter school to counsel special education students to go elsewhere, if another school would be a better fit? If "fair share" requirements are…

Recalling the myth of Sisyphus repeatedly pushing the same boulder up a mountain in his new book, author and educator Frederick M. Hess explains how the K12 education leadership is faltering, and how it can rise above. "Cage-Busting Leadership" (Harvard Education Press, February 2013) is a new book and consequently, a small, growing…

When John B. Simpson, president of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, compares the campus over which he presides to its public-university peers, the contrast can be unflattering. Buildings and laboratories need upgrading. Richer, more prestigious institutions have a leg up in attracting renowned scholars and big-ticket federal…

With colleges and universities struggling to minimize the effects of the troubled economy, it certainly isn't an easy time to be a CIO. This article presents an interview with a panel of higher education IT leaders about best practices for steering IT through economic crisis. Panelists included Jan Biros, associate VP for instructional technology…

Ullysses Tucker likes a good challenge. After spending the first 20 years of his career working in media, he entered the development profession in 2000. He worked for the State University of New York Plattsburgh, New Jersey's Montclair State University, Louisiana's Grambling State University, and Western Illinois University before joining London…

Research in education finance and policy has flourished over the past twenty years as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and a wide range of school reform efforts spurred demand for scientific evidence identifying "what works." Research funding has been generous, buoyed by both favorable economic conditions and the sense that research will…

The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) leads a Mission Growth Working Group, which consists of states that are significantly impacted by the growth of military bases. The group includes state representatives appointed by the governors of Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana,…

This book argues that schools were a driving force in the formation of social, political, and financial capital during the market revolution and capitalist transition of the early republican era. Grounded in an intensive study of schooling in the Genesee Valley region of upstate New York, it traces early sources of funding and support for…

The investigation of New York State's attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, into the questionable practices of lenders in federal student-loan programs has helped raise public awareness of one of the greatest scams in our government: The Federal Family Education Loan program, otherwise known as the guaranteed-student-loan program, is unnecessarily…

Discusses how advocacy groups use standards movement to obtain more school spending from state legislatures through the courts. Describes New York and North Carolina cases wherein plaintiffs used states' standards and performance expectations as evidence of the states' failure to provide an adequate education for all students, especially poor and…

The focus on raising standards reflects a national trend in which New York State is considered a leader. The new requirements adopted by the State Board of Regents have generally been supported by business leaders and all major educational policy advocacy groups. There are positive signs that achievement is improving, but there is a performance…

Defines and discusses the operating chargeback, using the public community colleges of the State University of New York as an empirical base. Highlights nonresident students' impact on chargeback revenue and variability in chargeback rates because of differences in college costs. Describes two alternative policy options to existing charges. (DMM)

New York State provides aid to local schools in a way that is unfair to the neediest school districts with high educational needs or low property wealth. Proposed in this policy brief is a new formula for state aid based on a comprehensive educational cost index and a school performance index that reflects an average passing rate on the new…

This paper examines the complex web of state basic and categorical aid programs in New York, with particular attention to the components of basic aid. State aid to elementary-secondary education in New York is distributed through a four-point basic-aid program and over 30 categorical programs. The first part of the paper describes the components…