Most district officials interviewed expressed satisfaction with the simplified application procedures and increased district discretion offered by the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act. Perceived negative aspects included the amount of funding and possibility of a decrease, the potential neglect of research, the loss of federal…

The senator explains the basic concepts of New Federalism, including a rethinking of responsibilities and intergovernmental relations and a reconsideration of the role of state and local government. (SK)

Federal block grants, in contrast to categorical programs and revenue sharing, allow states and localities considerable flexibility in meeting needs within broad functional areas; but, they are also designed to assure that funds are spent to pursue national objectives. Before 1981, block grants included varying levels of recipient accountability…

Defines the block grant concept and outlines the consequences of the financial freedom offered by block grants from both microeconomic and macroeconomic perspectives. Considers effects on institutional autonomy and economic efficiency. Recommends combining marginal cost pricing with formula-matching block grants to support decentralized education.…

Defines block grants and describes their relationship to categorical aid programs. Discusses potential pros and cons of block grants for states and for local school districts, including intense competition for funds, and specifies strategic steps that school boards might take at the local, state, and federal levels. (CJM)

The impact of and justification for using federal grants to carry out national policies in education is explored in this document. The paper opens by noting that the locally-made decisions typical of our federal system of government do not always take into account such national interests as those in increasing equality of opportunity, providing…

Federal aid programs in education and other areas first appeared as categorical grants, permitting resources to be concentrated on specific policy areas and allowing accountability on the part of grantees to be demanded. During recent years block grants and general purpose grants, permitting greater local control, have grown more popular, partly…

Develops an input-output model, with related multipliers, showing how changes in earmarked and discretionary educational funds (whether local, state, or federal) affect all of a state's districts and educational programs. Illustrates the model with Pennsylvania data and relates it to the usual educational finance approach, which uses demand…

The 104th Congress seems intent on reforming the financing of federal programs and, in the process, devolving more authority for the design and delivery of supports and services to states and communities. This paper reviews the experience and lessons from the Reagan block grants of the 1980s, highlighting the similarities and differences between…

This series of articles discusses categorical grants, defined as financial assistance by a higher level of government to a lower level for educational services of a specific type or for a particular group of students. In the first article, criticism of such programs is discussed, as well as alternative approaches to better meet the goals of…

The need for a new approach to federal support of education by reducing the number of narrow categorical aid programs is developed through a case study of the 1976 Ford Administration proposal for a consolidated block grant of 24 separate authorities. The merits of block grant funding are examined both in terms of the administration-sponsored bill…

Part I of a two-part series examines various approaches currently used by states to provide aid to local school districts, including flat grants, foundation grants, matching systems, the multitier approach, categorical aid, transportation aid, and capital outlay/debt service support systems. Related issues and special features are then discussed.…

This assessment of the effectiveness of federal service mandates in addressing equal education goals considers the effects and policy implications of existing and theoretical mandate types. The service mandate is a legal requirement (not contingent upon federal financial aid) that states or districts provide educational services satisfying federal…

Empirical literature on the effects of intergovernmental grants on educational spending is reviewed in this document, which examines 40 published works covering the last two decades. Intergovernmental grants include both state grants to local governments and federal grants to state and local governments. The review's first section summarizes…

Discusses the significance of the shift in federal educational policies marked by the adoption of the block grant approach to federal aid in Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act. Reviews several general findings of case studies of the first year of Chapter 2 grant implementation. (PGD)