This study investigates how individual states raise revenue to pay for elementary-secondary education spending following school finance reforms (SFRs). We identify states that increased and sustained education expenditures after reform, search for legislative statutes that appropriated more education spending, and assess how policymakers funded…

With state legislatures across the nation decreasing funding in higher education, many higher education administrators are seeking new and creative ways to increase funding and decrease waste in colleges and universities. Since the Great Recession, very little research has been conducted toward the Alabama Legislature and its important link to…

Since the 1970s, American governors have become increasingly active in education politics. Where they once told state education chiefs to "make me the best education governor ever," they now demand control of state boards of education, push for state control of school funding, and urge statewide standards for teacher evaluation. This…

The new class of governors, state legislators, and chief state school officers elected last week will face formidable challenges in dealing with the squeeze the nation's sagging economy--and ballooning state budget deficits--is putting on K-12 education. In the November 4 elections, Democrats added one more governor's office--in Missouri--to their…

Adult and Organizational Learning and Policy Development in Environments of Gray The purpose of this study was to describe, analyze and provide an understanding of the values that influence state legislators' decision-making as it relates to appropriations, tuition and fees, and financial aid for public postsecondary education in Idaho. The study…

The 2008 state legislative season launches this month under a fiscal cloud in a number of states, where ambitious education initiatives--including expanded pre-K programs, college- or career-preparation efforts, and improved teacher pay--may end up being balanced against gloomy revenue projections. A revenue slowdown--foreshadowed last month in…

Performance funding in higher education ties state funding directly to institutional performance on specific indicators, such as rates of retention, graduation, and job placement. One of the great puzzles about performance funding is that it has been both popular and unstable. Between 1979 and 2007, 26 states enacted it, but 14 of those states…

This review of literature identifies the primary writings and research related to how higher education institutions operate government relations offices. These offices are defined by their mission and role of interfacing between institutional needs and officers and public officials. The review first reports the literature related to public…

As most state governments were beginning their fiscal years on July 1, it looked like another tight year for state spending in many regions--and, by implication, also for appropriations for higher education institutions and state student assistance programs. The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) spring report…

Higher education must tell legislatures how the state should raise the money the colleges want to spend--even if it means higher taxes--and then lobby on behalf of those proposals. This also means addressing new and potentially controversial issues about the role of colleges in state politics. (MLW)

The governor of Texas discusses the adoption of the Texas Educational Opportunity Act in 1984 and its effects on the state. Also discussed is the declining role of the federal government in funding of education and how the states have absorbed massive cuts in funding in critical areas of education. (MD)

A study examining factors influencing decisions state legislators make about school finance focuses on votes in Michigan, Missouri, and Washington. Each of these states passed major school finance reform legislation during the 1970's and used open legislative procedures in which individual legislators were free to vote their consciences.…

Five papers are presented from a legislative seminar on budgeting for higher education and the legislative oversight process. In "Budgeting: A University Perspective," Jack K. Williams addresses the preparation of an institutional budget, what legislators should know about budgets, plans for no-growth or retrenchment, and the importance…

The legislative process in the U. S. Congress is considered, and personal perspectives on federal/state roles in postsecondary education are offered. Members of the House Committee on Education and Labor are identified, and information is provided about the eight subcommittees. The comparable authorizing committee in the Senate is the Labor and…

To provide a forum for discussing mutual concerns shared by legislators and educators and more specifically to promote a better understanding and clearer communications between the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and state legislators was the purpose of the 1975 Legislative Work Conference attended by 180 western…