Vermont's Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1997, Act 60, was designed to rectify educational inequities cited in the State Supreme Court ruling that the state's foundation formula was unconstitutional. This study examines the degree to which Act 60 has improved inequitable conditions in the three main areas cited in the court decision.…

This document contains a summary of the recommendations made in 1972 and 1973 by the Commission to the Illinois Legislature. Areas covered in the proposed educational legislation and in the recommendations include the common school fund, adult education, the gifted program, special education, the bilingual program, urban education, pupil…

After tracing the historical development of the Maine system of school finance, the document describes the major provisions of a 1973 legislative act that equalizes the financial support of school units. Under the act, 60 percent of the cost of public school programs will come from State tax sources and 40 percent will come from a uniform property…

Discusses the possible effects of federal income tax credits on the financial structure of Catholic schools. (Author/RK)

This publication presents model state educational legislation prepared by the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR) for consideration by individual state legislatures. The ACIR is concerned with improving relationships between federal, state, and local governments; the ACIR legislative program places considerable emphasis on…

This report presents a history of the primary objectives, events, personalities, and consequences of the School Finance Study in Rhode Island. The study committee was commissioned with the task of developing a school finance plan that would provide equal educational opportunities to all pupils with similar characteristics and needs, achieve fiscal…

This report is designed to help the average school district voter, the new school board member, the PTA participant, and the civic organization member understand the operation of State aid distribution to the school districts of New York State. The publication provides a simplified version of the Educational Finance Task Force Proposal that was…

The Federal Government has a responsibility to help States and localities meet specific education needs that involve the national interest. It has a companion responsibility to provide such assistance with as much equity, simplicity, and stability as possible. For greater equity in the distribution of Federal funds, Congress should reform the…

This report provides a general overview of those State constitutional provisions and some of the related statutes and case law that must be considered in designing school finance legislation and in understanding the issues being raised in school finance litigation in State courts throughout the country. While the publication was designed primarily…

The need for reform in school financing is crucial and urgent. The regressive and anachronistic practice of financing schools through local property taxes perpetuates inequities detrimental to students and unfair to parents and taxpayers. Although it is the students in the inner cities that require special, more costly educational approaches,…

The advantages of a voucher system for California's schools are discussed. Desirable consequences of such a system include: (1) equalization of state financial support; (2) financing of religious schools; and (3) parents' ability to choose the school their children will attend. (CJ)

Formed by the Connecticut legislature to monitor the state's educational aid plan, the Educational Equity Study Committee in this report joins with the state Board of Education in recommending amendments to Connecticut's 1979 school finance reform law, involving changes in the state's Minimum Expenditure Requirement (MER) plan and Guaranteed Tax…

This paper reports that most of the States have appropriated more dollars to support local education than would be required to cover inflationary increases. According to the author, the new money is being channeled into equalization and foundation programs, and States are starting to experiment with "district power equalization." In its simple…

Testimony recorded in these hearings was presented by David Selden, President, American Federation of Teachers; Dr. Oliver Oldman, Professor of Law and Director of International Tax Programs, Harvard Law School; Allen Manvel, consultant on Government Finance and Statistics, Washington, D.C.; Ralph Nader, Public Interest Research Group, Washington,…

This study focuses on the political feasibility of some of the alternatives open to States for raising educational revenue and allocating funds to local school districts. Eight states -- California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Oregon -- were chosen for study, to represent a range in (1) the level of State…