This paper explores educational financial flexibility with a focus on the specific issues surrounding local flexibility in North Carolina school districts. Strategies that states have used to increase local financial flexibility include waivers, reduction of budget categories, block grants, and school-based budgeting. The North Carolina system of…

The Chapter 2 program, originally authorized as Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 and reauthorized as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1988), represents a substantial investment of Federal education funds to support general educational improvement. Funds are made available to states and local…

This field network study is an account of how three essential features of Reagan federalism affected South Dakota government and programs from 1981-1983: (1) tightening eligibility requirements for entitlement programs to reduce costs; (2) combining 57 categorical grants into 9 block grants, which broadened program goals to permit wider state…

Research based on followup interviews with some "key actors" at the federal level about the most significant recent events in education identified five topics: the cutbacks in federal education spending, the deregulation and decentralization embodied in provisions of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA), proposed and de…

The responsibilities and prerogatives of state departments of education regarding the allocation of federal funds authorized under provisions of the draft version of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 are clarified in this report, and the resulting policy options available to state education agencies are examined. The law…

The consolidation of 42 federal education programs into block grants, under the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981, will have varied effects that might help or hurt rural or small schools. Legislatures and district superintendents are presently unsure what to do with the block grants, since they are used to more specific federal…

Summarizing findings of a study on the distribution of Federal, State, and local funds for vocational education, examines the case for deregulating vocational education. Reviews recent efforts to direct Federal funds to local education agencies with particular characteristics, and reviews efforts to control how Federal funds are spent. (Author/GC)

The extent to which state allocation formulas under the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act Chapter Two bloc grant promotes traditional equity or redistribution objectives is examined. Factors associated with the variation among states in the redistributive nature of their Chapter Two formulas are explained. (SLD)

Explains how state and federal court decisions dealing with educational equity and adequacy have increased state involvement in school finance. Describes five state education system models: Single system, single system with capacity for charters, district operating system with multiple state categorical aid programs, district operating system with…

Findings of a study that examined patterns of minority employment among elementary and secondary teachers in public and Catholic schools in six San Francisco Bay area counties are presented in this paper. Using an open systems model of service delivery, the study assessed the ability of the model to explain variation in minority teacher employment…

This document reports the results of the National Study of Local Operations under Chapter 2 of the Educational Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981. The 2-year study sought to (1) describe local district activities and operations under Chapter 2, the first federal education block grant, in the program's third year, noting changes occurring…

This report, one of a series, analyzes states' decisions on how to use block grant funds. Under block grants, states obtained greater decision-making authority to set program priorities and determine the use of funds than they had under the prior categorical programs. At the same time, federal appropriations to states under block grants were…

Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act places responsibility for the design and implementation of programs using Chapter 2 funds in the hands of local education agencies, and it assigns responsibility for administering the regulations to state education agencies. No formal mechanism exists, however, for coordinating the…

This report discusses the impact on elementary and secondary education in New York State and New York City of: (1) a New York Court of Appeals decision to grant State Legislature control over Federal funds received by the State; and (2) passage of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act providing block education grants to States. The report provides…

Investigates the effect of state and federal grants on South Carolina local revenues for 1978 and 1982. Although local revenues are stimulated by federal aid, some of the latter is used for tax relief. (MLF)