States have recognized the impact of high-quality early childhood education (ECE) on a child's later college and career readiness and success in life. Yet disparities in program access, quality, and resource allocation continue to deprive many young children and their families of adequate support. By investigating and applying state boards'…

In partnership with the Educating All Learners Alliance and the Canopy Project, CLE identified and interviewed school leaders who found innovative ways to provide meaningful inclusion for students with disabilities. This brief shares lessons from school leaders committed to ensuring that students with disabilities are meaningfully included and…

This document is the latest Grantmakers for Education's (EdFunders) study of what's now and what's next for education philanthropy. It aims to give insight into the priorities of the education funding community, and to help funders understand their role in supporting education innovation that benefits the nation's learners. The findings in this…

State-level postsecondary policymaking is daunting. Policymakers navigate through myriad fiscal, political, and ideological constraints and opportunities as they strive to address pressing state concerns or goals. While researchers and advocates may point to "perfect" policy models, in reality perfect policy does not exist. All…

From 2016 through 2019, 10 states strengthened their career readiness systems through the New Skills for Youth initiative (NSFY), a $75 million national investment by JPMorgan Chase & Co. to enhance state efforts to increase the number of learners across the country who are prepared for success in both college and career. As part of this…

This policy brief is part of a larger research report, "Making ESSA's Equity Promise Real: State Strategies to Close the Opportunity Gap," that describes how states are using opportunities in ESSA [Every Student Succeeds Act] to better support historically underserved students through the thoughtful selection of specific equity measures…

The growing numbers of English language learners across the country provide an opportunity for state policymakers and education leaders to invest in and reap the benefits of a well-educated, culturally competent workforce. In this article, the authors review state-level ELL funding for the ten states experiencing the highest ELL population growth…

In this brief, the authors aim to equip policymakers and advocates for higher education opportunity and equity with a framework for analyzing and pushing for "equity-driven" free college policy. The purpose is not to challenge the momentum around free college, but to understand how programs can be designed to advance opportunity and…

Discusses the effects of commercial-industrial tax-sharing in New Castle County, Delaware. Implementing the concept of tax sharing could help to equalize educational opportunity between wealthier and poorer school districts. (Author/GC)

In the wake of court decisions in the cases of "Serrano v. Priest,""San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez," and "Robinson v. Cahill," Congress set aside funds as part of Public Law 93-380 for state departments of education to study the equitability of current educational funding arrangements. This…

This report provides data on the academic achievement gap that separates low-income and minority students from other students, examining how well different groups of students perform in Delaware and noting inequities in teacher quality, course offerings, and funding. Included are tables and data that provide: a frontier gap analysis (a comparison…

This report compares Delaware's reading and mathematics performance on the most recent administrations of the state assessment with performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). To indicate how Delaware is doing in narrowing the academic achievement gap between African American, Latino, or low-income students and their…