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'…

During a time of historic COVID-related federal investment in child care and early education, states are working to leverage this opportunity to provide significant relief and recovery to providers and families. This fact sheet highlights the actions that select states have implemented to make the most of this critical time and opportunity. As…

Digital inequity has been a long-standing issue in the education community. A lack of home internet and technology devices can not only hinder students' ability to access educational resources at home, but can also have a detrimental effect on student achievement. Education agencies have taken steps over the past decades to address digital…

As a response to the 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) federal statute, Maine enacted a rule requiring all schools to provide additional support to students who are not on track for meeting state learning standards beginning in 2012. One intent of the requirement was to improve student achievement, and another was to reduce…

The Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA) provided states with newfound flexibility on accountability measures and school improvement strategies. Many policy experts have analyzed states' ESSA plans, which explain how states use their federal funds under various provisions of the new law, as well as the approaches states take to identify and rate…

Many reports on rural education give little attention to digital learning. At most, they tend to note either infrastructure needs or the potential of remote course access, with little focus on instruction, outcomes, or exemplars. This report intends to begin correcting that imbalance by connecting the dots between rural regions, rural education,…

Test-score data show that both low-income and racial-minority children score lower, on average, on states' elementary-school accountability tests compared with higher-income children or white children. This report explores the relationship between racial and socioeconomic test-score gaps in New England metropolitan areas and two factors associated…

This speech incorporates a major policy statement regarding school subsidies in Maine. The author discusses equality of educational opportunity; and he comments on the property tax, wealth-connected inequities, and class action suits. The speech focuses on a discussion of the Maine subsidy law and its effects; as well as the Maine property, sales,…

The purposes of this report are (1) to document the present inequalities in public school spending and local tax burdens and to identify the principal reasons for existing disparities; and (2) to review and evaluate proposals for reform of the currently inadequate public school finance systems. Previous studies, current State and Federal aid…

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…

This study evaluated equal educational opportunities available to Maine's language minority students, using information from four 1997 fact-finding meetings that included representatives from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, local school superintendents, English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers and professionals,…

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 Maine and noting inequities in teacher quality, course offerings, and funding. Included are tables and data that provide: a frontier gap analysis (a comparison of…

This analysis incorporates data measuring progress toward three goals of Maine finance reform programs of the 1970s and concludes that, while substantial property tax relief was provided, movement toward taxpayer equity was limited, and equality of opportunity was not served as evidenced by the disparity in expenditures per student. (MJL)

This report compares Maine'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 Maine is doing in narrowing the academic achievement gap between poor and non-poor students, the report presents NAEP data by family…