This Policy Brief provides a detailed look at 529 education savings plans -- investment accounts with tax advantages -- including a breakdown of maximum annual dollar amounts and state tax deductions allowed, state responses to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, information on legislation in 2018 that changes eligible expenses allowed under 529 plans and…

In its four years of life, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has blazed new pathways for policy and funding in K-12 arts education. Many states acted early to take advantage of these federal opportunities to expand students' access to the arts. Through its definitional language, suggested actions, and funding mechanisms, ESSA provides states…

Congress amended and extended the "Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education" ("Perkins IV") in 2018 with passage of the "Strengthening Career and Technical Education Act for the 21st Century" ("Perkins V"); the law became effective on July 1, 2019. "Perkins V" increases federal funding for…

Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) are growing popular among parents of students with disabilities, providing them options to choose how and where to educate their children with financial assistance provided by the state. Almost ten percent of state funding for education is projected to be diverted to private options in 2015. This flexibility…

The federal "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA) has stimulated states to revisit school improvement. Previously, the Center analyzed ESSA and the related consolidated state plans using the lens of how the federal legislation and state plans address barriers to learning and teaching and re-engage disconnected students. Such analyses…

Public education is different than it was 40 years ago when U.S. schools educated only one in five children with disabilities. Many states had laws excluding certain students from attending public schools, including children who were deaf, blind, or had emotional or intellectual disabilities. In 1974, Arizona students with certain disabilities…

This resource was prepared for a Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) State in response to a request for examples of States that support local Early Learning Councils. Local Early Learning Councils are public-private partnerships that work to align and strengthen a comprehensive early childhood system and to coordinate funding coming…

Is the U.S. Supreme Court inviting litigants to take aim at unraveling injunctions in institutional reform litigation--especially consent decrees in the schools? In "Horne v. Flores" (2009), the court remanded a 17-year-old school reform case to a federal judge with orders to look beyond consent decrees on financing, reducing class…

Council for American Private Education (CAPE) is a coalition of national associations serving private schools K-12. "Outlook" is published monthly by CAPE. This issue contains the following articles: (1) House Panel Approves Two ESEA Reauthorization Bills; (2) President Obama Proposes Budget for 2013; (3) Charter Schools Causing Collapse…

The West Comprehensive Center (WCC) is working with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), the Nevada Department of Education (NDE), and the Utah State Office of Education (USOE) to assist districts and schools that are implementing activities to improve outcomes for Indian students. As a first step, WCC staff reviewed state and national law,…

This dissertation presents the findings of a descriptive, survey-based study of special education paraeducators and their self-reported perceptions about the adequacy of their ongoing professional development training in Arizona school districts. The results show that school districts in Arizona are not spending adequate time in preparing special…

Many industries in the United States already have seen positive results and increased productivity from the effective use of technology. With the challenges currently facing the nation's education system--including a persistent dropout rate of nearly 30 percent, slashed state and district budgets, and the economically and socially important goals…

Title VII provides funding for the education of American Indian/Alaska Native students based on a formula grant available to school districts, charter schools, and local education agencies (LEAs). This report explores why some eligible schools and districts do not apply for federal Title VII, potentially resulting in American Indian/Alaska Native…

The National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL), an organization dedicated to redesigning and expanding school time to improve opportunities and outcomes for high poverty students, and the Education Commission of the States (ECS), with a mission to foster both the exchange of ideas on education issues among the states and long range strategic…

This reply addresses concerns raised by Dr. Harmon in "Beyond 'Cain v. Horne.'" In response to the issues she raises, I explain that the appropriate constitutional inquiry is not whether there is some incidental financial benefit to private schools but whether a challenged voucher program was enacted to assist students in obtaining the…