Today's challenges for special education funding are rooted in a complex regulatory and policy environment that reflects little forethought about who can and will pay special education costs. Despite the fact that states and school districts are legally required to ensure a free and appropriate public education to students with disabilities, the…

For children, the earliest years are critical for healthy brain development and lay the groundwork for future educational achievement, economic productivity, and lifelong health. Equitable access to affordable, high-quality, and culturally responsive child care and early learning opportunities can be life changing, shaping the trajectories of the…

Over the past two decades, public higher education has become widely recognized for its contribution to socio-economic adjustment. This paper probes its evolution in two large and affluent democracies, the United States and Germany, whose higher education systems represent distinct ideal types. The analysis argues that public authorities in both…

Nationally, families of color--particularly African American and American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN)--are over-represented in child welfare systems. These families also tend to have worse outcomes--such as children more likely to be removed from their homes, less likely to receive family preservation services, and in the case of African…

The findings summarized in this report are intended to shed light on what it means to cultivate demand for the arts, why it is necessary and important to cultivate this demand, and what state arts agencies (SAAs) and other arts and education policymakers can do to help. The research considered only the benchmark arts central to public policy:…

Investigated by this study were effects--at state, county, and family levels--of federal cuts and changes on day care services in New York State, focusing on areas outside New York City. At the state level, the study examined policies shaping delivery of day care services to the poor and state systems for tracking changes in funding and children…

At present most private colleges are pricing themselves out of the market, and are asking for public aid to survive as the independent sector of higher education. Private higher education should be seen as important to the United States for educational reasons rather than for reasons of preserving institutions. The educational reasons should be…

Student costs in most institutions are not determined by any simple economic model or desire to charge as much as possible; they are the product of a variety of state policy decisions. State governments should become more forceful in controlling future increases, especially for noninstructional services. (MSE)

Conducted exploratory multiple regression analysis, revealing that predictors of state teenage birthrates were state poverty rates, low school completion rates, low state per capita expenditures for public welfare, and high unemployment rates. States that spent less for education and public welfare had higher teenage birthrates. (Author/NB)

This serial issue summarizes findings from a survey of 20 state mental retardation and developmental disabilities agencies and 93 community based providers on developing and financing community services. The survey queried respondents concerning: (1) which models or strategies for financing community services have been most effective; (2) what…

This book consists of 15 chapters on understanding and helping the homeless. The first seven chapters present the "new" homeless in historical context and describe this population and its situation. The remaining eight chapters discuss policy and program options of the government and other organizations in attempting to alleviate the problems of…

Tuition policy is interrelated with many issues addressed by state higher education executive officers (SHEEOs), including quality, access, choice, and funding. The central policy issue is how to set tuition levels in amounts and in a manner that support the state's substantive higher education policies, explicit or implicit. Tuition and financial…

Information about current policy issues and relationships Between state governments and higher education is presented, with focus on the conceptual issue of accountability and autonomy. The relationship between state governments and colleges is continually evolving. Four sections cover the following: (1) leadership in higher education (the…

Presented are the results of the sixth annual tabular survey of programs in operation or approved for state support of private higher education in the 50 states. As a result of the growth of such programs in the six survey years, the Education Commission of the States (ECS) formed a task force to look carefully at the issue of public support for…

Justice, Economic Dignity and Independence for Women (JEDI for Women) is an activist organization made up of low-income women and their allies that addresses public policy issues which impact low-income women and their families. The organization surveyed child care providers to better understand the issues of low-income parents making the…