Chapter 2 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) of 1981 consolidated 29 federally funded categorical programs into an education block grant available to all state education agencies and, through them, to school districts. Chapter 2's legislative purpose was to transfer authority and responsibility to state and local education…

State education agencies are allowed to retain up to 20 percent of the funds they receive from the federal government through the block grant provisions of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act. A review by the General Accounting Office (GAO) of the United States of the uses to which these retained funds were put in California and…

Categorical education programs provide state funding to schools and local education agencies for the purchase of specific types of local services, such as transportation, subsidized meals, and supplemental instruction. California has at least 57 separate categorical programs. This document provides an overview of California's experience with…

The effects of Chapter 2 block grants on fund distribution, programs, and school district spending, and the role played in Chapter 2 implementation by parents and citizens were investigated. Interim findings include the following: (1) there has been a massive redistribution of Federal funds away from States serving large numbers of poor nonwhite…