Background and Context: U.S. schools rely heavily on property tax revenue. Local funding represents more than 45 percent of district-level revenues in the United States, and 60 percent of local funding comes from property taxes (Evans et al., 2019). This funding structure exacerbates educational inequalities between property-rich and property-poor…

Outdoor preschool education is increasing, particularly in the United States where it has been less common than in some other countries. Proponents claim a variety of benefits from the approach, including that it allows children to explore and play in nature much more than in traditional classrooms. In the context of a pandemic with high rates of…

2022 turned out to be a dynamic year for charter schools, as many state lawmakers recognized the fact parents want more schooling options that fit their children's unique needs. In total, close to 50% of states with charter school laws gained at least one legislative win. Read for more details on how the charter school movement strengthened in the…

After five decades advocating for school finance reform, Education Law Center (ELC) sees the urgent need to deepen understanding of how differing strategies--from litigation to research to grassroots organizing to communicating with the public--can combine to achieve successful school funding reform in the states. In "From Courthouse to…

The most recent data on tuition, appropriations, and state grant aid present an economic outlook that appears favorable in the West. Tuition rates remained relatively flat for the past decade, total state funding to higher education increased across the region in the past year, and state grant aid continued to increase since 2010-11. Despite these…

As part of its Partnership for Pre-K Improvement (PPI) initiative, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored the RAND Corporation to study the cost of high-quality pre-K programming. The RAND study included three states--Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington--that were partnering with the foundation under PPI. The objective of the study was to…

This edition of "WICHE Insights" discusses the most recent results of WICHE's annual survey, "Tuition and Fees in the West," as well as the recent trends in state appropriations and state financial aid. Overall, the most recent data highlights a positive trend in state higher education finance as most states reported minimal…

There is strong evidence that children who attend high-quality pre-kindergarten (pre-K) programs learn skills that benefit them in school and life. The price tag of most private programs puts them out of reach for some families, however. In response, many states and school districts fund pre-K programs to expand opportunities for their youngest…

States and localities throughout the United States are expanding their investments in pre-kindergarten (pre-K) programs. Although spending on publicly funded pre-K programs is well documented, relatively less is known about the true cost to deliver the programs, especially considering varying quality standards and accounting for the resources used…

This Policy Brief begins by reviewing the educational and societal impacts of quality pre-K programs before revealing legislative changes to state pre-K funding in 2017-18. The brief highlights four states and breaks down total pre-K funding for all states, including year-over-year changes.

During the 2023 Legislative Session, the Legislature considered House Bill (HB) 1479, a measure which would have prohibited isolation and further restricted restraint in public schools. While the bill did not pass, the Legislature provided the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) with designated state funds to begin actualizing…

Hold-harmless provisions in state aid formulas are meant to restrict declines in revenues for school districts. They may take several forms, including limits on the changes in state aid from year to year, supplemental funding for districts with declining enrollment, alternatives for calculating the state aid amount, or use of past enrollments in…

This report explains how State Entity (SE) Program grantees are using or proposed to use the technical assistance (TA) set-aside portion of their Charter School Programs (CSP) funds for these activities. This report also describes SE activities to ensure subgrantees are equipped to meet the needs of all students, and specifically students with…

In 2013, the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) proposed as the state goal that 70 percent of the state's 25- to 44-year-olds (i.e., early and mid-career residents) should have a credential beyond high school. WSAC's Strategic Action Plan (SAP) provides a framework to organize the policy and practice innovation needed to achieve this…

Safety Net funding is available to local education agencies (LEAs) that demonstrate a need for special education funding in excess of state and federal funding available to the LEA. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) publishes an annual Safety Net bulletin and application forms. House Bill 2242, Sec. 408 (2017) directed the…