The link between education funding levels and student outcomes is a matter of continuing debate, including in New York State. State education aid in New York follows a progressive formula that targets more aid to lower-income, higher-need school districts, yet these districts continue to dominate lists of the state's lowest performing schools. The…

The Washington State Legislature established the Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math (STEM) Pilot Program in the 2015-2017 capital budget (Chapter 3, Laws of 2015, 3rd Sp. Session, Section 5026) and provided $12,500,000 for this pilot grant program. Grants awarded under this program constitute the districts' local funding for purposes of…

As our world becomes more and more steeped in technology, educating our students in that and related areas becomes crucial. Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education focuses on helping students become the next generation of professionals who will create the new ideas, new products and new industries of the future. Teaching STEM…

Far from providing relief for working families, recent proposals to eliminate school property taxes in Pennsylvania would increase taxes on the middle class while sabotaging the chance to adequately fund Pennsylvania schools for middle- and low-income families. This report provides the first estimates of the impact of property tax elimination…

The National Report Card (NRC) evaluates and compares the extent to which state finance systems ensure equality of educational opportunity for all children, regardless of background, family income, place of residence, or school location. It is designed to provide policymakers, educators, business leaders, parents, and the public at large with…

When the committee last met to discuss the Every Student Succeeds Act, concerns were heard from State and local education leaders that the administration was not implementing the law in a way that respects its letter and intent. Since that time, the Department of Education has released a regulatory proposal--"supplement not supplant"…

Ongoing federal efforts support equalizing access to experienced educators for low-income students and students of color, thereby narrowing the "teacher experience gap." I show that while high-poverty and high-minority schools have larger class sizes and receive less funding nationally, school districts allocate resource equitably, on…

This issue brief demonstrates the racial consequences of inequitable state higher education funding, and recommends steps state and federal policymakers should take to remedy inequities in college funding.

This publication provides governmental and higher education decision-makers a statewide perspective of Arkansas public higher education finance for the 2021-23 biennium, as well as trends for the past several years. It also contains a detailed financial profile of each institution and presents a basis for comparative assessments of revenue sources…

Research is clear that English language learners (ELLs) perform better academically and achieve greater language proficiency when they have high-quality English language instruction.1 Like all supplemental services, these necessary supports require additional funding above the average per-student amount. The federal government provides grant…

In 2013, California moved to drive more resources for students with higher needs, create more spending flexibility and let districts decide how to spend substantial new dollars by adopting a new watershed state finance policy, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). As California's Weighted Student Funding (WSF) law enters Year 5 of…

Through case studies of five states with varying facilities policies, the study presented in "What about the Schools? Factors Contributing to Expanded State Investment in School Facilities" examines the factors contributing to expanded state investment in equitable public school facilities and how those factors can be leveraged to…

Through case studies of five states with varying facilities policies, the study presented in "What about the Schools? Factors Contributing to Expanded State Investment in School Facilities" examines the factors contributing to expanded state investment in equitable public school facilities and how those factors can be leveraged to…

The 2019 Local School Finance Study examines data from the 2016-17 school year. The purpose of this annual study is to isolate local spending from state and federal spending to examine the capacity and actual effort of counties to support public schools. The Local School Finance Study focuses not only on the amount that counties spend on schools,…

Workforce development in the United States today is spread across higher education institutions (primarily public two-year and for-profit colleges), labor market institutions, and workplaces, with public funding from a range of sources. But outcomes for students and workers are weaker than they could be, especially among disadvantaged students and…