The Educational Priorities Panel undertook a study to find out how funds are distributed among community school districts in New York (New York) and how resources are distributed to individual schools within the system. For the first time, in 1992, the New York City Board of Education published detailed budgets for the 32 community school…

A recent court case, Sheff vs. O'Neill has centered Connecticut's attention on the fact that its public schools are largely segregated by race/ethnicity (80% of the state's minority student population are clustered in 18 of 166 school districts while 140 others are more than 90% white). This paper discusses financing the cost of higher standards…

A literature review examines research and reports on school and school district size as they relate to educational quality and finance. Sections cover: (1) research on the relationships of size to course offerings, teacher qualifications, student achievement, student behavior, student participation, and school climate; (2) state level reports…

During the 1990s, Kentucky has undergone an extensive educational renaissance guided by three milestones: enactment of the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA); creation of the nation's first Workforce Development Cabinet; and development of the Kentucky Strategic Plan for Higher Education in Kentucky. This report to President Bush describes…

The RAND Institute on Education and Training has undertaken an analysis of Federal policy options to improve education in low-income areas. Volumes I and II, separately published, have assessed the current Chapter I program and presented a strategy for reformulating the program with commentaries by invited contributors. This volume assesses…

This issue summarizes Marshall S. Smith and Jennifer O'Day's "Systemic School Reform," an analytic essay discussing research into the effectiveness of current education policies and policy system development in numerous states. The essay proposes a design for a systemic state structure that supports school-site improvement efforts and is…

To examine equity issues involving proposed Federal income tax credits for private school tuition, the author uses data from the Bureau of the Census and other governmental sources to estimate the effects of tuition tax credit (TTC) plans. After discussing equity and educational policy, he compares would-be TTC recipients--private school families…

Texas public school finance is undergoing reform in response to a state Supreme Court decision in Edgewood I.S.D. v. Kirby, that declared the school finance system in violation of the "efficient clause" of the state constitution. State aid has declined since 1984 due to state revenue constraints, reform mandates largely funded from local…

This research examined the distributional and programmatic impact of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) of 1981, Chapter 2, during its first year of implementation, to determine how it has measured up to meeting the goal for which it was enacted, and whether or not the Reagan Administration's promises regarding block grants…

This notebook was prepared to provide resources for educators interested in using computers to increase opportunities for all students. The notebook contains specially prepared materials and selected newspaper and journal articles. The first section reviews the issues related to computer equity (equal access, tracking through different…

In 1988, a study was conducted to determine whether and to what extent the principles of opportunity, accessibility, adaptability, and comprehensiveness upon which Canada's community colleges were established have survived into the 1980's. The theoretical model underpinning the study was based on a three-dimensional matrix in which theories of…

Private schools receive differential treatment in Canada because of the dominant viewpoint that parents sending their children to private schools do not deserve government assistance. Examination of entitlement to human rights can contribute to developing a more sympathetic view of the funding of private schools. (Author/JAZ)

This document contains the 10 issues of the IDRA Newsletter published in 2002. The newsletter disseminates research findings, descriptions of successful programs and reforms, and other information related to equality of educational opportunity, focusing on Hispanic students, bilingual education, and Texas. Articles are: "Successful Bilingual…

Because school systems throughout America depend on local property taxes for much of their revenue, districts with poor property valuations, especially rural districts, are facing fiscal crises. In response to a lawsuit filed in 1991, the Ohio Supreme Court twice decided that the state's heavy reliance on local property taxes for school funding…

Because many school funding studies are seriously flawed, valid conclusions cannot be reached concerning the effects of school funding in the United States. New evidence from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and two international achievement tests shows that differences among U.S. public school districts (and states) in funding and…