In most states across the country, public K-12 enrollment is declining. This is a decade-long, national trend that accelerated with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and is projected to continue. Although enrollment decline varies substantially among and within states, many states have put temporary or permanent policies in place to address the…

The distribution of state funding to school districts has a tremendous impact on student learning opportunities. State leaders juggle different priorities, tradeoffs and incentives when designing funding formulas with the goal of ensuring every student has the learning opportunities to succeed. This toolkit offers a strategic guide for reforming…

Wisconsin voters approved a record number of referenda in 2024 to increase property taxes to fund their local schools, and nearly set a record for the most referenda to fund municipalities or counties. However, the approval rate for school ballot questions continued a downward trend. These trends raise questions about both the adequacy of current…

The majority of states with a weighted, student-based K-12 funding formula include weights that allocate additional funding based on the enrollment of students in poverty, students with special education needs, and English learners (ELs). Research shows that all three of these student groups need additional support and resources to succeed. Many…

Increasing education funding is a topic of discussion every year at the Minnesota State Legislature. In January, Governor Tim Walz proposed a 4% increase to the basic education formula allowance within the K-12 general education revenue program, the "education formula" that determines the majority of funding school districts receive from…

Background: Across families from all backgrounds, and for all students, when parents and the broader community engage in sustained systematic program improvements, schools and districts are more likely to focus on and maintain improvements. As a result, federal and state lawmakers have implemented engagement mandates. The ways in which these…

The State of the States in Gifted Education report is a biennial report that has been published by the Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted since 1985. The current study examines financial data from these reports relating to the funding of gifted and talented education (GATE) by state-level funding authorities descriptively. We…

In the United States, K-12 school finance is largely controlled by the states. Every year, hundreds of billions of dollars in public funds are distributed based on 51 different configurations of formulas, rules, and regulations to over 13,000 districts that vary in terms of the students they serve, their ability to raise revenue locally, and many…

The Trump administration may push for a shift away from the current formula-driven federal K-12 education funding toward more flexible block grants -- part of a broader effort to significantly scale back the U.S. Department of Education and direct more education policy decision-making to the states. If Congress authorizes this new flexibility,…

The proverbial clock is ticking for many Kansas school buildings, whether due to implications of a complete slowdown due to code compliance, or due to failure of critical systems. Regardless of the reasons, millions of square footage of learning spaces are in jeopardy of no longer being able to serve students in adequate teaching and learning…

The role of a Catholic school leader is complex, dynamic, and changing, especially in states where parental choice legislation has been enacted. This study utilizes Bolman and Deal's (2017) organizational framework to examine the political nature of the role of the Catholic school leader. Specifically, this study explores the ways the Catholic…

For the Department of Education's State-administered formula grant programs, obligations must be made by the grantee or subgrantee by the end of the "carryover" or Tydings Period, which allows funds to be obligated for an additional fiscal year beyond the fiscal year for which they were appropriated. These timely obligations may be…

In the United States, K-12 school finance is largely controlled by the states. Every year, hundreds of billions of dollars in public funds are distributed based on 51 different configurations of formulas, rules, and regulations to over 13,000 districts that vary in terms of the students they serve, their ability to raise revenue locally, and many…

English learners (ELs) are one of the fastest-growing student groups in the U.S. K-12 system, making up about one in 10 students enrolled in public schools nationwide. Despite research showing that EL students need more resources and supports to be successful in school, funding at the federal, state, and local levels to provide those additional…

The Illinois Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act (EBF), a comprehensive overhaul of the state's school funding formula, was signed into law in August 2017. The Act requires an overall increase of more than $7 billion in state education aid and sets 2027 as the deadline to reach full funding of the EBF formula. The Act also sets $350…