As a result of patchwork policies, early childhood education (ECE) providers combine funding from multiple sources, known as blended funding. However, little is known about the consequences of blended funding for policy goals. We use national ECE provider data to identify the prevalence of blended funding models, and detailed state quality rating…

The care and education of young children in the United States is supported by nearly $40 billion yearly from a variety of sources at the federal, state, and local levels. Even so, about a quarter of 4-year-olds and half of 3-year-olds do not attend preschool, and many of those who do attend receive only poor quality services. Some programs are of…

President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act or ARRA) into law on February 17, 2009. This federal stimulus package provided an unprecedented infusion of new education aid for the nation's schools--more than $100 billion. To determine how the unprecedented federal infusion of education funding was…

This document provides final regulations that amend the Title 1 program, under Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, for helping disadvantaged children meet high educational standards. These new regulations amend the schoolwide program requirements to allow a percentage of funds received by a local education agency (LEA) under Part…

Although all public schools could be eligible for federal funds under Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) programs, concerns have been raised about whether charter schools are receiving an equitable share of these federal funds. This report describes: (1) how federal Title I and IDEA funds are…

The availability of assistive technology (AT) can make a tremendous difference in the ability of an individual to work, even when that individual has a severe disability. In the work context, AT serves several functions: it may make it possible to participate in an education or training program; it may make it possible to get prepared to leave the…

This policy update presents key aspects of the statutory language of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-239), which provides states and localities with federal funds to be used as venture capital to underwrite the initial costs of planning and establishing statewide School-to-Work Opportunities systems. The paper focuses…

This final report discusses the outcomes of a policy research study designed to improve decision making during the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Issues were identified and policy briefs were developed on: (1) the federal financial formula for special education; (2) the role of economic and demographic…