In this policy brief, we use the case of California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) to provide policy makers and educators guidance on how to involve the public in goal setting and resource distribution decisions. We provide clarity around who is and is not participating, why, and what broader lessons we can draw for implementing federal…

Several states and the federal government distribute aid for special education programs based primarily on total district enrollment and a fixed aid amount per student, a method called "census funding." In this policy brief, we address three questions to help policy makers, educators, and researchers better understand census-funding…

Discussions about appropriate methods for education research have escalated in the wake of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 and related changes to federal policies for educational research and its funding. This legislation highlights the importance of "scientifically-based research" and in particular foregrounds the use of…