With declines in enrollment and attendance, increases in student poverty, and potential reductions in state revenue, policymakers are facing a perfect storm of uncertainty in apportioning K-12 education funding. State policymakers typically use prior-year enrollment numbers or average daily attendance to allocate funding proportional to the number…

All students deserve access to a high-quality education and the resources they need to thrive. However, in Michigan this has not been the reality for far too long, particularly for students who are the most underserved. Longstanding inequities have persisted and worsened since the beginning of the pandemic, and Michigan has fallen further and…

This poll was conducted between August 2-6, 2024 among a sample of 2,252 Adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of Adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Results based on the full survey have a measure of precision of plus or minus 2.32 percentage…

This is the executive summary for the full report, "Crossing the Line: Segregation and Resource Inequality between America's School Districts." School funding debates in the United States tend to center on how much money school districts should receive, and through what policies and formulas. But they almost never focus on the district…

2022 turned out to be a dynamic year for charter schools, as many state lawmakers recognized the fact parents want more schooling options that fit their children's unique needs. In total, close to 50% of states with charter school laws gained at least one legislative win. Read for more details on how the charter school movement strengthened in the…

The vast majority of funds for pre-K through grade 12 public schools in the United States -- nearly $800 billion or over 90% -- come from state and local funding sources. States, not school districts, are obligated to ensure that all students have access to the resources they need to succeed. States can take steps to reduce disparities between…

This document contains the technical appendix for the report, "Equal Is Not Good Enough: An Analysis of School Funding Equity across the U.S. and within Each State." The report describes an analysis of funding disparities between the highest and lowest poverty school districts, as well as districts serving the most and the fewest…

"Leading Thoughtful Conversations about School-by-School Spending Data" is a product of a federally-funded study to support the US Department of Education and the field more broadly to understand what data visualizations work to fuel thoughtful conversation among district and school leaders on financial strategy and management. This…

Recent public discussions and legal decisions suggest that school segregation will remain persistent in the United States, but increased transparency may help monitor spending across schools. These circumstances revive an old question: is it possible to achieve an educational system that is separate but equal--or better--in terms of spending? This…

The correlation between socioeconomic status and academic achievement does not just apply to individual students--the concentration of poverty in schools matters, too. Schools with concentrated poverty require more state funding in order to best serve their students. But it is not just about how much; to be equitable, states must spend enough…

In recent decades, education leaders and researchers have increasingly sought to disaggregate key higher education outcome data--graduation rates, attainment, employment, and income--by race and ethnicity in order to uncover and narrow equity gaps. The same is true, recently, for affordability, especially as it relates to the differential impact…

This case describes how, after being hired by a large urban school district in the southern United States, a Black male superintendent's relationship with his stakeholders deteriorated due to disagreements about his equity-based leadership approach. Three incidents occurred during his tenure, which he believed to be racially motivated. Yet, the…

Through a case study of 25 funded AANAPISIs, this report explores how colleges and universities become AANAPISIs; serve Asian American, Native Hawaiian, & Pacific Islander students; and institutionalize their initiatives. Implications and recommendations are offered for policy, practice, and research. [This report is a publication of the APIA…

In partnership with nine States, the Department piloted a monitoring protocol on two related resource equity provisions under Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA)--(1) the requirement for States to periodically review resource allocation in LEAs serving a significant number of schools identified…

This study examines the patterns of relationships in North-South higher education partnerships, emphasizing the experiences and perspectives of the Southern partner. Employing a comparative case study design, the research explores two cases of partnerships between universities in Ethiopia and Norway, involving interviews with 40 participants as…