Public discussion leading up to the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in December 2015 focused on the controversial testing, standards, and teacher evaluation provisions of the previous reauthorization, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB; 2002), and its…

This report describes a collaboration between the Indiana Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL) and the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) team. The OECOSL is the lead agency responsible for administering the state's Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), which provides child care subsidies to…

In 2009 the Obama administration announced a focused commitment to turn around 5,000 of the United States' chronically lowest-performing public schools as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This commitment came with $3 billion in funding for the School Improvement Grant program, or SIG, along with new guidelines to ensure…

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), also known as the stimulus package, appropriated $100 billion for education and included $3 billion for school improvement grants (SIGs) to help reform low-performing schools. This amount was in addition to the $546 million provided by the regular fiscal year 2009 appropriations bill for…

Charter school laws and successful charter schools have been identified as key elements of bold initiatives to turn around chronically low-achieving public schools. Yet, charter schools operate in a policy space that was not constructed for them, a space in which public schools are primarily a state responsibility, but are markedly influenced by…

The School Improvement Grants (SIG) program, which was created in 2002, funds reforms in the country's lowest-performing schools with the goal of improving student outcomes, such as standardized test scores and graduation rates. Congress greatly increased SIG program funding from $125 million available in fiscal year 2007--the first year the…

This guide outlines strategies for financing asset-building initiatives and provides information on 71 federal funding sources that can be used to support a range of activities and services. It includes well-known sources of funding for asset building, for example, the Assets for Independence Demonstration Program and the Family Self-Sufficiency…

The Federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA), Title II: Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) provide funding for states and territories to provide instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), Adult Basic Education (ABE), and Adult Secondary Education (ASE) to adults in need of these literacy services. California State Budget Act…

This report focuses on funding and services provided through the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Grants to States program in the most recent full reporting years. IMLS grants to State Library Administrative Agencies (SLAA's) represent the single largest source of federal funding for the nation's libraries and are the only…

This article discusses the current student-aid system in American higher education and the policy issues surrounding it. The author asserts that it is time to consider serious reform of the complex system of federal, state, and institutional subsidies that has evolved to support postsecondary students. A rational long-term planning process never…

Since its inception in 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, now known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), has directed billions of federal dollars toward low-income students. Title I, Part A of NCLB is designed to equalize educational opportunities and resources for disadvantaged children. This analysis examines whether the current…

The Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the centerpiece of the Clinton administration's education reform program, provides a fascinating case study of the challenges facing an activist administration in trying to craft federal legislation that can provide national direction and leadership in a highly decentralized education system. Goals 2000…

This analysis examines alternative ways to use the approximately $6 billion now spent annually on Pell Grants to produce higher maximum awards for low-income students. The need for such alternatives is based on the rapidly declining value of the maximum Pell Grant as a percentage of college costs. A table offers 5-year baseline projections under…