States are increasingly adopting changes to K-12 funding systems in order to promote and encourage student engagement in secondary-level career and technical education (CTE). Two of the most prevalent reforms include: a) establishing tiered weights for CTE in school funding formulas based on the connection between a program of study and workforce…

State funding for higher education is one of the most pressing issues facing both institutions and policymakers in 2022. Colorado has seen significant declines in the amount of state funding per student over the past two decades, resulting in increases in student burdens for tuition. Policy discourse analysis through a poststructural and…

"Power, Constraint, and Policy Change" analyzes state court influence on state education finance reform. Beginning in the early 1970s litigants began filing suits in state courts to change state education funding in order to prevent disparities in education resources between wealthy and poor communities. These cases represent a…

The U.S. Department of Education has projected enrollment declines over the next decade, leading to budget cuts for school districts, which will be particularly impactful in urban and rural areas serving vulnerable students. As federal COVID-19 funds expire, districts will face challenges in cutting costs, potentially leading to layoffs or school…

The proliferation of political nonprofit organizations since the Citizens United decision has undoubtedly reshaped American politics. These interest groups have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in recent state and federal elections. Yet, little is known about how these organizations influence higher education politics and the extent to which…

State aid for special education shapes local decisions about identifying students for special education, the programs and services to which students have access and in which students with disabilities are educated, and how local educators structure and administer their special education programs. The connection between state funding for special…

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, K-12 schools are under immense pressure to meet the diverse needs of students. But policies and practices have not evolved quickly enough to meet those needs -- and as a result, the system continues to fail far too many young people. In "Levers of Change: How State Policies Support District…

In the United States, where social mobility has been considered a birthright, community colleges are essential to that promise. But America's 1,000 community colleges, which educate 9 million students, are routinely under-resourced and often fall short of their promise. Part of the responsibility lies with K-12 institutions, which do not…

Computer science (CS) education in California has grown substantially in the last decade. Early grassroots efforts have evolved into a broad coalition of educators, industry leaders, and other members of the CS community known as Computer Science for California (CSforCA). At the same time, developments in multiple aspects of state policy reflect…

Higher education is a critical tool for social mobility, but today, students and their families face significant challenges. It is against this backdrop that the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) convened the Task Force on Higher Education Financing and Student Outcomes. This group has identified several areas of federal policy ripe for reform that…

Many welfare programs give greater benefits to unmarried individuals than to a married couple of otherwise identical income. The resulting marriage penalty discourages marriage and rewards single parenthood. Combined marriage penalties across federal and state welfare programs can reach tens of thousands of dollars per year for a given family. One…

Broadly conceptualized, federal-state partnerships refer to collaborations between the federal government and states to create or implement policy. In the higher education policy arena, such partnerships have the potential to transform how higher education is funded and regulated, making college more affordable and more accessible to a larger…

The cost for higher education increased nearly 55% from 2002 to 2012, while state appropriations decreased 12% over the same time period (Government Accountability Office, 2014). The cost burden has been shifted heavily on students and their families as institutions have raised the cost of attendance in order to make up for declines in state…

Extant research neglects to examine how policymakers make decisions regarding funding allocations to higher education institutions. This case study analyzed the policy process surrounding the development of one model for funding higher education in Colorado. The study is anchored in a theory of policy design, which considers how groups targeted by…

Despite the expansive literature on higher education performance-based funding (PBF) policies, there is an oversaturation of quantitative studies focused on measuring metric performance at the statewide level. These studies have largely found that PBF fails to meet its goal of improving graduation rates and has unintended consequences for…