The 21st "State of Preschool" finds the state of preschool in America at a critical moment. The states have emerged, albeit unevenly, from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and are poised to make new progress toward more effective and equitable preschool policies. Additional states have committed to offering every child publicly funded…

The New York State Board of Regents' 2004-05 State Aid Proposal put forward the idea of instituting Foundation Aid as a response to concerns about the sufficiency of state education funding then being provided to local school districts. In 2007, prompted by legal action, a call for reform by the Regents, and the election of a new governor with a…

In the United States, K-12 school finance is largely controlled by the states. Every year, hundreds of billions of dollars in public funds are distributed based on 51 different configurations of formulas, rules, and regulations to over 13,000 districts that vary in terms of the students they serve, their ability to raise revenue locally, and many…

It is well known that Pennsylvania's K-12 schools are inadequately and inequitably funded. But the extent of the problem is not fully understood. This paper uses new data and methods to demonstrate just how unfair--and in fact, morally unsustainable--the funding of elementary and secondary education is in the Commonwealth. It shows that the…

This Annual Statistical Report of the Public Schools of Arkansas, Open Enrollment Public Charter Schools, and Education Service Cooperatives, 2023-2024 Actual and 2024-2025 Budgeted (ASR) is submitted in compliance with the provisions of A.C.A. § 6-20-2201 et seq. The information contained in the report was obtained from the Annual Financial…

This study examines charter school funding equity in 18 cities using 2019-20 data, the most recent available. The study uses official school district and state budget documents to capture every dollar flowing to schools, including in-kind services. The study answers the following questions: (1) What is the difference in per-pupil revenue between…

"Making the Grade" provides an annual overview of the condition of school finance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The data in this edition gives a picture of states' investment in their public school systems in the 2019-20 school year, the historic moment when public education, and society at large, experienced the massive…

The public schools of Arkansas, open enrollment public charter schools, and education service cooperatives annual statistical report (ASR), 2021-2022 actual and 2022-2023 budgeted, is presented here. The rankings of selected items of the public schools, 2021-2022 actual, are also included. The school districts are listed according to Local…

This eleventh edition of "Measuring up to the Model: A Ranking of State Charter School Laws" presents the latest activity in charter public school legislation across the country. This report evaluates each state's public charter school law against the 21 essential components of a strong charter school law. These 21 components are drawn…

Demographic projections from the California Department of Finance (DOF) suggest that California's public K-12 school system is entering a long period of declining enrollment. Districts with declining enrollment face fiscal pressures, as state funding is tied to the number of students they serve. Declining enrollment also has important implications…

This study is the first to empirically examine how school districts allocate resources in response to capital investment revenue from statewide penny sales taxes (called SAVE funds), and whether SAVE funds affect student outputs (i.e., educational achievement). We found evidence that school districts do not use SAVE funds to increase capital…

The public schools of Arkansas, open enrollment public charter schools, and education service cooperatives annual statistical report (ASR), 2020-2021 actual and 2021-2022 budgeted, is presented here. The rankings of selected items of the public schools, 2020-2021 actual, are also included. The school districts are listed according to Local…

"Making the Grade analyzes the condition of public school funding in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The current report presents a picture of school funding in 2020-2021, the first full school year of the COVID-19 pandemic and the most recent data available. The report ranks and grades each state on three measures to answer the…

Demographic projections from the California Department of Finance (DOF) suggest that California's public K-12 school system is entering a long period of declining enrollment. Districts with declining enrollment face fiscal pressures, as state funding is tied to the number of students they serve. Declining enrollment also has important implications…

This tenth edition of "Measuring up to the Model: A Ranking of State Charter School Laws" presents the latest activity in charter public school legislation across the country. This report evaluates each state's public charter school law against the 21 essential components of a strong charter school law. These 21 components are drawn from…