The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 allows school districts to provide free meals to all students if over 40 percent of them are directly certified as free-meal eligible. While emerging evidence documents positive effects on student behavior and academics, critics worry that CEP has unintended…

This paper analyzes how changes in school expenditures affect dropout rates based on data from 466 school districts in New York during the 2003/04 to the 2007/08 school years. Past traditional regression approaches show mixed results in part because school expenditures are likely endogenous, so that one cannot disentangle cause and effect. The…

California policymakers have established the expectation that all public school students should have access to a broad course of study, in classes where instruction is consistent with the state's content standards. Further, the state holds schools and school districts accountable for their ability to ensure that all students achieve at a specified…

This paper explores what happens to similar groups of children educated in different school districts. In this case, the "twins" in the study are groups of students who live in the same state in similar geographies and who share certain demographic characteristics. For this report, "twin districts" have very similar sizes and…

In the era of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, school districts are under increasing pressure from policymakers to hold all students to high performance standards. In response, a growing number of schools are embracing the principles of student-centered learning (SCL). SCL is a contemporary approach that combines progressive and…

Building a stronger teacher workforce requires the thoughtful orchestration of multiple processes working together in a human capital system. This white paper presents a framework that can be used to take stock of current efforts to enhance the teacher workforce in school districts or educational organizations, as well as their underlying theories…

The latest installment of the Fordham Institute's "Creating Sound Policy for Digital Learning" series investigates one of the more controversial aspects of digital learning: How much does it cost? In this paper, the Parthenon Group uses interviews with more than fifty vendors and online-schooling experts to estimate today's average…

Since the 1970s, proponents of greater spending in disadvantaged school districts have pursued their goal through litigation in state courts. They have brought suits in 45 of the 50 states. These suits began with claims of equity, which sought to redistribute revenues from rich to poor districts. Disappointed with the results, within a decade the…

Examines the costs and benefits of District Education Foundations (DEFs) in California and New York. Includes the prevalence of DEFs, why they are formed, and the sources and uses of DEF funds. (PKP)

An extensive data set on upstate New York school district is used to test whether competition from private schools and competition within the public school sector positively affect public school output and again whether different types of expenditures affect output differently. It finds generally significant positive effects of private competition…

State regulations allow public school districts outside of New York City to apply for Building Aid on leasing costs involving instructional facilities for grades Pre-K through 12 located off school district property. This guide explains how the districts should proceed when applying for Building Aid on leased facilities. Attached is the…

Outlines the reasons for school district financial problems in the state of New York and suggests improvements. (Author/MLF)

Describes New York State's experience with school district tax limits in urban districts serving less than 125,000. Originally designed to protect taxpayers, these tax limits have spawned a costly state aid system that raises serious equity issues. Recent legislation removed tax limits and made state aid more equitable. (32 references) (MLH)

Traces the $12 billion increase in spending by New York school districts between 1972 and 1992, correcting for inflation. Finds that real expenditures per pupil increased faster than inflation, that much of this increase was because of spending on disabled students, and that three-quarters of the increase was accounted for by increases in salaries…

Prepared in response to Section 3602 of New York State Education Law, this report analyzes the relationship between approved operating expense (AOE) and instructional expense (IE) for 1990-91. Originally defined as a net aidable expense for dispensing operating aid to school districts, AOE's definition and use have been considerably modified over…