IDEA Part B funds have more than doubled between the 1999 and 2003 fiscal years, from $4.3 billion to $8.9 billion. This is an increase from 8% to 13% of total special education spending. Increases in federal funds can theoretically support "program growth" by providing fiscal relief to states and districts facing rising special…

Several methods exist for financing and sustaining operations of school-based health centers (SBHCs). Promising sources of funds include private grants, federal grants, and state funding. Recently, federal regulation changes mandated that federal funding specifically for SBHCs go only to SBHCs affiliated with a Federally Qualified Health Center…

In the standards-based education reforms of today, an important question is how much it will cost for all--or almost all--students to reach state-determined proficiency levels? School finance adequacy seeks to determine that cost. Four models have been developed to estimate the costs of adequacy. Two of them--the professional judgment and the…

This article introduces the issue of articles on research assessments and rankings. It focuses on the British Research Assessment Exercises (RAEs) and New Zealand's Performance Based Research Fund (PBRF). It contrasts these with systems that are not tied to funding formulas and emphasise quality enhancement rather than quality assurance. It…

This study examines Utah's funding system for public education and provides an analysis of the fiscal impact of allowing parents to use a portion of their child's state education funding to attend a school of their choice, public or private. Like many states, Utah is facing pressure to improve its system of public education funding. The state's…

Adequacy lawsuits have, with little fanfare, emerged as a major alternative strategy in the pursuit of improved public education in the United States. Plaintiffs allege insufficient resources to provide students with the quality of education promised in their state's constitution, hoping the courts will step in and order the state to increase…

To evaluate the adequacy and efficiency of preschool education, the RAND Corporation has undertaken the California Preschool Study to improve understanding of achievement gaps in the early elementary grades, the adequacy of preschool education currently given, and what efficiencies or additional resources might be brought to bear in early care and…

The Commission initiated a funding to review national funding models for higher education led by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS). Each institution contributed to the cost of the study and participated in the effort. NCHEMS' key recommendation is to move the funding discussions for higher education away from a…

This study examined the allocation of government research grants to universities in the United Kingdom in the context of the current funding system which distributes such grants based on universities' performance in the marketplace. Marketplace performance indicators include academic staff and postgraduate student counts, grants from Research…

This report summarizes recommendations by New Mexico's Commission on Higher Education for funding the state's two- and four-year colleges in fiscal year 1997-98. Following a preface reviewing the 3-year policy framework and priorities used by the Commission in making its funding recommendations, the first section provides a summary of the…

In the Hawkins-Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Amendments of 1988, Congress directed the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to conduct a study of methods used to allocate federal elementary and secondary education grants among the states. This document, the final report on that study, assesses grant distribution funding…

Instead of adopting an entirely new school finance system to replace an inequitable system threatened by lawsuits, the Arkansas legislature has chosen to repair Act 34 of 1983. Two major changes enacted in 1993 (recalculation of state aid for districts experiencing growth and a change in a district's real property charges when calculating state…

Information is provided on the budgeting formula developed for funding Alaska's community colleges. After the history of formula budgeting is discussed, its purposes are highlighted (i.e., to provide equity of funding among the community colleges; to reduce uncertainty in and to simplify the budgeting process; and to provide for more local…

Innovative financial strategies for higher education institutions are considered in three articles based on presentations to a national conference at the University of Arizona. In "Innovations in State Level Formulas: Established and Emerging Trends," Dennis P. Jones discusses both the general (multi-purpose) and the special purpose components of…

The Tennessee School Finance Equity Study was begun in 1978 to review the equity and adequacy of Tennessee's Public School Finance Program. Changes in the structure of the Tennessee Foundation Program (TFP) did achieve greater equity in the amount of funds local districts obtained from the foundation program even though the residence of the…