College completion rates in American higher education have, unfortunately, been low throughout our nation's history. Thankfully, a strong, nationwide focus on student success has resulted in significant improvements in the past decade. Ohio, in particular, has made significant strides in increasing the percentage of students who complete their…

The United States has widely experimented with merit-based financial aid to make college more accessible and affordable for its youth. Varying in design and benefits, these state-run programs subsidize college costs for academically meritorious high-school graduates. While broadly linked to higher college attendance the distribution of aid…

Understanding how urban school districts allocate their education funds can help school leaders create more effective budgeting strategies and provide a basis for advocating for additional funding when necessary. This report provides an overview of how urban districts distribute their financial resources, highlights key areas of spending, and…

This paper asks whether increasing public school funding can be an effective long-run crime-prevention strategy in the U.S. Specifically, we examine the effect of increases in funding early in children's lives on the likelihood that they are arrested as adults. We exploit quasi-experimental variation in public school funding, leveraging two…

At their best, K-12 public school systems can be engines of social and economic mobility. Unfortunately, schools in lower-income districts -- whose students have the greatest academic needs -- often receive less funding than their counterparts in more affluent districts. Discussions about closing these funding gaps usually zoom all the way out to…

ORS 329.841 directs the Department of Education (ODE) to develop and implement a statewide education plan for African American/Black students who are in early childhood through post-secondary education programs. The Department has convened an advisory group comprised of members of the African American/Black community and other community partners…

In July 2023, Governor DeWine and the General Assembly enacted bold literacy reforms via his budget plan (House Bill 33) that require Ohio elementary schools to follow the Science of Reading starting in 2024-25. This approach to reading instruction emphasizes phonics to help students "decode" words, as well as knowledge- and…

In 2022, Tennessee overhauled its education funding formula to improve outcomes for the 1 million students in the state. The Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act (TISA) was designed to simplify the existing funding formula and more equitably allocate resources to schools. Bellwether's case study, "After the Policy Win: First-Year…

The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) entitles students with disabilities to a free appropriate public education. Students with disabilities often require additional support to enable them to achieve academic and functional goals relative to their nondisabled peers. These legally protected supports and services all add up…

Funding public higher education has long been a shared responsibility between state, local, and federal governments and students and their families (Laderman et al., 2023). While state and local governments fund public institutions directly, the federal government primarily funds higher education through portable student aid, including federal…

Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 327.016 directs the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to prepare and publish by June 30 of each year an annual report related to the State School Fund moneys received for English language learner programs and student outcomes. The Annual Reports for English Learners (ELs) in Oregon for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school…

Under Section 115.996, Wisconsin Statutes, the state superintendent is required to report to the legislature on the status of bilingual-bicultural education programs funded under this authority. This report provides the specific information required by law for the 2023-24 school year (paid during FY 2025). Chapter 115, Subchapter VII, Wisconsin…

Possibly the defining feature of K-12 policy reform over the past several decades has been the growth of state-level decision-making. This, however, comes at a steep cost: Different communities are less able to make different decisions about their schools. This leads to a level of standardization that ill fits American pluralism. States should…

State financial aid grant programs are commonly categorized as either need-based, merit-based, or both, but their initial eligibility requirements include many more factors than just financial need and academic merit. A categorization of programs that accounts for all requirements would facilitate a more nuanced and precise understanding of state…

Community colleges in the United States continue to face financial difficulties related to declining enrollment numbers and lower levels of public funding when compared to four-year institutions. Previous scholars have suggested that community colleges may respond to these financial challenges by increasing their commitment to online education. In…