Subsidies can make child care affordable for families with low incomes, but evidence about their effects on child care markets is limited. In this research brief, the authors study how child care subsidies for parents with low incomes in Minnesota impact local child care pricing and capacity. Findings show that an additional investment of $100 per…

This qualitative study examines how secondary teachers (6th-12th grade) navigated tensions of knowledge and practice while supporting culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students in a district with a history of not meeting federal requirements for serving English learners (ELs). Through the U.S. Department of Education's National…

The reconciliation bill House Republicans passed outlines several proposed changes to higher education financing, including a new risk-sharing formula that would have colleges pay back a portion of their students' unpaid student loan bills. The amount colleges must pay is based on borrowers' unpaid loan payments each year (missed payments or…

Given the proliferation of college promise programs and the increasing popularity of last-dollar designs, we explore changes to states' financial aid resource environments following the adoption of two of the largest and longest-operating state programs: Tennessee Promise and Oregon Promise. We leverage descriptive tools and a causal-inference…

Pursuant to California Education Code 88922 and Assembly Bill 231, the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office and the Board of Governors for California Community Colleges are pleased to release the Guided Pathways Grant Report for Fiscal Years 2021-2023. This report includes a summary of the California community colleges' progress in…

This study is dedicated to analyzing and evaluating government initiatives aimed at addressing migration challenges in Kazakhstan that manifest in uneven migration flows and significant disparities in population density between the southern and northern regions. The authors assess the implementation of a state program as part of their analysis,…

The Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for FY2025 (H.Con.Res. 14) includes reconciliation instructions for the House Committee on Education and the Workforce (EDW) and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) to reduce spending within their jurisdictions by at least $330 billion and at least $1 billion, respectively,…

The Rural Early College Network (RECN) aimed to help rural Indiana schools more quickly implement the Early College (EC) model with fidelity and increase the number and quality of Early College programs throughout rural parts of the state. The initiative was led by the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) at the University of…

Project QUEST is a workforce development program founded in San Antonio, Texas that focuses on preparing underemployed and unemployed individuals for high-demand, well-paying jobs. Founded in 1992 in response to a massive manufacturing layoff resulting in the loss of 1,200 jobs, the program offers comprehensive support services, including…

Underrepresentation in engineering disciplines remains a significant issue in higher education and the workforce. This paper presents a quantitative analysis comparing the academic success of participants in an engineering-focused Summer Bridge Program (SBP) to non-participants with similar characteristics. The study evaluates first-year…

In the first report in a three-part series on financial aid leveraging, Stephen Burd details how Baylor University used predatory inclusion practices in their financial aid policies by steering the families of low-income students to Parent PLUS loans to fill substantial financial aid gaps, potentially causing them significant financial distress.…

The restoration of Pell Grant eligibility in 2024 has catalyzed a new era for higher education in prison, opening doors for approximately 800,000 incarcerated individuals to pursue postsecondary education. Nearly 400 higher education in prison programs now operate across the US, yet basic data about these students at scale--such as enrollment,…

The federal Pell Grant program provides over 6.2 million students each year with financial assistance for college and college-related expenses. Its funding levels, however, are not a given and can fluctuate year-to-year in each budget set by Congress. Inconsistent funding levels are one factor that can impact many students' opportunity to attend…

The education system is most likely to yield transformative change when learners can access the support they need to succeed. For parenting students, or students who care for dependent children, an education system developed with their needs in mind can help them meet their personal goals and develop the skills necessary for stable employment and…

Background/Context: Inequitable access to higher education continues to be driven by socioeconomic inequalities (Wolniak et al., 2016). Aid spending by state governments has been found to bolster higher enrollment and degree awards at two-year colleges (Monarrez et al., 2021). Where federal funds have taken on a larger portion of funding in the…