This brief presents the results of a fiscal analysis of the Iowa Education Savings Account Program. The Iowa Education Savings Account Program offers eligible parents the opportunity to receive their children's per-pupil state funding directly into a parent-controlled education savings account (ESA), a fund earmarked for educational expenses. This…

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…

High-quality afterschool and summer learning programs are effective ways to support children and teens and accelerate their academic growth. In fact, the American Rescue Plan prioritized a significant amount of funding for out-of-school time programs because of the evidence of their effectiveness. Over the past few years, state educational…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal relief funding flowed into the Massachusetts early education and care sector to stabilize providers and preserve affordable access to education and care for families. In the years since, the Massachusetts state government has maintained this heightened level of investment, resulting in significant progress in…

Our updated brief reports that while the number of states allowing FCC participation remained unchanged from 2019-2020 to 2022-2023, there were notable shifts in participation within states. The enrollment of children in FCC settings saw significant increases, with some states experiencing substantial growth. However, concerns regarding the…

Recent reports have highlighted the inequalities that exist in how state and federal funding is allocated to different institution types and the students they serve (Ahlman, 2019; Carnevale et al., 2018; Foster & Fowles, 2018; Mugglestone et al., 2019; Taylor & Cantwell, 2019; Taylor et al., 2020). Because these different types of…

This chapter describes a comprehensive set of best practices for the evaluation of state formula funding models and state higher education funding in general, based on existing practices within the United States. It represents a review of practices that lead to stakeholder engagement as an objective, collaborative process.

For at least two decades, several California schools have embraced a community schools model that marries schools and community organizations to seamlessly provide a variety of supports to students and families in communities with the highest needs. But when the pandemic hit, those needs multiplied. Members of the California State Board of…

The State of the States in Gifted Education report is a biennial report that has been published by the Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted since 1985. The current study examines financial data from these reports relating to the funding of gifted and talented education (GATE) by state-level funding authorities descriptively. We…

Dual enrollment is expanding in California. Participation in dual enrollment varies across demographic groups and regions. A growing number of high school students are earning associate degrees via dual enrollment. Dual enrollment outcomes vary across demographic groups and geographic regions.California continues to invest in dual enrollment. This…

State takeovers of school districts--a form of political centralization that shifts decision-making power from locally elected leaders to the state--have increased over time, often with the purported goal of improving district financial condition. Takeover has affected millions of students since the first takeover in 1988 and has been more common…

Policymakers commonly assert that Broad Access Institutions (BAIs) cannot be "all things to all people" when cutting their funding. BAIs were founded with comprehensive missions to generate postsecondary access through low barriers for admission and affordable tuition and promote student-centeredness through institutional foci on…

Authorized by the Nebraska Legislature in 2007, the Access College Early (ACE) Scholarship Program pays tuition and mandatory fees for qualified, low-income high school students to enroll in college courses from Nebraska colleges or universities, either through dual enrollment or early enrollment agreements with these institutions. The objective…

The 22nd "State of Preschool" finds that state initiatives propelled early childhood education (ECE) in the United States to historic highs during the 2023-2024 school year. Nationally, preschool recovered from the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, progress has been highly uneven from state to state. While many states…

The U.S. education system is in reality 51 distinct systems, each governed by unique rules for revenue generation, allocation, and utilization (Baker, 2021). Despite this decentralization, common trends exist in state funding policies. All 50 US states adjust resource allocation in efforts to address the perceived unique needs of particular…