This brief updates the Urban Institute's "Income Support and Social Services for Low-Income People in California," an overview of benefits and services in California in 1997, just before the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 was enacted. Since 1997, various states have made changes across the…

This report summarizes results from the Higher Education Services Offices 2001 survey of financial aid received by undergraduates attending Minnesota postsecondary institutions. Undergraduates attending Minnesota postsecondary institutions in fiscal year (fy) 2001 used $1.2 billion in grants, education loans, and earnings from work study jobs to…

In 1994, approximately $20 million of Georgia Lottery for Education funds were spent to make schools safer. This report presents the results of an evaluation of Georgia Lottery for Education expenditures for technologies related to school safety. The study evaluated the safety technology at 15 Georgia public schools. Data were gathered through…

This report addresses the adequacy and availability of the state of Vermont's assistance for K-12 school construction and the issues that are creating state legislative concern. Issues examined are (1) the annual state obligation for school construction expenditures exceeding the amount of capital bill funding projected to be available for this…

This book provides new estimates of the private costs and public effects of childhood disabilities among welfare recipients. Based on over 2,000 interviews conducted between 1992-96 with household heads in 3 California counties, the estimates cover direct expenditures by families and indirect costs from employment reductions. The study finds that…

In 1997, the Illinois Legislature passed significant legislation that increased the foundation level for general state aid. Provisions in the legislation for increased teacher accountability included changing the single-level teacher certification system to a multi-tiered process, changing the length of time required before attaining teacher…

The Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) program is a new initiative that could affect International Reading Association members in the United States--but will benefit only those who take advantage of it. The purpose of the CSR initiative is to provide financial incentives for schools to develop comprehensive school reforms. Funding is available to…

This paper revisits 1997-98 findings that indicated that during the first years of state implementation of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), states were most likely to implement the environment theory, which claims that children benefit socially and psychologically from being part of a household in which caregivers have jobs, and…

The first section of this report focuses on school finance in Maryland and briefly overviews the relative importance of federal, state and local funding. The next section summarizes state education aid, focusing on policy goals guiding state aid, the brief history of state education aid, and the various approaches Maryland uses to distribute…

This guidebook assists California school districts in applying for and obtaining "grant" funds for new construction and modernization projects of its public schools under the provisions of the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998. It provides direction on accessing the processes leading to project approvals, insight into the…

This document, mandated by the University Research Center Act of 1988, presents financial balance sheets listing receipts and disbursements of research funds for research activities being conducted at the eight state-supported universities in Mississippi: Alcorn State University; Delta State University; Jackson State University; Mississippi State…

This article summarizes "The Majority Rule Act for Smaller Classes, Safer Schools and Financial Accountability" (Proposition 26). The Majority Rule Act deals with the percentage vote that a school district, county office of education, or community college, needs in an election to authorize local general-obligation bonds for school…

Using recent economic data on state spending and information about childhood brain development, this Kids Count mini-report offers a snapshot of where Arkansas stands on early education and spending on such programs. The report examines the next steps, challenging conventional wisdom in order to explore the best path for improving child outcomes…

This paper uses Milwaukee Public School (MPS) data to describe trends in state aid and spending during the time that school choice has existed. The study uses data from MPS budget documents, focusing on changes in state aid to MPS and in overall MPS spending. These data refute claims that the financing of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program…

In 1996-97, forty percent of all students in New York state public schools attend schools in one of the nine high minority districts in which minority students constituted eighty percent or more of total enrollment. This report uses the downstate metropolitan region to analyze the effect of state aid policies on high minority school districts and…