Prior studies of means-testing in college financial aid formulas have analyzed the disincentives to save attributable to the inclusion of assets in the formulas. Such disincentives are only half of a standard incentives--insurance trade-off. When income is uncertain, a financial aid formula that conditions aid on assets and income provides…

The North Carolina Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) contracted the American Institutes for Research® (AIR®) to help the state move toward a more equitable and adequate funding formula for North Carolina Prekindergarten (NC Pre-K). The NC Pre-K Program provides free Pre-K to 4-year-old children from families with incomes up…

In most states across the country, public K-12 enrollment is declining. This is a decade-long, national trend that accelerated with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and is projected to continue. Although enrollment decline varies substantially among and within states, many states have put temporary or permanent policies in place to address the…

This report shares recommendations for the distribution of federal government funding among Canada's post-secondary institutions. These recommendations include: (1) continue to increase federal support for investigator-led research to ensure high success rates; (2) increase funding for SSHRC through a re-balancing of Tri-Agency funding and permit…

The distribution of state funding to school districts has a tremendous impact on student learning opportunities. State leaders juggle different priorities, tradeoffs and incentives when designing funding formulas with the goal of ensuring every student has the learning opportunities to succeed. This toolkit offers a strategic guide for reforming…

Wisconsin voters approved a record number of referenda in 2024 to increase property taxes to fund their local schools, and nearly set a record for the most referenda to fund municipalities or counties. However, the approval rate for school ballot questions continued a downward trend. These trends raise questions about both the adequacy of current…

Through its "Master Plan for Kids' Mental Health," California has invested $4.7 billion in youth mental and behavioral health since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Expanding behavioral health services on school campuses has been a powerful way to ensure equitable access to this support. However, most of the state's new behavioral…

The School Funding Reform Act (SFRA), New Jersey's school finance law, requires the Governor, in consultation with the Commissioner of Education, to review certain components of the school funding formula every three years. The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) issued four Educational Adequacy Reports (EAR) between 2013 and 2022, but none…

Equitable educational opportunities and outcomes are crucial for the success of all students. What can state and local educational agencies do to address inequities? This infographic shares resources, conditions for success, and examples of innovative models to ensure all students are set up to succeed.

Over the past four years, Florida has seen tremendous growth in the amount of public funds being spent on private education. This report finds that in 2022-23, an estimated $1.3 billion in funding will be redirected from public school districts to private education, representing 10% of state K-12 education funds allocated through the Florida…

A.C.A. §6-61-234 (Act 148 of 2017) directs the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board (AHECB) to adopt polices developed by the Arkansas Division of Higher Education (ADHE) necessary to implement a productivity-based funding model for state-supported institutions of higher education. At its October 27, 2017 meeting, the AHECB approved the…

Wisconsin's technical colleges appear to receive unusually high funding levels per student compared to other public two-year colleges nationally. Yet our review has found more than 100,000 technical college students being served in Wisconsin are absent in national data, likely inflating the funding figures. Accounting for the missing students…

Privatization of public education in North America has long been influenced by two schools of conservative thought: neoliberalism, which seeks to create a marketplace for public services in which individuals choose the option they judge to be in their best interests and government's role is limited as much as possible to simply funding these…

The majority of states with a weighted, student-based K-12 funding formula include weights that allocate additional funding based on the enrollment of students in poverty, students with special education needs, and English learners (ELs). Research shows that all three of these student groups need additional support and resources to succeed. Many…

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.