The State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) report is produced annually by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) to broaden understanding of the context and consequences of public policy decisions in each state that contribute to public higher education funding levels and funding distributions across states and…

This report presents findings from the Access Evaluation, a study component that is designed to assess the potential impacts of direct certification-Medicaid (DC-M) on students' access to free school meals by conducting retrospective simulations of DC-M in school year 2011-2012, the year before the demonstration began. For the Access Evaluation,…

School choice is a common sense idea that gives all parents the power and freedom to choose their child's education, while encouraging healthy competition among schools and other institutions to better serve students' needs and priorities. It is a public policy that allows a parent/guardian or student to choose a district, charter, or private…

Training, recruiting, developing, and supporting talented and effective educators throughout their careers is known as human capital resource management (HCRM) in education. HCRM has been identified in recent literature as one of the ways in which districts and states may increase school effectiveness and improve student learning (Heneman &…

One of four being published on a five-state project on the dynamics of child care subsidy use, this report provides a detailed look at families receiving child care subsidies in Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Texas, and the factors associated with length of subsidy receipt and provider stability. Data were collected and analyzed by…

Is the United States getting it wrong when it comes to educating tomorrow's innovators in critical fields? It has been known for years that the only way to compete globally in information technology, engineering, nanotechnology, robotics and other fields is to give students the best educational opportunities possible. But do individuals have a…

In April, 2003, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich presented the fiscal year 2004 proposed budget in the midst of a severe state fiscal crisis. Despite the deficit, the proposal maintains or expands investments in many important programs for children and families, and includes a variety of cuts to programs and administrative costs with unclear…

This paper discusses recent Illinois legislation related to education reform and some collaborative approaches being used to impact public policy. It shares implementation updates regarding the rules and regulations attached to the legislation and how these changes could impact educational excellence, equity, and accountability in the 21st…

This report provides a statistical profile of child and family well-being in Illinois, on a county-by-county basis, considering education, health, special needs, economic security, and urban and rural concerns. Comparisons of statewide data to those for neighboring states are also included. In education, information is presented on spending per…

This report examines baccalaureate student graduation, time-to-degree, and retention at Illinois state universities and presents data on these issues in 21 tables. The analysis notes that a little more than half of all public university first-time freshmen earn a bachelor's degree and that less than 3 percent of freshmen complete their degrees in…

Budget recommendations for operations and grants for the State of Illinois Board of Higher Education are presented, with policy considerations and statistical tables supporting the recommendations included. The recommendations include: a total increase in state appropriated funds of $133 million, state general revenue fund support increase of $108…