The Illinois Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act (EBF), a comprehensive overhaul of the state's school funding formula, was signed into law in August 2017. The Act requires an overall increase of more than $7 billion in state education aid and sets 2027 as the deadline to reach full funding of the EBF formula. The Act also sets $350…

The community schools strategy transforms a school into a place where educators, local community members, families, and students work together to strengthen conditions for student learning and healthy development. As partners, they organize in- and out-of-school resources, supports, and opportunities so that young people thrive. A growing number…

State fiscal support for higher education has met sluggish growth recently, a trend that has community college leaders working to meet student needs despite a shrinking resource pool. According to an annual report released in January by Grapevine, state financial aid for higher education increased just 1.6 percent between the 2017 and 2018 fiscal…

Concerned with low on-time graduation rates, state lawmakers continue to turn to outcomes-based funding (OBF) as one policy approach to support postsecondary degree attainment and workforce goals. Policymakers have also been confronted with constituent complaints about student debt loads, course schedules and academic programs that force students…

This is the third paper on the topic of outcomes-based funding written by Dennis Jones for Complete College America. The first paper, "Performance Funding: From Idea to Action" (ED535356), proposed a set of design and implementation principles to help states develop and implement their own outcomes-based funding models. The second paper,…

This brief examines braiding, blending, and layering funding streams as possible strategies for supporting and sustaining high quality preschool programs. Interviews across three states with school district administrators, a Head Start director, and the director of a child care program illustrate how some leaders at the local level combine…

California policymakers have established the expectation that all public school students should have access to a broad course of study, in classes where instruction is consistent with the state's content standards. Further, the state holds schools and school districts accountable for their ability to ensure that all students achieve at a specified…

Illinois confronts a financial crisis that threatens its capacity to implement the state's long-fought-for plan for improving our education system. Two-thirds of our school districts are now deficit-spending. Districts have dismissed at least 6,400 educators and aides, closed schools, lengthened bus routes, and reduced programs in everything from…

In American popular culture, the word "rural" invokes images of sunny farms and little red schoolhouses--while "urban" means drugs, poverty, and crime. But those who know the reality of both worlds will say that rural schools face many of the same challenges as their urban counterparts. The problems of rural schools are often…

The extent to which funds under the Title I of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) should be expended on training services has been a topic of discussion by Congress, which is considering reauthorization of WIA. This paper describes a policy initiative by Illinois that requires Local Workforce Investment Areas (LWIAs) under Title I of WIA to expend…

The system used in Illinois for financing public education underwent major reform in 1973. At that time four alternative formulas for determining equalization aid levels were established. In 1980 three of these formulas were eliminated and only a modified version of the Resource Equalizer formula remains in use. This report provides an overview of…

Formula funding in Illinois reflects decisions on value choices which can be grouped in the categories of enrollment linkage, mission and diversity recognition, equity and fair share, and quality and program improvement. The enrollment linkage of the Illinois formula ties credit hour grants and categorical programs directly to full-time equivalent…

The current Illinois school finance formula fails to bring very wealthy districts within acceptable equalization bounds. Manipulating tax rates of wealthy and other districts is unacceptable or financially unfeasible. This paper proposes a two-stage process requiring state equalization at the county level, followed by equalization within each…

This issue of "Exchanges" highlights a number of issues in the challenge to align appropriations, tuition and financial aid (AFTA) policy. Two distinct trends in the nature of the American student population are identified: significant demographic shifts and the emerging necessity of serving adult learners. These shifts are prompting…

This two-part report provides an analysis of the current funding formula for Illinois community colleges, financing recommendations, and an overview and analysis of national trends in state financing of public higher education. Part I begins with a discussion of community college funding in Illinois, followed by an overview of five external trends…