After years of education system reforms that, at best, tinker at the system's edges, generations of families and students remain systemically marginalized, underserved, underprepared, and undereducated. COVID-19 has only made starker and more urgent the unfinished work of ensuring that all students receive an excellent education. It is time to do…

This document provides state education agency (SEA) leaders with a systematized approach to identifying and defining elements, major tasks, and deliverables for conducting a meaningful resource allocation review (RAR). Based on the findings of an intensive four-year design process, field research, and recommendations from the pilot audit of the…

State early childhood administrators are planning to strategically invest the federal appropriations in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) to address disruptions in children's care and learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. State leaders must consider how this one-time funding can be used effectively while understanding the context around…

The American Rescue Plan Act's Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) fund represent a historic investment in ensuring that all students have access to safe in-person instruction and in meeting the social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs of the Nation's students. The U.S. Department of Education is committed to…

Over the last decade, state efforts to build stronger data infrastructure and integrate data about early childhood services have continued to grow. A stronger data infrastructure supports states in more easily linking data across programs, which in turn makes it easier to analyze and use that data to answer important policy questions. An Early…

A decade ago, the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education (the National Center) issued a policy brief, "State Capacity for Higher Education Policy." The National Center's core recommendation: States must have a broad-based, independent, credible public entity with a clear charge to increase the state's educational…

General economic uncertainty and ongoing issues with information technology (IT) funding in higher education are impacting the general availability and allocation of funds to community colleges and, subsequently, to IT. However, financial support for IT is not always just about money: how much and to whom, from what source for what purpose. Other…

The Title I, Part D (Part D) Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk under the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act," allocate funds to states and school districts to improve educational services for these youth.…

Volume 2 of "Promoting Education and Transition Success for Neglected and Delinquent Youth: An Evaluation of the Title I, Part D Program" consists of three appendices to the main report: (1) Data Collection Technical Appendix (State and Local Agency Surveys, Case Studies, Disclosure Review); (2) Data Collection Instruments (Part D…

Aging school infrastructure, changing population dynamics, decreased funding, and increased accountability for reporting school success all require today's school business officials to combine a variety of disparate data sets into a coherent system that enables effective and efficient decision making. School business officials are required to: (1)…

Recent reforms in Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) appear to be gaining traction and producing welcome improvements in student achievement and success. Enrollment has increased, educators are replacing unsuccessful programs with innovative ones, and new resources and organizational partnerships are being brought into the system.…

Activities during the initial 18-month cycle of the Demand and Resource Evaluation (DARE) Program of the Puget Sound Power and Light Company (Washington State) are described. The role of evaluation in public utility planning is discussed. Cooperation, communication, and consensus among utility planning staff are concluded to be vital. (SLD)

A microcomputer-based system to analyze both historical funding and current resource allocation patterns helped to prepare for an anticipated budget crisis at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The system also included a module which permitted decision makers to test resource allocation alternatives. (Author/MLW)

The project life cycle, a well-established concept in project management literature and education, is used to highlight the dynamic requirements placed on a typical project manager. As a project moves through the selection, planning, execution, and termination phases, the project manager and team are faced with different, vying areas of…

As campuses react to budget cuts and increasing programmatic demands, the competition for resources among constituencies is increasingly intense. In this environment, reinvesting in campus facilities becomes challenging because, quite simply, the financial commitment can be immense. Unfortunately, many campus constituencies fail to understand the…