People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often have higher rates of comorbid mental health conditions compared to the general population. Yet, many people with IDD also have unmet needs for mental and behavioral health services. The aim of this study was to examine how states provided mental and behavior health, and crisis…

One major criticism of Universal Basic Income is that unconditional cash transfers discourage recipients from working. Evidence to date has largely relied on targeted and/or conditional transfer programs. However, it is difficult to draw conclusions from such programs because universal transfers may induce a positive demand shock by distributing…

While research has documented outcomes for students served by promise programs, few studies have considered the behavior of institutions themselves in the promise era. A new source of revenue combined with larger and more diverse cohorts is likely to motivate changes in spending and staffing--decisions instrumental to student access and success.…

In 2000, federally funded public adult education programs provided basic skills training and English language instruction to over 2.6 million students, or about 1.5% of the U.S. adult population. By 2021, enrollment had plummeted to under 900,000, or less than 0.4% of adults. What explains these declines? This policy brief describes the evolution…

While research has documented outcomes for students served by promise programs, few studies have considered the behavior of institutions themselves in the promise era. A new source of revenue combined with larger and more diverse cohorts is likely to motivate changes in spending and staffing--decisions instrumental to student access and success.…

Over the past few decades, we have witnessed a surge in publicly funded pre-K programs in the United States. Today, policy makers in 45 states and the District of Columbia have adopted them. Combining information from twelve datasets, we use event history analysis (EHA) to examine the influence of a set of predictors on states' decisions to adopt…

Education savings accounts (ESAs) are education funding mechanisms that allow for families to receive a deposit of public funds to a government-authorized savings account. Using student-level longitudinal data, this paper examines how families participating in the Florida Gardiner Scholarship Program use education savings account funds. Results…

The "State of Preschool 2022" annual report covers the 2021-2022 school year and is NIEER's 20th report tracking preschool enrollment, funding, and policies state-by-state. This report focuses on the recovery since the 2020-2021 school year, where we are compared to before the pandemic, where we've come over the last two decades, and…

After recent experimental evidence suggesting that private school students using the Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP) performed worse than their public school peers in math, some legislators discussed cutting the program as a way to reduce state education expenditures in Louisiana, spinning it as a way to save taxpayer money. While cutting the…

This paper examines how colleges respond to the introduction of broad merit aid programs. Previous research has emphasized the impact of merit aid on enrollment, student choices, and post-matriculation outcomes. Yet much less is known about how state-implemented merit aid programs affect colleges' financial decisions. To explore impacts, college…

School options have increased in Ohio and across the nation in recent decades. One prominent option is publicly funded scholarships (or "vouchers") that families can use to send their children to participating private schools. Today, over 75,000 Ohio students participate in one of the state's five voucher programs, the largest of which…

Education savings accounts (ESAs) are education funding mechanisms that allow for families to receive a deposit of public funds to a government-authorized savings account. Using student-level longitudinal data, this paper examines how families participating in the Florida Gardiner Scholarship Program use education savings account funds. Results…

The funding mechanism for the public schools in the state of Mississippi had been surprisingly stable for a number of years. The funding formula existed in its same form for over a half century before it was substantially changed in 1994 when the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) legislation was passed. This is the first external…

Community colleges across the country are plagued with tight budgets--caused in part by state disinvestment and chronic federal underfunding. For rural community colleges, these challenges are even more acute, as their needs are greater and the costs of providing services higher. The COVID-19 pandemic has only deepened the prosperity gap between…

Research has shown that early intervention can greatly improve the development of a child with autism. Children with disabilities--including children with autism--can receive intervention services through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Low income children may also receive intervention services through Medicaid or the State…