The primary source of federal aid to elementary and secondary education is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The ESEA was initially adopted in 1965 (P.L. 89-10), and was most recently reauthorized and amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; P.L. 114-95), which authorized appropriations for ESEA programs through FY2020.…

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) requires states to have statewide accountability systems to help provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps. These systems must meet certain federal requirements, but states have some discretion in…

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) continually seeks opportunities to ease administrative burdens on State educational agencies (SEAs) while ensuring strong fiscal and programmatic accountability. This letter grants limited prior approval to SEAs to approve pre-award costs and participant support costs for subgrantees for programs in…

California enacted a groundbreaking shift to its school-funding system when it passed the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) in 2013. The law sought to make funding more equitable and also aimed to increase local control based on the premise that budgeting decisions are best made at the local level in partnership with community stakeholders, who…

Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA; P.L. 89-329), as amended, authorizes the primary programs that provide federal financial assistance (e.g., Pell Grants and Direct Loans) to students to assist them in obtaining a postsecondary education at eligible institutions of higher education (IHEs). IHEs seeking to participate in the Title IV…

The primary source of federal aid to elementary and secondary education is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)--particularly its Title I-A program, which authorizes federal aid for the education of disadvantaged students. The ESEA was initially enacted in 1965 (P.L. 89- 10) "to strengthen and improve educational quality and…

The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins Act) is the primary federal law aimed at developing and supporting career and technical education (CTE) programs at the secondary and postsecondary educational levels. Prior to the 115th Congress, the Perkins Act had most recently been reauthorized in 2006 by the Carl D. Perkins…

The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on July 1, 2013, represents an historic and path-breaking shift for California, the first comprehensive change in the state's education funding system in 40 years. Each district now receives a base funding allocation and, in keeping with the law's equity focus, added…

Policymakers and practitioners often must balance distributing resources equitably and efficiently while being accountable for high student achievement. This paper focuses on these concepts as they relate to English learners and examines equity and efficiency in Minnesota's educational funding from 2003 through 2011, the years spanning…

The Bilingual Education Act of 1968 and the Lau v. Nichols Supreme court case (1974) have changed the way school districts prioritize education for English Learners. With the same intention to prioritize education for English Learners alongside foster youth and low income, former Governor Jerry Brown and the California legislature followed suit by…

This 2016 document is designed to provide state Part C staff with guidance on using fiscal data to analyze and revise their allocation methodology. Allocation methodology is the process -- including practices, strategies, procedures, and policies -- used by Part C state staff to equitably distribute funds to meet the needs of the system, including…

Much has been written on the subject of school turnaround, but relatively little about how to "pay for" turnaround-related work. Turning around low-performing schools not only requires changing instructional and related practices, but changing spending patterns as well. Too often education dollars are spent on the same costs from…

The Career and Technical Education (CTE) playbook series has explored strategies and processes states can use to strengthen CTE program quality and provide students with pathways to postsecondary credentialing and middle- and higher wage career opportunities. In the first three CTE Playbooks, ExcelinEd provided a high-level view of how states can…

"Districts' Use of Weighted Student Funding Systems to Increase School Autonomy and Equity: Findings from a National Study. Volume 1," is intended to provide both practitioners and policymakers with detailed information about the design, implementation, and outcomes of weighted student funding (WSF) systems in the United States. Findings…

The landscape of K-12 education funding in the United States is exceptionally complex. When it comes to funding an equitable, high-quality education for English Learners (ELs), discussions often focus on federal funds under Title III of the "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA)--an important source of funding for many aspects of ELs'…