For too long, Ohio underfunded its public charter schools. That policy was unfair to charter school students--many economically disadvantaged--whose educations received less taxpayer support simply by virtue of their choice of schools. It was also unfair to charter schools, which were required to serve children on fewer dollars than the districts…

Over the last 25 years, the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP) has invested nearly $5.3 billion into the charter school sector, directing funds to schools in 43 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Approximately 60% of students in CSP grantee schools are from low-income backgrounds and 64% are Black or Hispanic. The CSP has played a critical role in…

During the 2013-2014 school year, Austin Independent School District served more than 23,000 English language learner students in bilingual or English as a second language programs. This report summarizes these students' English language proficiency gains as well as academic performance on the state's required assessments during that school year.

This paper uses the year 1972-73 as a base line in evaluating the progress of Illinois toward certain "equity goals." In determining the equity goals, two dimensions are studied--disparity and wealth neutrality. One measure of disparity is the permissible variance in school district expenditures expressed in the coefficient of variation,…

Some of the dimensions of the relative financial contribution of the cooperating parties in manpower institutional training as established under the Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962 were explored. This analysis will provide some perspective to those who must finally decide the question of relative financial contribution, or provide…

The New Jersey legislature passed the Public School Education Act of 1975 in response to a 1973 state supreme court decision that New Jersey's school finance system was unconstitutional. That decision was based on the court's conclusion that the New Jersey Constitution commands the state to provide an equal educational opportunity to all children…

In May 1987, the Legislative Audit Commission for the State of Minnesota directed the Program Evaluation Division to examine noninstructional expenditures for elementary and secondary education. This report, the first of two, focuses on two questions: (1) Has the commitment of resources in Minnesota to instructional activities declined relative to…

The conceptual differences between the foundation program and educational needs approaches to the distribution of school funds are analyzed. Under the foundation approach, the state generally guarantees that, irrespective of local wealth, every child will have a minimum number of dollars expended on his education. In operation, the foundation…

The purpose of this report by a panel of school finance specialists appointed by the governor to guide a budget study in New York State is to summarize studies on the existing apportionment system of public school aid and to suggest short-term steps for improving the equity of the present system. Parts 1 and 2 discuss the present operating aid…

The basic research design reported in this paper includes technical substudies of the principal factors that affect a State's school finance program. Factors considered in this document include educational need and cost differentials among school districts, State and local taxation, the cost of delivering education, public school personnel,…

This report presents findings of a state-wide evaluation of special education in Minnesota with emphasis on costs and the impact of state and federal regulations. Major findings indicated that the percentage of students receiving special education services has risen from 7.4 percent to 10.9 percent over the last two decades; special education…

This review summarizes the recommendations of the President's Commission on School Finance and provides an annotated listing of the 34 project reports. The conclusions and recommendations are discussed under the following areas of concern: (1) establishing the preminence of State government in education, (2) initiating full State funding of…