In 2014, RTI International, with the support of Advance CTE, conducted research on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, which established how states allocated categorical funds for CTE during the academic year 2011-12 and the amounts of those allocations. By returning to this topic 10 years later, Advance CTE seeks to understand how CTE is…

Between the 2020-21 and 2022-23 school years, the number of students experiencing homelessness increased by 25 percent, to 1.4 million. With $800 million in pandemic relief funds, Congress in 2021 supplemented traditional funding for these students. States were to spend their allocations by January 31, 2025. To make informed choices going forward,…

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) allocates funds to States through statutory formulas based primarily on census poverty estimates and the cost of education in each State. To receive funding, a State plan that includes a description of its accountability system must be submitted to the Department for review and approval. For the…

The objective of the report was to determine whether the University of Cincinnati used the Student Aid (Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.425E) and Institutional (ALN 84.425F) portions of its Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) funds for allowable and intended purposes. It also reviews the University's cash management practices and the…

An estimated 1 million+ children could benefit from the child care and early education proposal recently released by U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) for inclusion in the federal budget reconciliation package. The new framework, which includes $72 billion in additional Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funds,…

On January 20, the Biden Administration announced additional funding and resources to support students during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has created and exacerbated barriers to postsecondary success. Alongside this funding announcement, the Department of Education released updated guidance for institutions on using Higher Education Emergency…

This quantitative, correlational-predictive study was performed using publicly available archival data to determine if and to what extent post-COVID-19 relief funding (ESSER III) received by the Arizona public school districts in the 2021-2022 school year had a statistically significant impact on the English Language Arts (ELA) assessment during…

Troubled by the inequities in competitive grantmaking, we use critical quantitative methods to analyze the FY2023 federal academic earmarks as a potential mechanism for racialized change work. Specifically, we ask: To what extent does Congress distribute academic earmarks in ways that reinforce or weaken the racialized stratification of resources…

Disasters have severe implications for life and property, often requiring large-scale collective action to facilitate recovery. In the U.S., one key determinant of recovery is access to resources that mitigate damage losses and shorten disaster recovery trajectories. However, communities with the disabled present may be excluded from such services…

The Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk, is authorized by Title I, Part D of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) and was most recently amended in 2015 by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This guidance is intended to be used in conjunction with the…

In most K-12 school districts across the country, the beginning of the 2021-22 school year has been different from what school and district leaders expected and were planning for. Many spent the spring and summer sowing the seeds of their ESSER plans, allocating federal investments to high-impact strategies designed to bear fruit for years to…

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted schools across the country, negatively impacting student learning, especially for students of color and students experiencing poverty. These students need our support; in the absence of successful COVID catch-up activities, the likelihood is that they will face future obstacles to success in college and the…

It is clear that young people bore the brunt of the pandemic's impact. Disrupted learning, sometimes stretching for two years, forced many students off track and behind academically. Leaders are now faced an unprecedented need to make smart investments with federal relief funds in efforts that accelerate student learning. District leaders should…

Career-connected learning is an educational strategy that combines high-quality academic instruction, skill-based learning, and real-world experiences to prepare students with the knowledge and skills that they need to pursue their college and career goals. Career-connected learning can be delivered in a variety of ways, including in core content…

This brief explains why concerns over an impending "fiscal cliff" for public school districts as federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds near their expiration are misplaced. Due in part to federal pandemic aid, most state budgets are flush with cash, with record-high rainy-day funds, positioning them to absorb any…