Arizona has represented the epicenter of school choice in the United States. The state has had open enrollment for district schools for 30 years, charter schools for more than 25 years, a private school tax credit program for nearly as long, and was the first state in the country in 2011 to enact direct parent-appropriations through targeted…

The English Learner population (EL) in the United States continues to grow, with more than 5 million students currently identified as English Learner students. While districts and schools were held accountable for their English Learner students under the No Child Left Behind Act[superscript 4], the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)[superscript 5]…

Between 1997 and 2019, 16 out of 41 performance-based funding (PBF) states discontinued their PBF policies for public colleges and universities. Adapting policy diffusion theory to PBF discontinuation, we investigate whether policy discontinuation in one state is related to discontinuations in other states, and differentiate between the two policy…

Performance-based funding (PBF) policies that closely link higher education funding to performance metrics are common in the United States. Similar to other performance management systems, evidence suggests PBF policies have unintended impacts, such as cream-skimming. More specifically, evidence shows the fiscal incentives of PBF encourage…

During economic recessions, state funding for higher education contracts (Delaney & Doyle, 2011; Hovey, 1999; SHEEO, 2022). Despite this reality, public higher education officials need to offer insights and explanations to state legislators about the current status of their institutions and their needs when discussing their budget requests. We…

Education savings accounts (ESAs) are designed to provide families with greater flexibility in designing educational programs that meet the needs of their children outside of the public system. Through ESAs, state education funds that are allocated for a child to attend public school are transferred directly to the child's family to use for the…

In 2022, Tennessee overhauled its education funding formula to improve outcomes for the 1 million students in the state. The Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act (TISA) was designed to simplify the existing funding formula and more equitably allocate resources to schools. Bellwether's case study, "After the Policy Win: First-Year…

Performance-based funding (PBF) policies with research incentives have grown in popularity over the years despite little understanding regarding whether they actually work. This study leverages a novel national data set to examine the impact of PBF research incentives on the research expenditures and total state appropriations among public 4-year…

Funding for public higher education has been cut in Kentucky in the decade starting 2008 (Spalding, 2019). Due to several contributing factors, including entitlement programs, healthcare costs, the great recession, and other competing demands at the state level, this is a nationwide trend and is not predicted to reverse any time soon. This funding…

As school choice expands across the U.S., more states are providing funds to private schools, giving parents options for their children's education. This growth in private schools has heightened the need for accountability in ensuring educational quality and student performance. Transformational Leadership Theory and Systems Theory was utilized in…

"Varying Degrees 2024" continues to explore Americans' perspectives on a variety of higher education issues, including value, affordability, funding, and accountability. The findings this year show Americans' confidence in higher education declines in a few areas. But at the same time, they still believe higher education is worth it and…

California's public higher education system has catapulted the state into global leadership such that, the state is the 5th largest economy in the world today. A bachelor's degree, in particular, provides unrivaled economic and health benefits for the individual earning the degree and for the state. To better understand how California's public…

"The State of Career Technical Education: Credentials of Value" report draws on a 2024 national scan of state practices, a 50-state survey, and interviews with state leaders to gather insights and strategies for improving the identification, validation, incentivization, and data collection related to credentials that support learners'…

Five years after the worst pandemic in a century, America's students continue to face significant learning losses resulting from the disruptions. In Michigan, students also continue to feel the impact of the pandemic. And today, their learning outcomes lag behind leading states in key subject areas. Michigan's lackluster performance has been the…

Virtually all states use a variety of settings to operate center-based pre-K, often making extensive use of child care or Head Start classrooms in addition to public schools. About half of the pre-K programs in 24 states allowed Family Child Care homes (FCCs) to receive state pre-K dollars either directly from the state or through subcontracting.…