A recent Common Sense Institute report addresses two important policy questions about Arizona's ESA program. First, how much will the ESA program cost in the upcoming year? Second, what are the characteristics of ESA users by household income and race/ethnicity? The report concludes that the ESA program is "essentially fully subscribed,"…

The Washington Student Achievement Council's (WSAC) Regional Partnerships (RP) strategy invests in cross-sector partnerships that are committed to increasing local postsecondary attainment through geographically and culturally responsive approaches. In this first installment of the RP Learning Brief Series, the Washington Student Achievement…

Registered Apprenticeships use an "earn while you learn" approach to help learners gain credentials and skills in their chosen occupation while getting paid. These programs offer positive economic returns to both learners and employers--learners gain experience and higher wages upon program completion, and employers see reduced turnover…

This appendix contains programmatic updates regarding the Washington Student Achievement Council's (WSAC) regional partnership work: (1) Strategic Involvement; (2) Long-Term Outlook Based on the 2025 Biennial State Budget; (3) Upcoming Report on Regional Partnership Outcomes for the 2024-25 Academic Year; and (4) Reapplication and Investment…

The 2010 health reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, included a provision that would expand eligibility of the public insurance program Medicaid. One concern raised about implementing the Medicaid expansion is that it would lead to reductions in state spending in other policy domains. In this study, we test whether adopting…

Every year, State of the State addresses offer time for new and incumbent governors to outline policy priorities and celebrate state accomplishments. Since 2005, we've tracked, analyzed and identified education policy trends in governors' State of the State addresses to help you understand trending education issues across states. This year's…

A 50-cent-per-pack tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products has been endorsed by California voters to fund early childhood services under Proposition 10, California Children and Families First Act of 1998. In compliance with the legislative requirement of Result-Based Accountability (RBA) on revenue spending, this report delineates evaluation…

The Region 1 Comprehensive Center was asked to support the Maine Department of Education in implementing a Rethinking K-12 Education Models Grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The R1CC technical assistance activities prioritized supporting the Maine DOE in developing the infrastructure for the innovation grants, including serving as a…

The Regional Challenge Grant (RCG) seeks to intentionally grow the scale of its work by awarding funds to additional regional partnerships. This document includes five new partnership recommendations for Council consideration as a result of the 2024 Request for Letters of Interest.

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…

California voters decided to collect a 50 cent-per-pack tax on cigarette and other tobacco products and use the money to fund early childhood services under Proposition 10, California Children and Families First Act of 1998. In compliance to the legislative requirement of Result-Based Accountability (RBA) on the revenue spending, this report…

Like many states across the nation, California is facing persistent teacher shortages. School districts continue to find it difficult to fill vacancies with fully credentialed teachers, especially math, science, special education, and bilingual education teachers. Teacher shortages impact student learning as districts resort to relying on a…

Passed in 2022 with bipartisan support, Senate Bill 5789 established the Washington Career and College Pathways Innovative Challenge Program with a $6 million initial investment in the first year and a $16 million appropriation in the 2023-2025 Washington state biennium budget. The program awards competitive grants to existing and new…

During the 2023 Legislative Session, the Legislature considered House Bill (HB) 1479, a measure which would have prohibited isolation and further restricted restraint in public schools. While the bill did not pass, the Legislature provided the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) with designated state funds to begin actualizing…

The Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) works collaboratively with place-based, cross-sector partnerships seeking to increase postsecondary attainment in their communities. The Regional Challenge Grant (RCG) is a key mechanism in WSAC's broader Regional Partnership (RP) approach to invest in partnerships that self-identify strategies to…