Many welfare programs give greater benefits to unmarried individuals than to a married couple of otherwise identical income. The resulting marriage penalty discourages marriage and rewards single parenthood. Combined marriage penalties across federal and state welfare programs can reach tens of thousands of dollars per year for a given family. One…

Nebraska's Educational Service Units (ESUs) are under threat of de-funding, consolidation, and even elimination. For too long, the ESUs have been an invisible asset to school districts, providing equity to our rural schools, and expertise to our more urban schools. ESUs work from the expectation of efficiency and effectiveness, to be good stewards…

This report provides six mini-case studies of higher education policy reforms enacted in other states, exploring the important role that state policy leadership played in developing, promoting, and implementing these policies aimed at improving higher education outcomes, and discussing the relevance of each reform effort for California. This…

Fearing a federal court in Oklahoma might end a state-financed merit-scholarship program targeted by a discrimination lawsuit, black legislators passed a bill making the program race and gender neutral. State regents are criticized for failing to develop effective policy to remedy past discrimination. (MSE)

Claims that increasingly, decisions about whether or how resources will be allocated to young children and families will be made at the state level. Explores the questions answered by the policy document, "Map and Track: State Initiatives for Young Children and Families," and the significance of these questions. Highlights findings and…

This report presents the conclusion of about 50 leaders in government, business, and education who met to consider the status and future of higher education in New Mexico. Following an executive summary, individual sections of the report address the following categories: the process of the roundtable; the current status of higher education in New…

The care and education of the youngest children in the United States has become a critical public policy issue affecting millions of families. This guide closely examines the issues and tradeoffs in key child care policy decisions that face state legislators. The guide provides a discussion of state efforts to build supply, improve quality, and…

This critique by staff of the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges analyzes the findings and recommendations of a report submitted to the California Legislature in March 1980 after a 16-month investigation of state financial aid goals and policies. A synopsis of the report is provided first, summarizing findings in the areas…

This paper provides an overview of how Massachusetts has successfully integrated use of the federal Medicaid program into a plan for financing Part H of Public Law 99-457, the 1986 Amendments to the Education of the Handicapped Act, on a statewide basis. Noted is the lack of a single strategy for accessing Medicaid funds for early intervention…

To assist state policy makers concerning elementary and secondary special education, this handbook assembles information on what states have experienced and what research has found about special education funding, cost and service changes, and funding source management. Chapter 1 considers defining student eligibility for special education,…

Presented are the results of the sixth annual tabular survey of programs in operation or approved for state support of private higher education in the 50 states. As a result of the growth of such programs in the six survey years, the Education Commission of the States (ECS) formed a task force to look carefully at the issue of public support for…

This position paper argues that public and private policies in Minnesota are not responsive to the large scale entry of women into the labor force and proposes a series of basic long-range strategies and specific child day care policies aimed at allieviating the hardships and inequities existing for working women and their families. It is…

In 1971 the author conducted a study of the provincial government policies affecting the provision of grants to school divisions to assist in meeting the operating costs of education. The study was jointly sponsored by the provincial department of education and the Manitoba Association of School Trustees (MAST). During the subsequent five years,…

This report analyzes policy trends in gifted education in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut from 1984 through 1994. The decrease in state funding of gifted education during this period is investigated, along with the rise of private and university gifted programs. Findings from the analysis indicated that gifted students possess few of the…

The student financial aid mechanism has been considered the form of subsidy more likely to provide both access and choice since it can target aid to students most in need of it and lets student choose the college of their choice. The Tuition Assistance Program in New York is discussed. (MLW)