After being sued for inequity and inadequacy in school funding, many states in the US have reformed their education aid formulas but have still faced many criticisms. Using Connecticut as an example, this paper shows how to design a more equitable and adequate aid formula with tools to win broad support from communities and lawmakers. It develops…

Students of color continue to experience disparities in enrollment, retention and completion of postsecondary education -- a reality that's been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of persistent and systemic inequities, policymakers are increasingly interested in exploring funding approaches that support greater access and attainment to…

At $14 billion, the investment in operating support for higher education institutions from the coronavirus relief bill, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, is the largest one-year federal infusion of funds going straight to colleges since the Great Recession. Yet it's nowhere close to enough. Many states have already…

California educates more than 6 million children in its K-12 public schools. More than half of these students are economically disadvantaged. About one in five are English Learners (ELs), compared with one in ten nationwide. In 2013, the state created the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) to simplify school funding and significantly increase…

The PPIC (Public Policy Institute of California) Statewide Survey provides a voice for the public and likely voters--informing policymakers, encouraging discussion, and raising awareness on critical issues of the day. This 14th annual survey involved interviewing 1,704 California adults between March 25-April 3, 2018. Findings include: (1) Most…

The PPIC Statewide Survey delivers nonpartisan, objective, advocacy-free information on the perceptions, opinions, and public policy preferences of California residents. PPIC invites input, comments, and suggestions from policy and public opinion experts and from its own advisory committee, but survey methods, questions, and content are determined…

Key findings from the current survey: (1) many California parents see school closures for COVID-19 as somewhat of a problem and are concerned with providing productive learning at home; (2) an overwhelming majority of parents approve of school districts' handling of closures and Governor Newsom's handling of K-12 education; and (3) as optimism…

The landscape of K-12 education funding in the United States is exceptionally complex. When it comes to funding an equitable, high-quality education for English Learners (ELs), discussions often focus on federal funds under Title III of the "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA)--an important source of funding for many aspects of ELs'…

The Administration's January proposal for the 2015-16 state budget does not do enough for California's top priority--the children. The failure to fund new preschool slots breaks last year's commitment to provide access to quality preschool for every low-income 4-year-old. The proposal also misses opportunities to fully support and improve access…

The Administration's January proposal for the 2014-15 state budget projects a surplus, due to painful budget cutting in recent years combined with the economic recovery and voter approval of new revenues. While the proposal invests some of the additional revenue in children, it falls well short of what is needed. California's kids have borne a…

We propose an efficiency-based mechanism for state funding of public colleges and universities using data envelopment analysis. We describe the philosophy and the mathematics that underlie the approach and apply\break the proposed model to data from 362 U.S. public four-year colleges and universities. The model provides incentives to institution…

The measure of district wealth used by a state is a critical factor in reducing the potential extremes in available resources that may occur across districts. To be effective, the state definition of wealth should correlate closely with the local tax structure that is available to school districts to raise local revenues. Conversely, if wealth is…

This Education Policy Brief revisits the evidence of the benefits and impact of prekindergarten programs as documented in the 2006 report, "Closing the Achievement Gap Series: Part I. Is Indiana Ready for State-Sponsored Prekindergarten Programs? Education Policy Brief. Volume 4, Number 7, Summer 2006," and provides updated information…

In this report, Pre-K Now, a campaign of the Pew Center on the States, reviews state budgets to see which legislatures understand the economic and educational value of high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten. In light of the tough fiscal environment, the news for young children is surprisingly good. A chart that documents pre-k budget allocations…

This research examined the funding request process whereby higher education institutions seek financial support from state government. The study tested whether a model based on state goals and priorities for higher education could distinguish a funded request from an unfunded request. The research was qualitative and followed a comparative case…