This policy brief estimates the fiscal impacts of expanding New Hampshire's Education Freedom Account (EFA) program under two bills that were introduced in the state Legislature during the 2025 session. The analysis covers the first two years of each plan. The EFA program is currently open to public and private school K-12 students whose family…

This paper reports results from a fiscal analysis of Pennsylvania SB 299, a proposal to expand the state's two tax-credit scholarship programs. Pennsylvania currently has two programs in operation, the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program and the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) Program. This paper is organized as follows.…

The State of Maryland has always prided itself on being a leader in higher education. In 2012, the Career and College Readiness and College Completion Act (CCRCCA) set an ambitious goal: that 55% of Marylanders would have at least one degree by 2025. Reaching this goal requires increasing college access and completion across a wide variety of…

In the absence of continuous legislative and institutional intervention, the demand for services provided by vocational and registered nurses in California over the next ten years will greatly outpace the supply of nurses anticipated to flow from postsecondary degree programs. Nursing education and supply issues can be better understood and…

This document presents a speech delivered by Chancellor Bill Goertz at the meeting of the State Board of Higher Education last November 19, 2009. In his speech, Chancellor Goertz reports that: (1) according to a Delta Cost Project report, North Dakota ranked among the top five states in regard to market-based productivity; (2) the Midwest Higher…

As part of a review of California's strategy for helping recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) find jobs through the Work Incentive Program (WIN), eight demonstration programs were analyzed. There were four major findings. First, the Department of Social Services (DSS), which targets AFDC recipients with recent job…

The impact of the 1985 Illinois seat belt law is explored using Box-Jenkins Auto-Regressive, Integrated Moving Averages (ARIMA) techniques and monthly accident statistical data from the state department of transportation for January-July 1990. A conservative estimate is that the law provides benefits of $15 million per month in Illinois. (SLD)

This report summarizes the findings and recommendations of a Minnesota panel commissioned to find ways to: increase awareness of appropriate technology for persons with disabilities; provide access to appropriate technology-based products and services; and fund research and development in this field. The executive summary provides a definition of…

The mental health policies of the past 20 years and the evidence of unserved populations suffering from serious mental illness constitute a public health crisis. Currently there are at least 3,000,000 people in the United States suffering from mental disorders. A fully developed continuum of care is needed to respond effectively to the diverse…

This report responds to a legislative mandate to examine the funding of the Statewide Nursing Program at the California State University, an external degree program of advanced training for practicing nurses. Included in the report are: (1) a brief history of the program; (2) the State University's rationale for offering it; (3) a description of…

The principal objective of this report, the last in a series of three, was to develop and determine cost effectiveness of alternate plans for an effective telecommunications capability through 1975 for the State of Illinois. The State is advised to contract with communications consultants to help it save money on its telephone bill. It is also…

This report by the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Wisconsin's Telecommunications Infrastructure considers infrastructure to be the common network that connects individual residences, businesses, and agencies, rather than the individual systems and equipment themselves. The task force recognizes that advances in telecommunications technologies and…

Remote education has arrived in Connecticut and is promising to expand, as this discussion of its development, progress, and difficulties demonstrates. In June 1993, state legislation mandated a feasibility study of ways to bring about bidirectional educational programming among Connecticut's 26 cable-franchise operators. Cost allocation for the…

This publication addresses the issue of low birthweight and what state legislatures can do to reduce its incidence, particularly in regard to ensuring prenatal care. Other than prevention of unwanted pregnancies, provison of good prenatal care is the most effective strategy for reducing the number of low birthweight babies. This text describes:…

For certain groups of the mentally ill, most notably individuals with serious mental disabilities, the community-based mental health system can be more of a "non-system." Unforeseen problems have plagued both the dream of deinstitutionalization and the effectiveness of community mental health centers during the last 20 years. Uncoordinated…