In the effort to improve essential components of the Basic Education Program (BEP), the General Assembly has adopted legislation directing the BEP Review Committee to perform a comprehensive review of the funding formula, identifying needed revisions, additions, or deletions. This year, through a series of full-day meetings, the committee has…

In order to assess the effects of changes in funding processes in Florida, this report describes and compares financing under: the Minimum Foundation Programs (MFP), which for 25 years served as the funding model for elementary, secondary, and community college education; the Community College Program Fund, a multi-level program cost formula,…

Mixed messages--a legislature intending to repair school finance system inequities and a governor claiming the problem is "fixed" by a $100 million construction grant--characterized the beginning of Arizona's 1997 legislative session. Charter schools, school-based management, vouchers, and property-tax reforms are also discussed. (MLH)

This article studies the effects of earmarking state lottery profits for education. Because educational expenditures generally exceed the funds earmarked for education by a wide margin, nothing prevents state legislators from using earmarked funds to replace rather than augment funds that would have gone to education in the absence of earmarking.…

The 2007-09 state general fund executive recommendation (including general fund capital projects) is $470.2 million for the eleven campuses, UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Forest Service and North Dakota University System Office, which is an increase of $81.8 million or 21.1% over the 2005-07 adjusted appropriation. The total…

Colorado's voucher law was declared unconstitutional by the Colorado Supreme Court on June 28, 2004. Voucher supporters have begun drafting revised legislation designed to address the legal problem. This article calls into question the key financial claim of revenue neutrality--a claim that was central to the promotion and passage of the departing…

Parents of students with disabilities face a number of difficult choices in determining how to get the best education for their children. Too often, the special education system in public schools fails its students. Parents must become both experts and advocates for their children in order to navigate a burdensome maze of regulations to fight for…

This paper examines the politics of special education finance reform in three states (Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Vermont) that have enacted substantial legislative change within the past 5 years. These case studies were extracted from presentations made by the three state directors of special education at a 1994 conference. Each case study includes…

This report describes the process and outcomes of implementing Oregon state legislation (Senate Bill 814 in 1991), which restructured the state's special education funding system. The new system provides districts with grants that are twice the regular per student allocation for every identified special education student up to 11 percent of the…

In response to a legislative inquiry, a study was conducted by the Washington State Board for Community College Education (SBCCE) to determine the adequacy of policies and laws governing the state funding classification of community college courses. During the study, the SBCCE examined the extent to which the colleges were financing courses with a…

Many states have found that financing public schools through local property taxes is unlawful under their state constitutions; as a result, they must consider using state tax revenue as the primary source of local school-district funding. The recent California experience provides a sample of political economic behaviors used to respond to the…

In its first year (1986-87), a $37.4 million Connecticut aid program has markedly reduced disparities in teacher salaries and expenditures per pupil. This paper reviews the use of school aid increases in Connecticut, describes the simulation models used, explains the models' role in targeting state aid, and outlines the legislation and its…

This paper traces the historical context of the passage and implementation of Vermont's Act 230 in 1990, which initiated a new special education funding system to increase equity, predictability, and flexibility in program design as well as to ensure placement neutrality. Specific objectives of the funding system included increasing the use of…

The funding and operation of Michigan's K-12 public school system was substantially changed in March 1994, with voter approval of a constitutional amendment and legislative adoption of 24 implementing state statutes. The comprehensive school funding proposal substantially reduced local property taxes; increased, and in some cases decreased, the…

This study of the financing of special education programs for children with disabilities or giftedness/talent was mandated by the legislature of Nevada to: (1) examine the amount of federal, state, and local money expended for special education programs and the proportion of total funding for special education programs provided from each source;…