Postsecondary education and training have become essential to economic mobility, and equitable access to postsecondary education and training is critical to building an inclusive economy. Part of building inclusivity is increasing the number of and diversity of working people earning these quality credentials in workforce education and training…

Growing concerns over student debt have led to a series of sweeping policy proposals from higher education associations, think tanks, and policymakers over the last decade to align state and federal higher education financing policy. The existing framework, in which states primarily subsidize institutions and the federal government primarily…

After an active election season, 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…

This publication outlines the Digital Equity Framework--a set of principles, guidelines, and policy recommendations designed to bridge the digital divides at the state level, for K-12 systems, and for higher education. It introduces three frameworks for digital equity, designed to lay the groundwork for learners to fully participate in society…

This article summarizes the Governor Budget proposals in the New England region. Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut proposed restructuring, refinancing the systems' payments and slowing the rate of increase in the teachers' pension fund and the state employee pension fund, both of which are underfunded. Lamont also announced that for the first…

State budgeting and resource allocation has been a complex process due to the demands of lobbyists for such strongly disputable priorities such as K-12 education, Medicaid, corrections, transportation, and health and human services. Funds, appropriated to institutions of higher education, are typically more delicate to the condition of the economy…

In the U.S., state politicians directly influence legislation and budget decisions that can substantially affect public education spending and students. Does the political party of elected officials matter for these outcomes? We use a regression discontinuity design to analyze close house and gubernatorial elections from 1982 to 2016 and find that…

This paper applies political discourse analysis to an examination of gubernatorial rhetoric and agenda setting around higher education in Texas during Governor Rick Perry's leadership, from 2000-2015. The authors analyzed 28 gubernatorial speeches using manifest content analysis in STATA and qualitative coding via pattern matching in Atlas.ti.…

Researchers have shown renewed interest during the past decade in the relationships among politics, policy, finance, and governance of higher education at the state level. Little attention, however, has been paid to state higher education executive officers (SHEEOs), the individuals responsible for leading the agencies that oversee higher…

This Special Report captures analysis of 42 governors' State of the State addresses and the education-related proposals mentioned within. In 2021, governors unsurprisingly focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications for students, teachers and education more broadly. The six major themes among education-related proposals this year were…

In laying out policy priorities in their 2020 State of the State addresses, governors recognized the role the public education system plays in supporting strong economies. Often citing the need to align education with the 21st century's knowledge economy, governors agreed that a high-quality education is the key to both an individual's and the…

While accountability in higher education has been a topic of debate for decades, in recent years the discussions have shifted to emphasize efficiency and economic measures of success. A prominent example of this accountability movement is the increase in popularity of performance funding policies. One of the most recent states to implement…

This multi-case study examines the Performance funding (PF) policies in four Midwestern states to explore how PF metrics and weights address racial diversity in higher education. Performance funding policies in Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, and Minnesota were examined using both document analysis and semi-structured interviews with state level actors…

With this new tool, ACTA [American Council of Trustees and Alumni] is working to expand its outreach to governors nationwide on behalf of higher education reform, focusing on key issues of quality, cost, and accountability. ACTA has worked with governors and education leaders from across the country, and that experience has proven that innovative…

Each year, governors take the stage to highlight accomplishments and outline policy priorities for their states. In an effort to provide up-to-date information on education policy trends, Education Commission of the States tracks all education policy proposals and accomplishments featured by governors in these State of the State addresses. At the…