Implementation of ESA programs will not be easy. The ESA model is novel and foreign to most state education agencies, which have little to no experience with helping families purchase a wide variety of educational goods and services using government funds. Even if agencies had the relevant experience, ESA programs are complex, involving millions…

This dissertation examines the purposes of annual giving fundraising programs at public higher education institutions, particularly whether this fundraising format supports the advancement of education as a public good versus a private benefit good. While research exists on large-gift philanthropy and major gift fundraising at colleges and…

In the long history of higher education, there have been many endowment gifts that have strengthened institutions and brought about profound public benefits, but there are sometimes disappointment and controversy. Savvy donors need to think carefully before entering into endowment agreements which are difficult to change before death and virtually…

This study draws upon the first detailed longitudinal dataset on performance-based funding (PBF) to document the evolution and current landscape of PBF in American higher education. We show that while PBF has become increasingly common, states have experimented with adopting, abandoning, and re-adopting PBF over time. We also find a new wave of…

Indian Hills Community College had the numbers behind them upon passing a bond measure in November 2021. More than 12,000 voters in 17 Iowa counties gave their approval for a $28 million referendum designated to fund a brand new campus and additional major improvements. The bond, which needed 60% support to pass, cleared that hurdle with more than…

Outdoor preschool education is increasing, particularly in the United States where it has been less common than in some other countries. Proponents claim a variety of benefits from the approach, including that it allows children to explore and play in nature much more than in traditional classrooms. In the context of a pandemic with high rates of…

GPE (Global Partnership for Education) works with governments to include refugee children and youth in national education systems and helps strengthen capacity and resources to meet the education needs of refugee children. Refugees have access to public schools in 20 of GPE's partner countries, where GPE is supporting governments to build more…

There is social and collaborative value in a diverse student body, faculty, and staff. Despite this, universities are slow to establish evidence-based fiscal initiatives to increase representation and retention. We review inequitable financial practices in American higher education, including in endowments, tuition and annual giving, athletics,…

Ohio's students deserve a world-class education, including safe and well-resourced schools that are staffed with teachers who are well trained and fairly paid. However, the combined effects of the COVID pandemic and Ohio's legacy of inadequate, inequitable funding have weakened the role school plays as a foundational public institution. Ohio ranks…

In early 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic closed schools for the rest of the 2019-20 school year (fiscal year 2020 or FY20). The United States Congress deployed funds to help K-12 schools adjust and plan for reopening via the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, including the initial $13.2 billion installment through the…

This article aims to understand how access, equity and redress challenges are addressed at South Africa's public universities based on their current funding frameworks. Relying on a pragmatic research approach combining desk-research literature review and secondary data analysis, government funding and tuition fees were found to be the primary…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to inform local practices in the state of Oklahoma regarding the equitable allocation of resources within school districts by examining the relationship between student per-pupil expenditures at high schools located in an urban district and student outcomes. Significant efforts, both legal and academic,…

In this study, we leverage national data sources to examine the relationship between community colleges' level of reliance on local funding and their total institutional revenue, focusing specifically on community colleges educating the largest shares of low-income and racially minoritized students. We show that local funding is positively related…

In this paper, we put forth a framework called Critical School Finance, articulating the framework itself and then applying it to school facilities finance. First, we go back to first principles and discuss what 'critical' denotes, revisiting critical theorist Max Horkheimer's seminal essay 'Traditional vs. Critical Theory.' Second, we offer five…

In 2013, California enacted an ambitious school funding reform--the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). The LCFF fundamentally overhauled the state's prior K-12 education finance system, which studies found to be inequitable, irrational, and highly centralized. More than a decade after its enactment, a growing body of research indicates the LCFF…