Estimates show that one in six children aged three through 17 in the United States have one or more developmental disabilities. Many early childhood education programs aim to improve early identification of children with developmental disabilities and increase family engagement, specifically Head Start and Early Head Start programs. The present…

Arts-integrated STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education has long debated the role of the arts within this interdisciplinary approach: does arts-integration solely serve STEM outcomes, or can it also benefit the arts? This study explored one approach -- "photography-integrated STEM" -- that equally balances art…

States are seeking alternative means to identify low-income students for supplemental funding, as many schools no longer need to verify household income to determine students' eligibility for free and reduced-price meals. Instead, states can identify students whose families participate in social service programs with income criteria at or near 200…

Institutions of higher education (IHEs) and State higher education agencies play an important role in helping students to access basic needs supports and public benefits for which they may be eligible, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This memo describes what IHEs and State higher education agencies can do to help…

Many important issues are being debated including but not limited to student debt reduction, a national policy for K-14 that may include free community college education, and the creation of new federal funding policies in the form of federal matching or maintenance of effort policies that hold state legislatures more accountable for maintaining…

This article describes a conceptual and empirical approach for estimating a human capital production function of child development that incorporates mother- or child-fixed effects. The use of mother- or child-fixed effects is common in this applied economics literature, but its application is often inconsistent with human capital theory. We…

Background: Public preschool can provide opportunities for earlier detection of child health problems and receipt of special needs services. This is especially important for children from low-income households who disproportionately face cost barriers to obtaining health screenings and services. Objective: This study explores the possibility that…

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, the federal government responded by expanding the country's safety-net programs, including through stimulus payments. There were also significant federal policy changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the largest food assistance program in the United States. Benefit amounts were increased,…

This qualitative, multi-site case study across three McNair Scholars Programs uses interviews to explore Black students' aspirations to attend graduate school. While the undergraduate students in this study faced various personal and academic challenges at their predominantly white institutions (PWIs), all the 13 students used community cultural…

As of the 2022-23 school year (SY), approximately 1.37 million pre-K through Grade 12 students in the United States -- nearly 3% of the total pre-K through Grade 12 population -- were identified as experiencing homelessness. Homelessness affects a diverse range of young people across America. Students experiencing homelessness often face far…

The inclusion of children with disabilities in preschool classrooms is increasing, supported by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Head Start, which promote educating students with disabilities alongside their peers. Well-trained early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers are critical to the success of these…

The present study examined how the dosage and quality of the federal preschool program "Head Start" (HS) in the US related to children's self-regulation skills in kindergarten. Using Propensity Score Matching and multiple regression (OLS), this study explored how the number of years and hours a week of HS were related to self-regulation…

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federal program that provides free and reduced priced lunch to millions of low-income children in urban schools. Empirical research shows mixed results on the physical and nutritional health of urban students participating in the program. However, a considerable limitation of this literature is that it…

Medicaid is a major insurer of autistic people. However, during the transition to adulthood, autistic individuals are more likely than people with intellectual disability to lose their Medicaid benefits. Individuals with intellectual disability may have greater success maintaining Medicaid coverage during this time because most states provide…

Early developmental skills, such as attention, language, and fine motor abilities, can be assessed in preschool to predict later achievement, particularly in reading. Connecticut Documentation & Observation for Teaching System (CT DOTS) is a holistic measure used to track the skill development of preschoolers who attend preschool programs…