Background/Context: Several studies have investigated state political and economic factors that explain differences in levels of state appropriations for colleges and universities. Few studies have considered how stakeholder beliefs or taken-forgranted assumptions about various institutions may impact budgeting decisions for specific campuses. A…

Budget season isn't any easier for school finance officials this year than it was last year, when they were bracing for a pandemic-driven recession, extra expenses, and ever-changing logistical demands due to COVID-19. This second of three Quality Counts 2021 installments surveys school- and district-level leaders on their spending hurdles,…

Communities with more college degrees have higher incomes, less reliance on social services, and greater economic growth. To ensure that Michigan's workforce has the skills needed for the modern economy, the state's leaders must build a financial aid system that helps families cover college costs. However, disjointed program designs, maintenance…

"Power, Constraint, and Policy Change" analyzes state court influence on state education finance reform. Beginning in the early 1970s litigants began filing suits in state courts to change state education funding in order to prevent disparities in education resources between wealthy and poor communities. These cases represent a…

States invest in public higher education in two primary ways: through direct funds to institutions (general operating support) and direct funds to students in the form of state financial aid programs (student grant aid). General operating support is the larger of the two funding categories, totaling $80.8 billion in 2019, while state financial aid…

Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) have wrangled with state governmental agencies for decades about the role the government should assume in overseeing campus operations. IHEs continue to argue that government intrusion impedes efficient IHE operation. Government agencies counter that IHEs are provided tax dollars to complete the job of…

A portion of state-allocated funding for Texas community colleges has been reserved for the completion of outcome metrics, also known as performance-based funding. Texas community college leaders are faced with the challenges of adapting to increasing pressures from performance-based funding, while also ensuing institutional missions and goals are…

This paper takes a novel time series perspective on K-12 school spending. About half of school spending is financed by state government aid to local districts. Because state aid is generally income conditioned, with low-income districts receiving more aid, state aid acts as a mechanism for risk sharing between school districts. We show that…

The primary purpose of this study was to examine how best a Tennessee 4-year public university can perform under the state's outcomes-based funding formula, most commonly identified as either PF 2.0 or the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA) funding formula. Using a mixed methods approach, the research analyzed select input variable performance…

In January, California Governor Gavin Newsom released his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2020-21 and included a substantial increase in spending for the state's dangerous and prison-like youth correctional institutions, currently known as the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) (CJCJ, 2019; DOF, 2020a). This proposed increase coincides with a…

The eligibility rules of state financial aid programs vary widely by state and by program. This is also true of eligibility rules pertaining to students impacted by the justice system. This goal of this resource is to enable stakeholders to compare eligibility requirements pertaining to justice system impact across major aid programs and states.…

This thesis examines the budget reductions of six high and six low poverty school districts in California and Texas during the Great Recession. While recent studies have supported the positive influence of spending on student outcomes, few have looked at what happens when financial shocks constrain budgets. The study blends the National Center for…

Purpose: This paper discusses the findings of a mixed-methods study of early childhood instructional coaches employed in state-funded preschool (aged three and four years) programs in the state of New Jersey (NJ) in the United States (US), highlighting a case study of one coach that provides an example of individual and organizational factors…

The Washington Student Achievement Council partnered with the North Central Educational Service District to design and develop a series of animated videos to share simple and clear information with students about the Washington College Grant and the benefits of pursuing education or training after high school. The videos aimed to build an engaging…

The public schools of Arkansas, open enrollment public charter schools, and education service cooperatives annual statistical report (ASR), 2021-2022 actual and 2022-2023 budgeted, is presented here. The rankings of selected items of the public schools, 2021-2022 actual, are also included. The school districts are listed according to Local…