Even as they struggle to climb out of deep financial holes, states are facing lawsuits that contend they do not meet their constitutions' requirements to provide sufficient funding to districts and fail to provide resources for disadvantaged schools and student populations. This article reports on legal battles in Texas, Colorado, and elsewhere…

This study explores the relationship between state financial aid policies and postsecondary enrollment for high school graduates (or equivalent diploma holders). Utilizing an event history modeling for a nationally representative sample from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88/2000) in addition to state-level policy variables, this…

In this article, James J. Gallagher proposes that understanding the political issues and the debate surrounding the education of gifted students is based on the recognition that education policy (including rules, regulations, financial allocations, etc.) reflects social policy. Hence, society prioritizes needs so that the most important of these…

"Kids' Share 2015: Report on Federal Expenditures on Children in 2014 and Future Projections," an ninth annual report, looks comprehensively at federal spending and tax expenditures on children. Federal spending on children has remained fairly flat, in real dollars, over the past three years. Broader budgetary forces will continue to…

For more than a decade, college prices have been rising consistently and have continued to rise at a gradual pace after the Stafford loan limit increases were enacted in 2008 and 2009. However, it is difficult to determine if a direct relationship exists between increases in college prices and the Stafford loan limit increases because of the…

The advent of merit-based state financial aid programs has had several first order effects, such as changes in enrollment. However, these programs may also have second order effects, such as declining state support for need-based state financial aid programs. I hypothesize that the advent of merit-based state financial aid may be an example of…

Texas House Bill 1403, which was passed in 2001, is the first in-state resident tuition (ISRT) policy to benefit undocumented students in the United States. Seven years later, the literature includes virtually no empirical evidence of the persistence patterns of students who have enrolled in post-secondary institutions as beneficiaries of the…

While many issues in higher education are only discussed among members of the education community, the sharp rise in costs is no longer a topic solely for academia. Parents and politicians alike are fuming over the apparently unstoppable climb of the cost of a college education. It seems every day a new magazine article or newspaper story bemoans…

Access to financial aid is dependent on a variety of factors, including the time of application; the earlier students apply for financial aid, the greater their access to institutional and often state resources. We use the Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP) as a case for investigating the economic, social, and academic factors that affect…

This case represents a multitude of leadership dilemmas created by financial exigencies and the difficult decisions that must be made during times of economic austerity. Under the best of circumstances, deciding between programmatic elimination and/or employee termination is agonizing, onerous, and filled with political and social ramifications.…

The community college of today confronts decreased state funding, increased demand, and increased calls for accountability. In this highly competitive environment, community colleges are required to document the assessment of institutional effectiveness to satisfy state accountability systems and regional accreditation standards. The purpose of…

Since the 2008-2009 academic year, community colleges in the state of California have faced a budget reduction of 12%. This represents a reduction of $809 million in state appropriations. Despite the reduction in funding, the California Master Plan for Higher Education includes provisions for community colleges to develop quality workforce…

For more than 25 years the Public School Forum of North Carolina has isolated state and federal spending to examine the capacity and effort counties make to support their schools. The intent of the annual Local School Finance Study is not to blame counties for their effort to support schools, but to examine the capacity and actual effort the…

For more than 25 years the Public School Forum of North Carolina has isolated state and federal spending to examine the capacity and effort counties make to support their schools. The intent of the annual Local School Finance Study is not to blame counties for their effort to support schools, but to examine the capacity and actual effort the…

This year's "Tennessee Higher Education Fact Book" consists of five sections and an appendix of additional resources and terminology. The five main sections of the report provide data on Student Participation, Student Success, Academic and Fiscal Trends, Quality Assurance Funding, and Outcomes-Based Funding. Each section begins with…