In 1997, New York State lawmakers passed the Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) legislation, a bold new approach to early childhood education. It established new part-day Pre-K programs that were free and open to all four-year-olds. Today, the state invests $414 million annually in Pre-K, which serves more than 100,000 children in public schools and…

Noting that access to higher education has expanded dramatically in the past several decades, Sara Goldrick-Rab and Kia Sorensen focus on how unmarried parents fare once they enter college. Contrary to the expectation that access to college consistently promotes family stability and economic security, the authors argue that deficiencies in current…

In 2000, the California State Legislature passed the Schiff-Cardenas Crime Prevention Act, which authorized funding for county juvenile justice programs and designated the Corrections Standards Authority (CSA), formerly named the Board of Corrections, the administrator of funding. California counties receiving state funds for Juvenile Justice…

In Ohio, and in Stark, Wayne and Columbiana County communities, there is a growing realization that students must not only complete high school but also pursue some form of postsecondary education to be successful in the workplace of today and tomorrow. Since 1989, there has been a program for students presenting the opportunity of taking college…

The vitality of New York State's economy depends on deepening the ranks of the skilled workforce, a need that will grow more urgent over the next several years as the Baby Boomer generation moves into retirement. If employers cannot fill high-skilled positions they will lose competitive ground, and some may leave. New York has successfully…

This report for the College Opportunity Fund (COF) covers the first two fiscal years of the COF program, FY05-06, FY06-07. It describes the implementation efforts of COF program stakeholders, the statistics of participation in the program, and concerns of the program. COF enables qualifying resident students to use higher education tuition…

This report is an effort to assess what has been accomplished in successfully diversifying and desegregating historically segregated and unequal higher educational institutions across Kentucky, and how this was done. The report discusses the changing legal setting for these initiatives, analyzes the educational achievements and challenges, and…

In response to states' interest, NECTAC (National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center) queried Part C and Section 619 Coordinators regarding certification or endorsements for personnel working with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and how states provide services for children diagnosed with ASD. Responses were received…

This report presents results of the Iowa College Student Aid Commission's annual survey of colleges and universities in Iowa concerning racial and ethnic minority representation among students and faculty. The report summarizes trends in student enrollment, state-sponsored student financial aid, and faculty appointments by racial and ethnic…

This article uses the 2005 Basic Classifications of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a framing device through which to examine patterns of student financial aid at America's rural community colleges, which represent 64% of all U.S. community colleges. Rural community colleges serve more first-time, full-time students than…

To properly evaluate the financial contributions of each revenue source, institutional researchers must use key economic concepts in their work. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

As a new school year begins across the country, many are looking back on a long, hot summer and wondering where did all that time go? For early childhood public policy, three developments over the summer are likely to shape the field for quite some time. By July, many states had wound up their budgets for the coming year. In addition to cuts to…

The five largest insular areas of the United States--American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands--receive federal funding through Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), joint federal-state programs that finance health care for certain low-income…

During the last 25 years, there has been a major shift in the way that state and federal governments fund financial aid to students attending colleges and universities. This shift has been characterized by the idea of "cost sharing"--a "high tuition, high aid" model that requires students and their families to shoulder a greater percentage of the…

This study examines the Illinois General Assembly's role in state finance and focuses on how the legislature can best control the scope and limits of state finance. The report is divided into four sections. The first section introduces the language of the appropriations process and the techniques of control applied to that process. The second…