How States Fund Education

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajay Srikanth ◽  
Michael Atzbi ◽  
Bruce D. Baker ◽  
Mark Weber
Keyword(s):  
School Districts ◽  
School Finance ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Funding Equity ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Using Data ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Funding Disparities

In the United States, the vast majority of funding for K–12 education is provided through state and local governments to school districts. Throughout history, school districts have remained highly segregated both by income/wealth and by race, leading to reduced levels of funding available for higher need districts compared to wealthier districts. The purpose of this chapter is to analyze funding disparities within states and to determine differences between states with respect to funding equity. First, the chapter begins with a discussion of the sources of revenue for education at the state and local levels. Second, it explains the purpose and design of state aid formulas to reduce funding disparities between districts. Third, using data from the School Finance Indicators Database, the chapter calculates funding effort and progressivity indices for each state. Fourth, it provides case studies on two states with more progressive and less progressive funding, New Jersey and Illinois. Finally, the chapter concludes with policy recommendations on how states can improve their school finance systems to provide adequate levels of funding for higher need districts.

scholarly journals Integrated Data Systems in the US: a National Survey of State and Local Governments and their University Partners

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adelia Jenkins ◽  
Dennis Culhane
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Data Matrix ◽  
Data Systems ◽  
The Us ◽  
State And Local ◽  
K 12

Background Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP) is an initiative of the University of Pennsylvania that focuses on the development, use, and innovation of integrated data systems (IDS). We convene a network of IDS across the United States and provide technical assistance to support developing sites as they build the technical and human capacity to integrate and use administrative data across agencies. Main AimIn late 2018 and early 2019, AISP conducted a national survey of integrated data efforts to better understand the landscape and how it’s changed since the last national scan was completed in 2013. The survey also served to document who is leading data sharing efforts, what data they are linking, and how linked data are currently being used. This information was used to create a centralized data matrix and contact list in order to support cross-site learning and facilitate future projects and analyses. Methods/ApproachThe survey was disseminated to AISP Network Sites, Learning Community sites, and others by AISP staff and partner organizations, including the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership Network and Arnold Policy Labs initiative. Survey responses were analyzed by AISP in spring 2019. ResultsThe survey yielded 39 responses from state and local governments and their research partners. The most common uses of integrated data among those surveyed are informing policy, program evaluation, and research. Integrated case management and resource allocation are also increasingly informed by integrated data. The most commonly integrated data sources are early childhood, child welfare, and K-12 education. Medicaid, TANF, SNAP, and UI Wage Records have also been integrated by over 50% of sites surveyed. The most common lingering challenges reported by sites related to sustainability. ConclusionSurvey results document the purposes and sources of data currently integrated by jurisdictions across the US and have major implications for the field both nationally and internationally.

scholarly journals Does Paying Politicians More Promote Economic Diversity in Legislatures?

2016 ◽  
Vol 110 (4) ◽  
pp. 699-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
NICHOLAS CARNES ◽  
ERIC R. HANSEN
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Economic Diversity ◽  
Political Office ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Using Data

If politicians in the United States were paid better, would more middle- and working-class people become politicians? Reformers often argue that the low salaries paid in state and local governments make holding office economically infeasible for lower-income citizens and contribute to the enduring numerical under-representation of the working class in our political institutions. Of course, raising politicians’ salaries could also make political office more attractive to affluent professionals, increasing competition for office and ultimately discouraging lower-income citizens from running and winning. In this article, we test these hypotheses using data on the salaries and economic backgrounds of state legislators. Contrary to the notion that paying politicians more promotes economic diversity, we find that the descriptive representation of the working class is the same or worse in states that pay legislators higher salaries. These findings have important implications for research on descriptive representation, political compensation, and political inequality.

scholarly journals Assessing the Relationships Between COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Orders and Opioid Overdoses in the State of Pennsylvania

2021 ◽  
pp. 002204262110063
Author(s):  
Brian King ◽  
Ruchi Patel ◽  
Andrea Rishworth
Keyword(s):  
Age Groups ◽  
The United States ◽  
Opioid Use Disorder ◽  
Opioid Overdose ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Opioid Use ◽  
Fentanyl Analogs ◽  
Measure Change ◽  
Using Data ◽  
At Home

COVID-19 is compounding opioid use disorder throughout the United States. While recent commentaries provide useful policy recommendations, few studies examine the intersection of COVID-19 policy responses and patterns of opioid overdose. We examine opioid overdoses prior to and following the Pennsylvania stay-at-home order implemented on April 1, 2020. Using data from the Pennsylvania Overdose Information Network, we measure change in monthly incidents of opioid-related overdose pre- versus post-April 1, and the significance of change by gender, age, race, drug class, and naloxone doses administered. Findings demonstrate statistically significant increases in overdose incidents among both men and women, White and Black groups, and several age groups, most notably the 30–39 and 40–49 ranges, following April 1. Significant increases were observed for overdoses involving heroin, fentanyl, fentanyl analogs or other synthetic opioids, pharmaceutical opioids, and carfentanil. The study emphasizes the need for opioid use to be addressed alongside efforts to mitigate and manage COVID-19 infection.

scholarly journals Early Responses to Climate Change: An Analysis of Seven U.S. State and Local Climate Adaptation Planning Initiatives

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Andrew Poyar ◽  
Nancy Beller-Simms
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Climate Impact ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Adaptation Planning ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Climate Adaptation Planning

Abstract State and local governments in the United States manage a wide array of natural and human resources that are particularly sensitive to climate variability and change. Recent revelations of the extent of the current and potential climate impact in this realm such as with the quality of water, the structure of the coasts, and the potential and witnessed impact on the built infrastructure give these political authorities impetus to minimize their vulnerability and plan for the future. In fact, a growing number of subnational government bodies in the United States have initiated climate adaptation planning efforts; these initiatives emphasize an array of climate impacts, but at different scales, scopes, and levels of sophistication. Meanwhile, the current body of climate adaptation literature has not taken a comprehensive look at these plans nor have they questioned what prompts local adaptation planning, at what scope and scale action is being taken, or what prioritizes certain policy responses over others. This paper presents a case-based analysis of seven urban climate adaptation planning initiatives, drawing from a review of publicly available planning documents and interviews with stakeholders directly involved in the planning process to provide a preliminary understanding of these issues. The paper also offers insight into the state of implementation of adaptation strategies, highlighting the role of low upfront costs and cobenefits with issues already on the local agenda in prompting anticipatory adaptation.

Whose money matters in public education: A “public” good that parents purchase

2021 ◽  
pp. 147821032110343
Author(s):  
Eunju Kang
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Public Education ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
New York State ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Education Funding ◽  
Funding Policy ◽  
State And Local

Instead of asking whether money matters, this paper questions whose money matters in public education. Previous literature on education funding uses an aggregate expenditure per pupil to measure the relationship between education funding and academic performance. Federalism creates mainly three levels of funding sources: federal, state, and local governments. Examining New York State school districts, most equitably funded across school districts among the 50 states, this paper shows that neither federal nor state funds are positively correlated with graduation rates. Only local revenues for school districts indicate a strong positive impact. Parents’ money matters. This finding contributes to a contentious discourse on education funding policy in the governments, courts, and academia with respect to education funding and inequality in American public schools.

scholarly journals Some pennies are more equal than others: Inequitable school facilities investment in San Antonio, Texas

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marialena D. Rivera ◽  
Sonia Rey Lopez
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
School Districts ◽  
School Finance ◽  
San Antonio ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Educational Facilities ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
School District Leaders ◽  
Property Wealth ◽  
State And Local

In Texas, local taxpayers fund the majority of educational facilities construction and maintenance costs, with local wealth influencing facilities outcomes. The traditional school districts that comprise the predominantly Latino and segregated San Antonio area vary considerably in property wealth as well as district capacity and expertise. We conducted an analysis of 12 San Antonio area school districts to address the questions: 1) To what extent do state and local investments vary by district? 2) How do district actions and constraints affect facilities quality and equitable investment? Methods include descriptive quantitative analysis of facilities investment data and qualitative interviews with school district leaders, staff, and school finance experts. Examining Texas school finance data demonstrated the variance in school district investments in educational facilities. Despite some districts with lower property wealth exerting higher levels of tax effort, they were able to raise less money per student for educational facilities through interest and sinking taxes. Interview findings revealed that several districts acknowledge lacking the capacity to maintain high-quality facilities for all students. Respondents frequently criticized current state policies and funding for educational facilities as inadequate, inequitable, and inefficient and expressed a need for policy improvements in an era of increasing state disinvestment.

Within Source Diversification When the Going Gets Tough: Examining Alterations to Human Service Nonprofit Funding by Levels of Government

2021 ◽  
pp. 45-66
Keyword(s):  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Government Funding ◽  
Federal State ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Nonprofit Funding ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The Government

Government increasingly relies on nonprofit organizations to deliver public services, especially for human services. As such, human service nonprofits receive a substantial amount of revenue from government agencies via grants and contracts. Yet, times of crises result in greater demand for services, but often with fewer financial resources. As governments and nonprofits are tasked to do more with less, how does diversification within the government funding stream influence government-nonprofit funding relationships? More specifically, we ask: How do the number of different government partners and the type of government funder—federal, state, or local—influence whether nonprofits face alterations to government funding agreements? Drawing upon data from over 2,000 human service nonprofits in the United States, following the Great Recession, we find nonprofit organizations that only received funds from the federal government were less likely to experience funding alterations. This helps to illustrate the economic impact of the recession on state and local governments as well as the nonprofit organizations that partner with them.

The Contours of Repression

2019 ◽  
pp. 184-208
Author(s):  
David M. Struthers
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Industrial Workers ◽  
World War One ◽  
International Borders ◽  
The World ◽  
Sedition Act ◽  
State And Local

This chapter examines the World War One period in which the federal, state, and local governments in the United States, in addition to non-state actors, created one of the most severe eras of political repression in United States history. The Espionage Act, the Sedition Act, changes to immigration law at the federal level, and state criminal syndicalism laws served as the legal basis for repression. The Partido Liberal Mexicano (PLM), Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and other anarchists took different paths in this era. Some faced lengthy prison sentences, some went underground, while others crossed international borders to flee repression and continue organizing. This chapter examines the repression of radical movements and organizing continuities that sustained the movement into the 1920s.

Government and Fiscal Policy in American Economic History

2018 ◽  
pp. 194-224
Author(s):  
John Joseph Wallis
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Property Tax ◽  
The United States ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Payroll Taxes ◽  
The Third ◽  
State And Local

Over the last 225 years, government finances in the United States have gone through three distinct stages. In the first stage, 1790–1850, state governments actively pursued policies to promote economic development and financed them from revenues from state investments. In the second, 1850–1930, local governments became the most important level of government, as measured by revenues and expenditures, and revenues shifted toward the property tax. In the third period, 1930 to the present, the national government became the most active and largest level of government, financed through income and payroll taxes, and developed an extensive network of grants to state and local governments. The chapter tracks the changes in sources of revenues and purpose of expenditures, with specific attention paid to military spending over the entire period.

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