Pennies on the Dollar: Non-Profit Revenue Does Not Make Up for School District Funding Declines from State Revenue Limits

This study investigates how state policies that cap local revenue affect funds raised by “hidden” school-supporting non-profits like PTAs and education foundations. Using a new national longitudinal database of IRS records, the team applied a difference-in-differences design to compare districts in states that implemented revenue limits with those that did not. The findings show that […]

Incentivizing Success: Assessing the Texas Incentive Allotment Program’s Impact on Teacher Labor Markets and Student Achievement

This study investigates the Texas Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) to understand how large-scale pay-for-performance bonuses impact teacher retention, mobility, and student achievement in rural and hard-to-staff campuses. The project uses difference-in-differences and regression discontinuity designs, analyzing linked student-teacher administrative records and individual-level bonus payment data from the Texas Education Agency. The study aims to determine […]

Studying Pennsylvania’s Court-Ordered School Finance Reform

This study investigates Pennsylvania’s court-ordered school finance reform to understand the political and legislative processes that follow a landmark ruling declaring the state’s funding system unconstitutional. Using a qualitative case study design, the team will conduct semi-structured interviews with key policymakers and content analysis of legislative transcripts and media coverage. The findings will illuminate the […]

Allocating for Achievement: Funding Weights and School District Resource Utilization Within a Statewide School Finance System

This study evaluates Nevada’s transition to the Pupil-Centered Funding Plan to understand the factors shaping a district’s capacity to distribute resources in alignment with new weights based on student need. The research uses a sequential mixed-methods design, beginning with qualitative interviews of administrators followed by a descriptive and summative analysis of district and school budgets. […]

Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) School Funding Reform

This study analyzes the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) reform to understand how major school funding formula changes impact district revenues and resource allocations in its initial years. The research design involves a quantitative analysis of district-level fiscal data to track the transition from the previous funding model to the newly established weighted student […]

The Consequences of States’ Social Safety Net Generosity for School Funding

This study investigates state-level social safety net policies to understand how varying eligibility requirements and generosity levels unintentionally impact school district funding through direct certification of low-income students. The design involves creating a catalog of social safety net programs and comparing direct certification rates to American Community Survey poverty data across multiple states. By highlighting […]

The Implications of State Special Education Funding for Student Services

This study analyzes the gap between Massachusetts’s census-based funding estimates and actual special education enrollment to understand how these disparities create mounting fiscal pressure for local districts. Using quantitative regression and quasi-experimental methods, the research tracks rising autism identification and the high costs of out-of-district placements using longitudinal administrative data through 2024. The findings underscore […]

When School Finance Reform Constrains Local Funding Generation: Lessons for Special Education

This study investigates how Washington’s 2018 levy lid reform and state special education funding caps influence district decisions regarding student identification and spending. Using a difference-in-differences regression analysis, researchers examined administrative data from 300 districts between 2010 and 2024 to track how shifts in the local funding mix affect school behavior. The results demonstrate that […]

Beyond School Building Age: A Scalable Data Model for Analyzing and Addressing Infrastructure Gaps

This study evaluates California’s School Facility Program to understand how the state’s current funding formula contributes to infrastructural disrepair and funding inequities across districts. The research uses a scalable data model that links building age and square footage with local property wealth to generate estimates of district-level facility investment needs. By demonstrating that infrastructure gaps […]

School District General Fund Balance: A Tool for Rainy Days

This study investigates school district general fund balances and state-imposed statutory limits to understand how these reserves cushion districts against spending volatility during fiscal shocks. The research uses a nationwide analysis of state laws alongside regression models using a proprietary dataset of thousands of districts to examine the relationship between reserves and financial risk factors. […]