Policy
ESSER Funding Winds Down as State Budgets Cool
By Jay Diskey, Diskey Public Affairs, LLC After four years of providing unprecedented support for K-12 public schools, the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund will soon end. On September 30, “ESSER” as it is commonly called, will hit its Congressionally mandated deadline. School districts and states must use or commit the funds by…
Read MoreBy the Numbers: A Look at Fiscal Year 2024
Federal & State Funding for K-12 Education for the Next Academic Year After two years of record-breaking hikes in K-12 funding, federal and state education budget increases are beginning to moderate. Now, as schools begin the next academic year across the country, education providers are anxious to see how school district spending may be affected.…
Read MoreScience of Reading Legislation Moves Forward
New Initiatives in Major States A record number of proposals supporting the Science of Reading (SoR) moved forward in state legislatures this year with major initiatives passing in Ohio, Georgia, Oregon, and Wisconsin. The new measures bring to more than 40 the number of states that have “SoR” programs. As noted in one of our…
Read MoreScience of Reading Legislation Surges at State Level
Among the many types of education bills moving forward in statehouses this spring are a record number of proposals supporting the science of reading. To date, more than 80 science of reading bills have been introduced, which is more than twice the number of “SoR” measures introduced at the state level in 2022. The number…
Read MoreCongress Boosts Funding for K-12 Programs
Over the past several years, the news regarding federal K-12 funding has usually focused on the substantial amounts of relief and stimulus monies Congress appropriated to education programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the annual allocations Congress has approved for K-12 programs authorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) have received less attention despite…
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