A Maintenance of Effort (MOE) provision for higher education was first adopted in the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 and was included as a requirement for states to participate in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The information in this article was presented before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on…

Congress has recently focused on the complex relationship between federal student aid, states' funding appropriations for higher education, and institutional tuition and fee levels. Fueling this focus is the ongoing cost shit in public higher education, from states to students and families, as well as to the federal government via student aid…

Two years ago a fiscal equity analysis assessed the current Virginia equalization formula over its history (fiscal year 1975-fiscal year 2003). The findings indicated by accepted equity statistics were that the level of equity improved from fiscal year 1975 through fiscal year 1994 and leveled off from fiscal year 1994 through fiscal year 2003.…

Uses a foundation-equalizing model to develop a number of indicators measuring the extent to which states utilize the full range of equalization tools at its disposal. Illustrates the utility of these indicators through an evaluation of the school finance reform instituted by Rhode Island between 1992 and 1996. (Contains 25 references.)…

Examines development of the equalization idea in American public education, discusses theorists' applications of equalization to school finance, reviews the literature on school-finance reform-litigation effects, and concludes that U.S. history has not strongly supported equalization of educational opportunities. Education is not a fundamental…

Discusses potential problems that may arise with state school finance formulas based on the weighted pupil concept when special education students are weighted heavily for state aid purposes and local school districts are free to classify students as "special." (JG)

This article presents a case study of the school finance controversy in Texas with special emphasis on the results of two school finance bills enacted in successive sessions of the legislature. (Author/IRT)

The distinctively different fortunes experienced in Canada and the United States by the movement to reform educational finance are due to the distinctively different political values of the two nations' people. Canadians tend to place greater emphasis on equality than do Americans. (Author/IRT)

Elaborates on distinctions between different formulations of taxpayer equity. First, taxpayer equity is examined from the school finance perspective, then notions of taxpayer equity that are more consistent with public finance views, but that can and have been applied to education, are introduced. (Author/IRT)

Investigates the effects of including an income factor in a power equalization aid formula. Some evidence indicates that a power equalization formula with recapture and with an income adjustment may substantially achieve the objective of making education expenditures independent of the wealth of the local district. (Author/IRT)

The effects of cost differences on equality of educational opportunity may be grossly overestimated. Until the equity of the distribution dimension of existing state plans has been determined, funding on the basis of cost differences has the potential for contributing to greater inequities. (Author/IRT)

Suggests that freedom for parents to choose their children's education (a kind of educational voucher system) would improve the quality of education in states where equality of per-pupil expenditures has been mandated. (PKP)