Publications
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Research & Commentary: Michigan’s ‘Right to Teach’ Legislation
Publication -Research and Commentaries -This year Michigan state lawmakers capped the amount school districts pay toward employee health care coverage (thus requiring school employees to pay part of their premiums), lengthened the time required for teachers to attain tenure, made it easier for -
Research & Commentary: Michigan School Reforms
Publication -Research and Commentaries -In September 2011, Michigan state senators introduced seven education reform bills to lift the state cap on charter schools, introduce a Parent Trigger, expand online learning, allow schools to outsource some teaching functions, and institute open public -
Research & Commentary Hydraulic Fracturing in Ohio
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Chesapeake Energy has announced that exploratory hydraulic fracturing wells in the Utica shale, a deep rock formation stretching from upstate New York to Kentucky, have produced significant quantities of natural gas in Ohio. -
The ‘Parent Trigger’ in California: Some Lessons from the Experience So Far
Publication -Policy Briefs -INTRODUCTIONConceived in 2009 by liberal activists in Los Angeles as a way to work around school boards hostile to reform, California’s landmark parent empowerment law, also known as the Parent Trigger, was passed quickly by the state legislature in -
Research & Commentary: Strings-Attached NCLB Waivers
Publication -Research and Commentaries -President Barack Obama has announced his administration will grant states waivers from enforcement of the federal No Child Left Behind law, contingent on their adopting specific policy changes favored by the administration but not allowed under the -
Research & Commentary: Terrorism Risk Insurance Act Update
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The uncertain future of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), which expires in 2014 and was recently the subject of an amendment to sunset it, has some individuals and organizations calling for additional extensions or the creation of a replacement -
Research & Commentary: Picking Education Winners and Losers
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Recent studies of government and philanthropic funding methods have led to criticism of these entities’ lackluster ability to sponsor successful schools. -
Policy Tip Sheet – State Health Insurance Exchanges
Publication -Policy Tip Sheets -Problem:The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), sometimes referred to as "Obamacare," requires states to establish and operate health insurance exchanges by 2014. -
Research & Commentary: Hydraulic Fracturing in New York State
Publication -Research and Commentaries -On September 7, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released its highly anticipated Revised Draft of the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program analyzing the -
Research & Commentary: Commuter Tax Subsidies
Publication -Research and Commentaries -With the price of fuel on the rise in recent years, millions of American workers are paying more attention to the growing cost of commuting to work. -
Research & Commentary: South Dakota School Funding
Publication -Research and Commentaries -In 2006, two-thirds of South Dakota’s public school districts sued the state for more money, claiming the legislature didn’t provide enough for the system to ensure all South Dakota students receive a “free and quality education. -
Research & Commentary: Lowering Idaho’s Corporate Tax Rate
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Many business and civic groups, including the Idaho Chamber Alliance, have recommended reducing the state’s 7.6 percent corporate income tax rate. -
Research & Commentary: School Turnarounds
Publication -Research and Commentaries -How to turn a failing school into a successful one has stumped educators and policy analysts for decades. -
Research & Commentary: Crop Insurance and Farm Subsidies
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Farmers buy crop insurance for protection against the financial impact of natural disasters affecting their crops and the loss of revenue caused by declines in agricultural commodity prices. -
Research & Commentary: National Flood Insurance Update
Publication -Research and Commentaries -On Thursday, September 8th, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee held its first formal markup of a bill to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program. -
Research & Commentary: Kansas Income Tax Elimination
Publication -Research and Commentaries -State of Kansas Budget Director Steve Anderson has expressed hope the state legislature will approve a bill to eliminate the state’s personal income tax over time. -
Research & Commentary: Higher Education Budget Cuts
Publication -Research and Commentaries -In 2010, states cut higher education budgets by a total of $1.2 billion. In 2011, the cuts are expected to reach $5 billion. -
Climate Change Reconsidered: 2011 Interim Report
Publication -Books -The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), already under severe criticism for violating the requirements of academic peer review and relying on secondary sources, comes under attack again in a new report co-produced by three -
Research & Commentary: Reform Unionism
Publication -Research and Commentaries -As school choice and competition measures eke into the American education system, the implications are becoming clear to the nation’s three million public school teachers and the unions to which many of them belong. -
Research & Commentary: Advantages of Managed Care for Medicaid
Publication -Research and Commentaries -The skyrocketing costs caused by Medicaid’s fee-for-service approach have states struggling to meet their government budgets, and access to quality health care is becoming scarcer. -
Research & Commentary: Windstorm Insurance on the Atlantic Coast
Publication -Research and Commentaries -Hurricane Irene appears likely to make landfall in the United States sometime in the next few days. The storm, predicted to become a “major hurricane” by the end of the week, may hit both Florida and North Carolina. -
Research & Commentary: Credit Scoring Debate in Massachusetts
Publication -Research and Commentaries -A debate over the use of credit scoring to determine insurance rates and eligibility continues to rage in Massachusetts. -
Research & Commentary: School Funding Lawsuits
Publication -Research and Commentaries -With state and local governments tightening their belts in response to falling tax revenues caused by the bad economy, school districts facing cuts are increasingly resorting to lawsuits to force governments to give them more money. -
Research & Commentary: Recovery Audits
Publication -Research and Commentaries -For decades, retailers and other private-sector businesses have hired independent auditors to track down improper payments and recover the money. Now governments at all levels are being encouraged and even required to do the same thing.