University of Wisconsin–Madison
Progressive Local Government
For the 21st Century

ProGov21 Policy Library

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Year
The Financial Impact of COVID Licensing Standards on NJ Child Care Providers
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level State
State(s) New Jersey
Source National Institute for Early Education Research
Policy Areas Children & Families, Education
As New Jersey tentatively reopens K-12 schools after being closed for over five months, many of the state’s child care providers have remained open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to serve the children of essential workers. Throughout this time, providers have been required to observe...
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COVID-19 School Closures & Students Experiencing Homelessness
Type Fact Sheet or Infographic
Year 2020
Level City or Town, County, School District, National
State(s) Pennsylvania
Source Education Law Center
Policy Areas Housing, Education
This fact sheet offers tips for homeless students struggling to navigate school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, it informs students of their rights and outlines resources they can utilize to obtain free meals, internet access, or guidance....
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Schools and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Operating Guidance for Schools During the Pandemic
Type Fact Sheet or Infographic
Year 2022
Level City or Town, County, School District
State(s) All States
Source Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships
Policy Areas Education, Health
This fact sheet outlines actions necessary to reduce transmission of COVID-19 in schools. Recommendations include upgrading HVAC systems, performing daily air flushes, maintaining proper relative humidity levels, conducting retro-commissioning, and more....
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The Revenue Impact of Corporate Tax Incentives on South Carolina Public Schools
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level County, State, School District
State(s) All States
Source Good Jobs First
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Education
Public school districts in South Carolina suffered a sharp increase in lost tax revenue in FY 2019 due to tax breaks granted to private corporations by county governments. The revenues of South Carolina’s school districts are reduced via state permitted programs that grant businesses...
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Online and Observed: Student Privacy Implications of School-Issued Devices and Student Activity Monitoring Software
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2021
Level School District
State(s) All States
Source Center for Democracy & Technology
Policy Areas Education, Data & Technology
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many school districts have introduced student activity monitoring software and other digital tools aimed at facilitating remote classroom management and driving student engagement. Though helpful, these tools can also be intrusive. This report examines...
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Creating a Healthy Food Zone Around Schools
Type Fact Sheet or Infographic
Year 2009
Level County
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Health, Children & Families, Democracy & Governance, Food, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Education, Community Development, Public Spaces, Transportation & Mobility
Many schools are surrounded by fast food restaurants, which provide students with easy access to unhealthy foods and undermine schools' efforts to offer nutritious meals. Prohibiting fast food restaurants from locating near schools is one strategy to help reduce childhood obesity...
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Fiscal First Aid for School Districts: Additional Considerations for School Districts
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level School District
State(s) All States
Source Government Finance Officers Association
Policy Areas Health, Children & Families, Education
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, schools are tasked with providing a quality education to their students, along with ensuring their safety and welfare, regardless if classes are being held in-person or virtually. Additionally, schools must adjust to the economic ramifications brought...
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Social Media Monitoring in K-12 Schools: Civil and Human Rights Concerns
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2019
Level City or Town, School District
State(s) All States
Source Center for Democracy & Technology
Policy Areas Civil Rights, Education, Data & Technology
Some schools and school districts are turning to social media monitoring as a response to the threat of mass shootings. Companies are marketing services claiming to identify sexual content and drug and alcohol use; prevent mass violence, self-harm, and bullying; and flag students...
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The New Math on School Finance: Adding Up the First-Ever Disclosure of Corporate Tax Abatements’ Cost to Public Education
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2018
Level City or Town, State, School District
State(s) All States
Source Good Jobs First
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Education
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 77 requires most state and local government bodies, including school districts, to annually disclose the costs of corporate tax abatements. As a result of the new rule, thousands of America’s public school districts are...
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Reopening Schools Safely and Equitably Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic: School Facilities are Frontline Defense in Reducing Risk
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town
State(s) All States
Source U.C. Berkeley Center For Cities & Schools
Policy Areas Public Spaces, Health
This report describes how the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads and why mitigation measures, such as symptom screening, testing, and contact tracing, are recommended for schools. It argues that it will be more difficult for schools with poor condition facilities to effectively implement SARS-CoV-2...
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Building the Power to Reclaim Our Schools
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2019
Level City or Town, School District
State(s) California
Source LAANE
Policy Areas Community Development, Education
In January 2019, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) held a six-day strike in response to challenges facing The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), resulting from LAUSD’s inability to raise local property taxes and the growing charter school sector that draws funding away...
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Building Resiliency: The Role of Anchor Institutions in Sustaining Community Economic Development
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2013
Level County
State(s) All States
Source Mayors Innovation Project
Policy Areas Democracy & Governance, Education, Health, Economic Justice, Civil Rights, Environment & Natural Resources, Children & Families
Chester, Pennsylvania, a small, formerly industrial city located on the Delaware River, not far from Philadelphia, exemplifies the problems and possibilities faced by older manufacturing cities across the United States, especially in the Northeast and Midwest. Chester's problems of...
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Abating Our Future: How Students Pay for Corporate Tax Breaks
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2021
Level State, School District
State(s) Louisiana, Missouri, New York, South Carolina, Texas
Source Good Jobs First
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Education
Public school students in the U.S. suffered poorer schools—and local and state taxpayers paid higher taxes—in 2019 due to corporate tax breaks; economic development tax abatements given to corporations cost public school districts at least $2.37 billion in foregone revenue in FY 2019....
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Zero Energy Schools Toolkit
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level School District, State
State(s) All States
Source Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships
Policy Areas Education, Energy, Finance & Procurement
A zero energy school is a low-energy, combustion-free building that sources all of its annual energy from renewable energy sources. This toolkit describes the educational, health, and environmental benefits of zero energy schools; outlines the process of building or renovating a zero...
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Tax abatements cost Ohio schools at least $125 million
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2018
Level City or Town
State(s) Ohio
Source Policy Matters Ohio
Policy Areas Education, Democracy & Governance
Tax abatements makes Ohio schools lost revenue, causing spotty reporting in forgone revenue with government compensation. The report provides recommendation for better tax abatements report....
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COVID-19 School Closures & Students with Disabilities
Type Fact Sheet or Infographic
Year 2020
Level School District
State(s) Pennsylvania
Source Education Law Center
Policy Areas Education, Children & Families
This fact sheet offers tips for disabled students (and their parents) struggling to navigate school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, it informs families of their children’s rights to temporary learning plans (and their decisions to disagree with them), IEP meetings,...
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Cameras in the Classroom: Facial Recognition Technology in Schools
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level State, School District, National
State(s) All States
Source University of Michigan: Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
Policy Areas Education, Data & Technology
Facial recognition in schools risks amplifying and institutionalizing existing racial biases (resulting in disproportionate surveillance and humiliation of marginalized students), normalizing surveillance, and commodifying student data. This report strongly recommends that facial...
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A Hard Habit to Break: The Raiding of K-12 Funds for Post-Secondary Education
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2018
Level State, School District
State(s) Michigan
Source Michigan League for Public Policy
Policy Areas Economic Justice, Community Development, Children & Families, Education
Michigan has shifted a total of $4.5 billion intended for K-12 public schools to universities and community colleges since 2010. This cut to K-12 education was not done for the benefit of postsecondary education, but to balance the state budget and compensate for General Fund dollars...
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Breaking Point: The Cost of Charter Schools for Public School Districts
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2018
Level City or Town, County
State(s) California
Source In the Public Interest
Policy Areas Education
The unchecked expansion of charter schools in California has led to dire fiscal conditions for the public education system, and public school students are bearing the costs. California’s Charter School Act doesn’t allow school boards to consider how a proposed charter school may impact...
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Advancing Zero Energy Schools: Trends & Considerations for State School Construction Programs
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2021
Level School District, State
State(s) All States
Source Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships
Policy Areas Education, Energy, Finance & Procurement
Across the country, state funding for school construction and renovation projects ranges significantly. This report summarizes how each state in the Northeastern United States funds school construction projects, and provides recommendations to achieve zero energy schools through construction...
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Child Care Teachers Are Essential Workers—Let’s Treat Them That Way
Type Fact Sheet or Infographic
Year 2020
Level County, State
State(s) All States
Source Center for the Study of Child Care Employment
Policy Areas Children & Families, Economic Justice, Education, Health, Public Safety
During the COVID-19 pandemic, early educators are being asked to serve children of other essential workers without the appropriate pay, health care, and personal protective equipment (PPE) or recognition that should come with risking their lives. This infographic outlines the risks...
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Leaders At Many Levels: Improving Schools Through Collaboration In Ohio
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2009
Level City or Town
State(s) Ohio
Source Policy Matters Ohio
Policy Areas Education
Students are better served when educators work together. Through a series of interviews, this report shows that teachers are ready to begin working together, but they cannot without the support of Ohio's government. This report also suggest steps Ohio's policymakers can take to foster...
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Lead and Its Impact on Learning: What Schools, Parents, & Policymakers Need to Know and Do
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2016
Level City or Town, State, School District
State(s) Pennsylvania
Source Education Law Center
Policy Areas Education, Children & Families
Lead exposure negatively affects childrens’ learning and behavior, and increases government expenditures related to education, health care, and incarceration. The report makes recommendations geared towards preventing elevated lead levels in growing children and inhibiting the development...
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Engineering Solutions Guide for Safe Routes to School
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2020
Level City or Town
State(s) All States
Source Safe Routes to School National Partnership
Policy Areas Public Spaces, Transportation & Mobility, Children & Families
The Engineering Solutions Guide presents street design strategies to address traffic safety concerns commonly identified in school areas and along the routes to school. The guide includes evidence-based strategies that keep children safe by constructing streets, sidewalks, and paths...
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Marketing Matters: White Paper on Strategies to Reduce Unhealthy Food and Beverage Marketing to Young Children
Type Policy Brief or Report
Year 2015
Level City or Town, County
State(s) All States
Source ChangeLab Solutions
Policy Areas Health, Children & Families, Food
The vast majority of food marketing to young kids promotes unhealthy foods and beverages. This report describes the many channels through which young children are exposed to unhealthy food marketing (i.e. outdoor advertising, broadcast media, digital media, etc) and provides policy...
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