Causal Research on the Impacts of K-12 School Policies
Causal Research on the Impacts of K-12 School Policies supports researchers studying state-influenced U.S. school policies to help decision-makers identify reforms that improve outcomes at scale.
Funder: Arnold Ventures
Due Dates: November 13, 2026 (letter of interest) | January 31, 2027 (invited full proposal)
Funding Amounts: No set maximum; prior quasi-experimental studies: approximately $100,000–$300,000 over 1–3 years; prior randomized trials: approximately $200,000–$400,000 over 2–4 years
Summary: Supports causal research on state-influenced U.S. K–12 policies that could improve outcomes at scale.
Key Information: Studies must evaluate state-level policy decisions, not a specific curriculum in isolation.
Description
Arnold Ventures’ Evidence & Evaluation team seeks rigorous studies estimating the causal effects of actionable, politically viable U.S. K–12 policies that states can influence. The goal is evidence that helps decision-makers identify reforms capable of improving outcomes at scale.
Proposals may address curriculum, assessments and accountability; school choice and governance; or teacher and school leader policies. The RFP welcomes research into which policy features drive effects and how changes affect students, educators and school systems. Where feasible, it favors studies using administrative data to examine longer-term postsecondary or labor market outcomes alongside educational outcomes. Because state decisions are moving quickly, Arnold Ventures prefers studies completed within 18 months of project kickoff and/or producing actionable findings by the end of 2028.
