This entry defines and addresses the issue of unfunded mandates. It explains what constitutes a mandate in the world of education and the concerns associated with how mandates are funded and who pays for them. The entry concludes with a discussion of the fiscal and economic impacts of unfunded mandates on education.

A mandate is a provision handed down by a higher level of government by statute, administrative regulation, or court order—individually or in some combination—that requires a specific procedure, process, or service to be fulfilled by the lower governmental agency or institution. An education mandate may dictate direction for a variety of issues, including teacher pay and teacher quality, length of educational time, transportation, equal access to learning opportunities, and mandatory learning goals and assessments.

Mandates ...