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This chartbook is the 14th version to be produced for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) by the Population Reference Bureau (PRB). The Chartbook describes the diversity of the Appalachian Region on a host of demographic and economic measures and provides an important annual view of the area and its people. The data contained in the 2018-2022 Chartbook describe how residents in the Appalachian Region were faring before and during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March 2020. Nearly half of the years during this time period were pre-pandemic and half were during the pandemic era. Thus, this Chartbook is a blend of these two eras. As future data releases reflect the post-pandemic era, data users will have additional insights on the long-term changes that the pandemic brought to Appalachia's social and economic dynamics. Most of the data shown here come from the 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS), a nationwide study collected continuously every year in every county in the United States by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is designed to provide communities with reliable and timely demographic, social, economic, and housing data each year. To provide as much county-level data as possible, we use ACS 5-year data files which provide reliable estimates for geographic areas with fewer than 20,000 people. Since many counties in the Appalachian Region have fewer than 20,000 residents, these data permit comparable statistics for all 423 counties in the Region. The primary purpose of the ACS is to measure the changing characteristics of the U.S. population in a way that is continually updated. The estimates in this Chartbook, therefore, are data collected over the five-year (or 60-month) period from January 2018 through December 2022. These ACS estimates are not averages of monthly or annual values, but rather an aggregation of data collected continuously over that time period.

Total enrollment at Wisconsin's public and charter schools declined by 25,000 students from fall 2019 to fall 2020 and has continued to fall in the years since then. While declining birth rates and apparent movement of some students to private or home schools likely account for at least two thirds of the decline, somewhere between 0.5% and 1.2% of the state's school-age population may be unaccounted for, raising questions about their whereabouts and well-being, the state's workforce, school finances, and more.

This report catalogues the growth of the modern mixed-race population in the United States and highlights the many complications this population presents for the future of civil rights law and policy. What is most distinctive of today's mixed-race individuals is their assertion of a mixed-race identity which they claim embodies a different experience compared to those who report to be a single race such as "white" or "black." This emphasis on personal identity presents a new dimension that must be considered in the development of new civil rights policy. The authors argue that policymakers and other practitioners need to be more aware of the complexities involved with defining a mixed-race population because a limited understanding will result in policy that could unintentionally undercut the very values civil rights policy seeks to uphold. Policy recommendations for reconciling how the growth of a mixed-race population may challenge the existing framework of civil rights are provided. [For the executive summary, see ED630504.]

Monitoring the Future (MTF) is designed to give such attention to substance use among the nation's youth and adults. It is an investigator-initiated study that originated with, and is conducted by, a team of research professors at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. Since its onset in 1975, MTF has been funded continuously by the National Institute on Drug Abuse--one of the National Institutes of Health--under a series of peer reviewed, competitive research grants. The 2022 survey, reported here, is the 48th consecutive national survey of 12th grade students and the 32nd national survey of 8th and 10th grade students (who were added to the study in 1991). MTF contains ongoing national surveys of both adolescents and adults in the United States. It provides the nation with a vital window into the important but often hidden problem behaviors of use of illegal drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and psychotherapeutic drugs (used without a doctor's orders). For more than four decades, MTF has helped provide a clearer view of the changing topography of these problems among adolescents and adults, a better understanding of the dynamics of factors that drive some of these problems, and a better understanding of some of their consequences. It has also given policymakers, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the field some practical approaches for intervening. Two of the major topics included in the present monograph are: (1) the prevalence and frequency of use of a great many substances, both licit and illicit, among U.S. secondary school students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades; and (2) historical trends in use by students in those grades. Distinctions are made among important demographic subgroups in these populations based on gender, college plans, region of the country, population density, parent education, and race/ethnicity. MTF has demonstrated that key attitudes and beliefs about drug use are important determinants of usage trends, in particular the amount of risk to the user perceived to be associated with the various drugs and disapproval of using them; thus, those measures also are tracked over time, as are students' perceptions of certain relevant aspects of the social environment--in particular, perceived availability of each drug, peer norms about their use, use by friends, and exposure to use by others of the various drugs. Data on grade of first use, noncontinuation of use, trends in use in lower grades (based on retrospective reports), and intensity of use are also reported here. [For "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2021. Volume I, Secondary School Students," see ED619855.]

Recent discussions on enrollment in higher education have centered around the "Enrollment Cliff." The notion holds that due to changing demographics, colleges and universities across the U.S. will see a dramatic decline in enrollment starting in 2025. The enrollment cliff poses legitimate challenges to schools around the country. Schools who are savvy in their response to the cliff can better position themselves for student population decreases and increased competition. Prioritizing student success may help the schools most vulnerable to shifting demographics navigate the years ahead.

Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) is proud to be publishing the third Trenton Kids Count Data Book in over 20 years, a one-stop source for child well-being data on the state's capital city. Trenton Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with data trends, in the following areas: demographics, family economic security, child health, child protection, child care, education, and teens. "Trenton Kids Count 2023" looks a bit different compared to previous data books. In particular, due to data quality concerns, the U.S. Census Bureau did not release American Community Survey (ACS) 2020 one-year estimates. For this reason, tables using ACS one-year estimates do jump from 2019 to 2021. [Funding for this report was provided by The Burke Foundation, the Princeton Area Community Foundation, and the Smith Family Foundation. For "Newark Kids Count 2022: A City Profile of Child Well-Being," see ED621268.]

Since 1997, Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) has published the Newark Kids Count Data Book, a one-stop source for child well-being data on the state's largest city. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: demographics, family economic security, child health, child protection, child care, education, and teens.

Monitoring the Future (MTF) is designed to give attention to substance use among the nation's youth and adults. It is an investigator-initiated study that originated with, and is conducted by, a team of research professors at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. Since its onset in 1975, MTF has been funded continuously by the National Institute on Drug Abuse--one of the National Institutes of Health--under a series of peer reviewed, competitive research grants. The 2021 survey, reported here, is the 47th consecutive survey of 12th grade students and the 31st such survey of 8th and 10th graders (who were added to the study in 1991). MTF contains ongoing national surveys of both adolescents and adults in the United States. It provides the nation with a vital window into the important but often hidden problem behaviors of use of illegal drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and psychotherapeutic drugs (used without a doctor's orders). For more than four decades, MTF has helped provide a clearer view of the changing topography of these problems among adolescents and adults, a better understanding of the dynamics of factors that drive some of these problems, and a better understanding of some of their consequences. It has also given policymakers, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the field some practical approaches for intervening. Two of the major topics included in the present volume are: (1) the "prevalence and frequency" of use of a great many substances, both licit and illicit, among U.S. secondary school students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades; and (2) "historical trends" in use by students in those grades. Distinctions are made among important demographic subgroups in these populations based on gender, college plans, region of the country, population density, parent education, and race/ethnicity. MTF has demonstrated that key attitudes and beliefs about drug use are important determinants of usage trends, in particular the amount of risk to the user perceived to be associated with the various drugs and disapproval of using them; thus, those measures also are tracked over time, as are students' perceptions of certain relevant aspects of the social environment--in particular, perceived availability, peer norms, use by friends, and exposure to use by others of the various drugs. Data on grade of first use, discontinuation of use, trends in use in lower grades, and intensity of use are also reported here. [For "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2020. Volume I, Secondary School Students," see ED615087.]

In 2021, the Jacksonville Public Education Fund convened with Kids Hope Alliance, Duval County Public Schools, READ USA, WJCT, Jacksonville Public Library, and others along with Lectio Consulting to plan out the initial stages of the "READJAX" Campaign, with the goal of improving 3rd grade literacy in Duval County. This brief summarizes available background literature, literacy data, and community data that has informed this campaign. We will continue to track the progress and impact of the campaign. This brief, which is made possible by financial support from The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, describes how Duval parents, across all demographic categories (such as race, zipcode, and education), share similar beliefs about the importance of early literacy to later success but some are likely facing complicated barriers to being as involved as they want to be. In combination with Duval County student population trends over the past three years becoming increasingly diverse and in economic need, all the data included suggest collective efforts are needed to improve literacy rates across Duval County through systemic change and culturally responsive engagement of students, teachers, and families.

For 25 years, Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) has published the Newark Kids Count Data Book, a one-stop source for child well-being data on the state's largest city. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: demographics, family economic security, child health, child protection, child care, education and teens. [For "Newark Kids Count 2020: A City Profile of Child Well-Being," see ED616481.]

Idaho faces a twin challenge in the market for public school students. With only 40 percent of students proficient in math and 55 percent proficient in reading across all grades statewide, the state needs higher-quality schools to give all its students access to great educational options. Added to that, Idaho was the second-fastest-growing state over the past decade, with a 17.3 percent growth rate--an increase of more than 270,000 residents. This dramatic growth highlights an opportunity to explore the market for new, high-quality charter schools across Idaho. This statewide analysis seeks to understand the market opportunity for new Idaho charter schools in two ways: (1) a population growth projection analysis to estimate future growth in school-age populations in each county and the state overall; and (2) a quality seats analysis to identify areas in Idaho with the greatest need for high-quality school options. [This report was co-published by Bluum.]

This report, which has been developed through a partnership between the African Union Commission (AUC) and UNICEF, aims to: (1) track the progress that African nations have made in education, especially in relation to Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) and the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA) goals; (2) identify the challenges that African leaders and decision makers face in providing inclusive quality education, especially those related to the COVID-19 pandemic; and (3) make recommendations that could help accelerate progress in education, and prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from eroding the gains that have been made to date. The report relies primarily on data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and household surveys such as the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and Demographic Health Surveys (DHS). It is based on robust statistical analysis to illustrate the progress and challenges of education in Africa. The goal is to offer African leaders and decision makers a valuable, evidence-based snapshot of the state of education across the continent of Africa, and practical ideas that they can implement in their particular countries. [This report was jointly prepared with the African Union Commission.]

The present volume presents new 2020 findings from the U.S. national Monitoring the Future (MTF) follow-up study concerning substance use among the nation's college students and adults from ages 19 through 60. This volume reports 2020 prevalence estimates on numerous illicit and licit substances, examines how substance use differs across this age span, and shows how substance use and related behaviors and attitudes have changed over the past four decades. The 2020 panel data collections occurred during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (from March 2020 through November 2020), and this volume constitutes one of the first considerations of possible pandemic effects on prevalence and trends of substance use among the MTF young and middle-aged adults. This volume reports the results of the repeated cross-sectional surveys of all high school graduating classes since 1976 as they are followed into their adult years. Segments of the general adult population represented in these follow-up surveys include: (1) U.S. college students; (2) same-aged youth who also are graduates from high school but not attending college full time, sometimes in the past called the "forgotten half,"; (3) all young adult high school graduates of modal ages 19 to 30, called the "young adult" sample; and (4) high school graduates at the specific later modal ages of 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60. This volume emphasizes historical and developmental changes in substance use and related attitudes and beliefs occurring at these age strata. [For "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2020. Volume I, Secondary School Students," see ED615087. For the report from the previous year, see ED608266.]

This report presents state- and county-level data for the Appalachian Region. The 12 chapters focus on: (1) Population Basics; (2) Age; (3) Race and Hispanic Origin; (4) Housing Occupancy, Tenure, and Type; (5) Education, Device Ownership, and Internet Access; (6) Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment; (7) Transportation and Commuting Patterns; (8) Income and Poverty (9) Health and Insurance Coverage; (10) Disability Status; (11) Migration; and (12) Veteran Status. Most of the data come from the 2015-2019 American Community Survey. This year's Chartbook includes two appendices. Appendix A uses selected demographic and socioeconomic measures to provide an overview comparing rural Appalachia (defined here as nonmetropolitan counties not adjacent to any metropolitan area) to rural areas outside the Appalachian Region. (It also includes a map showing the location of these rural counties.) Appendix B contains two reference maps--one of the five Appalachian subregions, and one of the five rural-urban county types. Both the subregions and county types are referenced throughout the report. [For the 2014-2018 Chartbook, see ED606327.]

Monitoring the Future (MTF) is designed to give attention to substance use among the nation's youth and adults. Since its onset in 1975, MTF has been funded continuously by the National Institute on Drug Abuse -- one of the National Institutes of Health -- under a series of peer-reviewed, competitive research grants. The 2020 survey, reported here, is the 46th consecutive survey of 12th grade students and the 30th such survey of 8th and 10th graders. MTF contains ongoing national surveys of both adolescents and adults in the United States. It provides the nation with a vital window into the important but often hidden problem behaviors of use of illegal drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and psychotherapeutic drugs (not under a doctor's orders). For more than four decades, MTF has helped provide a clearer view of the changing topography of these problems among adolescents and adults, a better understanding of the dynamics of factors that drive some of these problems, and a better understanding of some of their consequences. It has also given policymakers, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the field some practical approaches for intervening. Two of the major topics included in the present volume are: (1) the "prevalence and frequency" of use of a great many substances, both licit and illicit, among U.S. secondary school students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades; and (2) "historical trends" in use by students in those grades. Distinctions are made among important demographic subgroups in these populations based on gender, college plans, region of the country, population density, parent education, and race/ethnicity. MTF has demonstrated that key attitudes and beliefs about drug use are important determinants of usage trends, in particular the amount of risk to the user perceived to be associated with the various drugs and disapproval of using them; thus, those measures also are tracked over time, as are students' perceptions of certain relevant aspects of the social environment -- in particular, perceived availability, peer norms, use by friends, and exposure to use by others of the various drugs. Data on grade of first use, discontinuation of use, trends in use in lower grades, and intensity of use are also reported here. [For "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2020. Volume II, College Students & Adults Ages 19-60," see ED615085. For the report from the previous year, see ED608265.]

"An Overview of Coal and the Economy in Appalachia," a report commissioned by the Appalachian Regional Commission, details major trends in coal employment and production in the Appalachian Region over the past two decades. The report examines where employment and production losses have been concentrated within the Region, and also what might be driving these declines. Furthermore, the report also explores the variation in socioeconomic indicators -- labor force, population, income, education, and health -- by mining and non-mining counties within Appalachia.

Affirmative action critics argue that race-conscious admissions policies are keeping Asian American enrollment numbers unfairly low because Asian American students are held to higher admissions standards than applicants of any other race or ethnicity. "Selective Bias: Asian Americans, Test Scores, and Holistic Admissions" evaluates the common arguments made by them and Students for Fair Admissions, which is suing Harvard University and has lawsuits pending against the University of North Carolina and the University of Texas at Austin over their admissions practices. The report finds no strong evidence of discrimination against Asian American applicants in admissions to highly selective colleges.

In an equitable America, universities do not aim to serve individuals at the expense of community growth. Students do not live at colleges; they live in communities. To realize this vision, postsecondary institutions must principally help create an infrastructure of equality that serves local communities. Institutions as well as local, state, and federal governments can do so by taking the steps provided in this paper. To turn this vision into reality, city planners and university leaders must work together to address some key considerations, including: demographic shifts, employment and earnings, wealth, housing, and infrastructure. Organized across these categories, this vision offers a place-based approach toward community change with postsecondary education institutions as a central pillar.

Last year, the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) published an issue brief on Utah's Opportunity Gap. The 2019 report focused on the long-range impacts of shifting demographics within Utah's population on enrollments and completions within USHE. What the report failed to do is address the responsibility of the System to evaluate the ways in which System policies and procedures create structural barriers to the access and success of students, faculty, and staff who belong to underrepresented and marginalized groups. This study was reframed to look at the long-range impact of shifting demographics within Utah's population on enrollments and completions if systemic and structural barriers within USHE are not addressed. [For the 2019 report, "Utah's Growing Opportunity Gap: The Impact of Shifting Demographics on Utah's Postsecondary Educational Attainment. Issue Brief No. 2019-4," see ED601919.]

This report presents state- and county-level data for the Appalachian Region. The 12 chapters focus on: (1) Population Basics; (2) Age; (3) Race and Hispanic Origin; (4) Housing Occupancy, Tenure, and Type; (5) Education, Device Ownership, and Internet Access; (6) Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment; (7) Transportation and Commuting Patterns; (8) Income and Poverty (9) Health and Insurance Coverage; (10) Disability Status; (11) Migration; and (12) Veteran Status. Most of the data contained in this chartbook come from the 2014-2018 American Community Survey. This year's Chartbook includes two appendices. Appendix A uses selected demographic and socioeconomic measures to provide an overview comparing rural Appalachia (defined here as nonmetropolitan counties not adjacent to any metropolitan area) to rural areas outside the Appalachian Region. (It also includes a map showing the location of these rural counties.) Appendix B contains two reference maps--one of the five Appalachian subregions, and one of the five rural-urban county types. Both the subregions and county types are referenced throughout the report. [For the 2012-2016 Chartbook, see ED585953.]

The charter school sector currently serves more than 3.2 million students in more than 7,000 schools. In addition, 45 states, DC, Guam, and Puerto Rico have charter school laws. While the sector has experienced tremendous growth, the acquisition and financing of adequate school facilities continues to be a major barrier for school operators and continued growth. This report reviewed recent developments and data in public school enrollment, demographic and population change, real estate dynamics, and charter school facilities finance to identify three key trends that are likely to impact the charter school facilities landscape for the next 5-10 years. Some trends will provide new opportunities for charter schools -- while others will create challenges that are likely to require creative solutions. The key trends identified in this report are: (1) geographic and population changes will continue to impact the charter school sector and facilities landscape; (2) charter schools are likely to benefit from a more mature facilities finance market; and (3) changing academic strategies, including community partnerships and 21st century career preparation, will likely create the need for more innovative facilities models.

When it comes to American education, few policy areas are as misunderstood -- or as crucial -- as school finance. Over the past several years, a political and empirical consensus has emerged about the importance of equitable and adequate school funding for high quality K-12 education. In other words, the evidence is clear that money does, indeed, matter. Certainly, debates about how education funds should be spent are also important, and money should be spent wisely. But there are few options for improving America's schools that do not require adequate and sustained investment, particularly for disadvantaged students. While maintaining efficiency is important, the fact is that districts cannot spend money wisely that they do not have. This report presents key findings from the second release of the School Finance Indicators Database (SFID), a public database of sophisticated but user-friendly state school finance measures going back to 1993. This latest version of the SFID includes data up to 2017 (the 2016-17 school year). [For the first edition, "The Adequacy and Fairness of State School Finance Systems. Findings from the School Finance Indicators Database, School Year 2015-2016," see ED596199.]

Diversity is core to what makes many cities vibrant, dynamic, adaptive and strong. Recently, Boston has gotten much more racially diverse, evolving from being only 20 percent people of color back in 1970 to 56 percent of color today. However, there's a way in which the rich tapestry of the city has eroded: Boston is rapidly losing families with children. In particular, it's losing families with K-12 school-aged kids. Boston has experienced large declines among Black and white kids; significant Latino increases have offset some of these decreases, but only partially. The families who leave Boston when their kids approach kindergarten are predominantly middle and high income. This has created a growing mismatch between the demographics of kids who attend Boston's K-12 public schools and the city overall. This report dives deep into these trends in three parts by analyzing: (1) Boston's declining school-aged population; (2) the growing mismatch between city and school demographics; and (3) the increasing isolation of students of color and low-income students in Boston schools. The authors hope this demographic analysis will help accelerate public conversations about how Boston can welcome all families back to the city and promote greater economic and racial integration in the schools. [This report was co-produced by Boston Indicators.]

The "Annual Disability Statistics Compendium" and its complement, the "Annual Disability Statistics Supplement" (ED605683) are summaries of statistics about people with disabilities and about the government programs which serve them. The compendium presents key overall statistics on topics including the prevalence of disability, employment among persons with disabilities, rates of participation in disability income and social insurance programs, and other statistics. The following new sections were added to the compendium this year: (1) The Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities sponsored a new section with national estimates of sociodemographic information about people with disabilities in the rural US; (2) Focusing on factors in the social and physical environments, sections have been added on the intersection of functional difficulties and activities of daily living and housing (e.g., housing quality, year built, type). Housing quality estimates were based on a Census Bureau index that includes adequacy of kitchen and bathroom facilities, overcrowding, and cost burden; and (3) Industry and occupation for people with disabilities were added, and the four most prevalent industries and occupations were stratified by state. A companion "Annual Report" (ED605685) is available, providing graphic representations of key findings.

The "2019 Annual Report on People with Disabilities in America" is a companion volume to the "2019 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium" (ED605680) and "Supplement" (ED605683). In addition to the inclusion of indicators related to population size, educational attainment, employment, earnings from work, poverty, and health insurance, this years "Annual Report" includes indicators related to institutionalization, accessibility of mass transit, accessibility of housing, and the role of the environment in the enablement/disablement process--the "Disablement Index." [For the 2018 Annual Report, see ED595177.]

The "Annual Disability Statistics Supplement" is a companion report to the "Annual Disability Statistics Compendium" (ED605680). The "Supplement" presents statistics on the same topics as the "Compendium" with additional categorizations by demographic characteristics including age, gender and race/ethnicity. In addition to the "Supplement," a companion "Annual Report" (ED605685) is available, providing graphic representations of key findings. [For the 2018 Supplement, see ED595183.]

The 2020 edition of "KIDS COUNT in Colorado!" examines the current state of preschool in Colorado--the need, the access, and the opportunity--as lawmakers consider expanding access to the Colorado Preschool Program and Governor Jared Polis calls for improved access to quality preschool statewide. This 27th edition of the annual focus on well-being of Colorado children and families provides a foundation of data and research to guide the policy making of state and local leaders. This year's report, "Creating a Path Forward for Colorado's Kids," explores what a significant expansion in preschool access would mean to Colorado's young children. Researchers examined barriers to quality early learning faced by kids with the most obstacles to learning--and how an expansion toward a universal system should put them first. The report is produced by the Colorado Children's Campaign as part of the national KIDS COUNT project. It includes data for every county in Colorado on child demographics, economic security, health, early childhood and K-12 education. [For the 2019 report, see ED603087.]

In a rapidly changing 21st-century economy with growing competition from abroad, continuing to field a world-leading, skilled workforce is both more essential and more challenging than ever to the mission of delivering increasing prosperity for American families and preserving this nation's economic leadership. The US must therefore confront its demographic challenges, as an aging population and slowing labor force growth pose risks to the economic strength and fiscal health of the country. CED seeks to confront these challenges and offer policy makers and business leaders balanced, reasoned solutions in the nation's interest to grow and strengthen the American workforce. This paper--focused on reforming immigration policy to promote long-run US economic growth and prosperity--is the second in a series of policy briefs that, together, will help chart a path toward meeting these goals. It follows "Growing the American Workforce: Bolstering Participation Is Critical for US Competitiveness and Economic Strength," which offered reasoned, evidence-based policies for increasing near-term labor force participation and attachment as a strategy for delivering more widely shared prosperity for families, a deeper, more-skilled pool of talent for American businesses, and more robust economic growth and fiscal stability for all. Boosting Immigration also builds on and complements past CED work advocating for immigration policies to better grow the economy and meet the needs of all US citizens. The US immigration system has remained largely unchanged for decades, while other countries with which we compete for in-demand global migrants have sought to innovate and fine-tune their recruiting efforts. Further delay in improving our immigration policies will result in a continuing decline in US advantages, an ongoing rise in regional demographic and fiscal pressures, and an increasing likelihood that the next great invention or company will arise elsewhere, each with significant long-run consequences for US economic strength. Instead, CED recommends that business leaders and policymakers champion six specific reforms to better align US immigration policy with the nation's economic interest: (1) Reform the H-1B visa application and approval process; (2) Improve the H-1B visa pathway to permanent residence; (3) Increase economically motivated offers of permanent residence; (4) Pilot a "fast-track" entry program for top international recruits; (5) Set aside an annual allocation of "place-based" employment visas; and (6) Establish a Workforce and Immigration Policy Advisory Board.