Cyberbullying has been called a public health concern (Achuthan et al., 2023; Cheng et al., 2023; Patchin et al., 2023) and continues to be an issue that plagues students throughout the country (Hindu et al., 2022). The purpose of this study was to investigate the guidance and policy offered by federal legislators, state legislators, and school…

This study discusses the student activism that led to the legal case that established due process rights for students at state-funded colleges and universities. In 1960, Alabama State College students organized a sit-in demonstration against Jim Crow segregation and subsequently challenged their expulsion from the college for taking part in the…

Intermediaries--also referred to as bridge builders, boundary spanners, conveners, and other names--fill the critical role of connecting all the parties in the system to empower people with the skills required in the labor force. Those parties generally include employers, educators, workers, and prospective workers. Within these categories may…

Passage of the "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA) provides opportunities to improve how schools address barriers to learning and teaching and re-engage disconnected students and families. Of particular relevance to these concerns, ESSA replaces what has been described as a maze of programs with a "Student Support and Academic…

The May 2012 State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) report, "The Broadband Imperative: Recommendations to Address K-12 Education Infrastructure Needs," pushed educators and policy makers nationwide to increase high-speed broadband access in schools, with specific recommendations regarding access, funding, and policies…

There is growing unease about suspension and expulsion of children at the preschool level. Preschoolers are expelled at three times the rate of K-12 students (Gilliam, 2005). Boys--particularly African-American boys--comprise a disproportionate number of these cases, a fact that has caused concern among parents, policymakers, and advocates alike.…

This article explores the role of state education agencies in three states that have embarked on ambitious kindergarten through Grade 12 (K-12) virtual learning initiatives: Alabama, Florida, and Idaho. Subject to a rapidly changing environment influenced by factors beyond the jurisdiction of many state departments of education, the world of…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Senate Committee Passes Education Appropriations Bill; (2) Upside Down: New Alliance Brief Says Federal Education…

Advanced Placement (AP), which enables high school students to take introductory college-level courses, is the nation's oldest example of a rigorous, common curriculum. Students who score well on AP exams are more likely to persist in college and earn a degree. The Advanced Placement Expansion project of the National Governors Association Center…

This exploration into competency-based innovation at the school, district, and state levels suggests that competency-based pathways are a re-engineering of this nation's education system around learning--a re-engineering designed for success in which failure is no longer viable. This discussion draws on interviews and site visits with innovators…

In the context of the global knowledge economy, the three major players--university, industry, and government--are becoming increasingly interdependent. As more intensified interactions and relationships of increasing complexity among the institutions evolve, the Triple Helix model attempts to describe not only interactions among university,…

When H. Councill Trenholm wrote that "we have a long way to go", he fully understood the barriers that African-Americans faced in securing educational equity in the twentieth century, particularly in the segregated South. He also was keenly aware of the importance of education to community development, human development, and…

This paper presents the Alabama edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's 2008 "State Teacher Policy Yearbook". The 2008 "Yearbook" focuses on how state policies impact the retention of effective new teachers. This policy evaluation is broken down into three areas that encompass 15 goals. Broadly, these goals examine…

The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This Alabama edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state policies…