While U.S. voters delivered a significant change in the 2024 federal elections, they opted for steady leadership at the state level. No state board of education shifted in partisan control, and only five seats saw a shift in political party out of 27 races that were contested in the general election. This policy update looks at the results of…

In response to concerns regarding school quality, state policy-makers reformed their charter school authorization processes to impose greater regulatory barriers to chartering. These barriers to market entry could impose substantial burdens for Black and Latino would-be charter operators, as well as independent operators, who may lack access to…

The issue of school safety is of paramount concern but what is lacking is clarity on the best course of action aimed at bolstering safety in public schools. We sought to answer the following research questions: What topics are addressed in school board policies related to arming employees? What outlying policy topics are addressed in school board…

A recent Arkansas Department of Education analysis found highly rated early childhood programs serve many of the state's children. Yet 81,000 eligible children still lack access to publicly funded early learning experiences, particularly in rural areas, and enter kindergarten "not ready to learn." The LEARNS Act focuses on five key areas…

One of the most important endeavors a school board will complete is the hiring of a district superintendent. This study focused on Northwest Arkansas school board members' perceptions of criteria used for hiring practices and review how or if they align with the professional leadership standards. The research concentrated on the 16 Northwest…

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to capture and gain an understanding of Latinx immigrants' lived experiences during their transitions from their native countries to rural Arkansas. Using purposeful criterion-based sampling, the population of interest was five Latinx immigrant students and families who migrated from their…

Successful implementation of computer science standards may hinge on one thing: teacher capacity. Without enough qualified teachers and the resources to support them, states will be hard pressed to make computer science a part of every student's education--something that industry leaders say is critical to career readiness. Maryland and Arkansas…

This Policy Update highlights the mismatch between the skills taught in many teacher preparation programs and those needed to help students achieve rigorous learning standards. State boards of education have a role to play here. They have authority over preparation program standards and approval processes, curriculum, teacher certification and…

In 2018, state boards of education discussed and adopted policies to increase accountability for student data protection and to increase transparency of schoolwide data through data dashboards. This analysis highlights policy changes in state data protection requirements, test administration and security, records retention, and confidentiality…

Minority students and students with disabilities are disciplined disproportionately from their peers. Discipline has led to many negative consequences in the lives of youth in the United States, including the school-to-prison pipeline. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Education issued guidance encouraging school districts to develop policies that…

A large and growing body of evidence over the past several decades has shown that school leadership is a key factor in improving school performance and student outcomes. Increasingly, funders and developers of school leadership programs are articulating talent development frameworks, or leadership development pipelines, that conceive of school…

State implementation of new standards (revising, adapting, and adopting new standards) is a significant undertaking. Such an effort at the state level requires extensive support, planning, and resources. Implementing new state standards also requires the support of multiple education leaders--governors, legislators, state departments of education,…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) follows education budgets and legislation during regular and special legislative sessions. Current actions are found in Legislative Reports that are released on a timely basis during the months that SREB state legislatures are in session, usually from January through July. These reports follow education…

This article presents the state education finance and governance profile of Arkansas. Arkansas has 254 school districts, which operate 1,114 schools. More than two thirds (68.4%) of all schools are Title I schools. All school districts in Arkansas receive foundation funding--a set amount of money per student. In addition to the foundation funding…

Fifty years ago, nine black students walked through the doors of Little Rock Central High School, guarded by U.S. Army and National Guard troops dispatched to protect them from angry white residents protesting integration. Now, Arkansas is inviting the world to turn its eyes to Little Rock--this time, to see how far the city has come since those…