Charter schools have been growing in the United States and worldwide over the past two decades, and there is considerable interest in how they affect students remaining in traditional public schools (TPSs). Charter schools present important policy questions, as they often compete for the same students, educators, and resources as TPSs. This brief…

Background: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine for healthcare delivery was uncommon. Medicare restricted routine fee-for-service reimbursements for rural patients, with payments made under restricted circumstances. In response to the pandemic, the Department of HHS amended the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental…

The Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES) Program, signed into law on May 9, 2019 (1002.394, F.S.), was established to provide children of Florida's families with financial assistance to attend an eligible private school of their choosing with funding equal to 100% of a given school district's average cost per student. Eligibility is limited to…

A qualitative phenomenological study was used in this study to explore the reasoning behind a parent's decision to send their child to a suburban, predominantly white, private school in the city of West Palm Beach, Florida, where high-income families are highly prevalent. Ten parents of newly enrolled high school students were recruited to…

This study explores social studies teachers' self-reported instruction about teaching the 2020 election in U.S. secondary schools. We analyzed survey responses from 1,723 secondary social studies teachers from 12 states (3 left-leaning, 3 right-leaning, 6 battleground) collected in the weeks after the election, examining self-reported pedagogies,…

"Believing in Public Education: A Demographic and State-level Analysis of Public Charter School and District Public School Enrollment Trends" is a new data analysis that examines enrollment trends during the last four school years (2019-2023). Over the last four school years (2019-20 to 2022-23), charter schools have gained more than…

Most students who begin at a community college do not complete their desired credential. Many former students fail to graduate due to various barriers rather than their academic performance. To encourage previously successful non-completers to re-enroll and eventually graduate, a growing number of community colleges have implemented re-enrollment…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship of age, gender, ethnicity, military experience, educational level, and the Criminal Justice Basic Abilities Test (CJBAT) score of recruits to discern if those factors are valid predictors of student success in a community college law enforcement academy. The relationship…

This technical assistance paper provides policy and guidance to individuals with test administration responsibilities in adult education programs. The Florida assessment policies and guidelines presented in this technical assistance paper are appropriate for state and federal reporting. Therefore, guidance and procedures regarding the selection…

In this study on K-12 schools in the U.S. Florida Heartland, I take a QuantCrit approach to uncover how processes of data transformation, which I call 'racial re-formation', shape the utilization and reporting of racial and ethnic representations of students. To understand actual data use at schools, I apply QuantCrit's principles on how numbers…

Water availability is an important issue addressed by Cooperative Extension programs nationwide. Rapid population growth and urbanization present unique challenges and opportunities for Extension programming. In this study, we explored whether urban Extension audiences in Florida had unique characteristics that could be used to design tailored…

We explored the motivations for and psychological benefits gained from participating in the Florida Master Naturalist Program (FMNP). We surveyed 3,904 participants, and 1,983 participants responded with completed questionnaires, for a 50.79% response rate. Florida master naturalists participated to learn, help the environment, and act on…

The purpose of this study was to investigate Florida's extended reading time (ERT) policy as enacted during the 2016-2017 school year. This policy requires elementary schools ranking among the 300 lowest performing in the state, as measured by state assessments, to provide an additional hour of reading instruction beyond the regular school day.…

In this report explores the demographic characteristics and labor market outcomes of baccalaureate graduates from the Florida College System and compare them to associate degree graduates in similar fields. Better understanding of who CCB graduates are--including how they may differ from other students--and whether they reap better economic…

States use their accountability systems to identify low-performing schools, which can receive added support and are expected to improve. Alternative schools serve students whose needs are not met in a regular school. They often serve at-risk students who are struggling academically or behaviorally. Given this unique population, the Government…