School library media specialists often lead the charge for media and information literacy in schools, and where there is instruction, libraries are the primary hubs for it. As they craft policies and build infrastructure for media literacy instruction, state leaders should leverage librarians' expertise. It should not be solely their…

Evidence-based policymaking can transform the delivery of education services, restore public trust in schools, and improve outcomes for students. It can cut through the noise of political and cultural divisions and give decision makers clarity on how to prioritize the use of limited resources. And it can help build a shared understanding of where…

At a time when schools are facing the most severe staffing challenges in recent memory and with interest in becoming a teacher a fraction of what it was a generation ago, it has never been more important for state policies to support innovative approaches to teacher hiring and retention and remove unnecessary barriers into the profession.Instead…

Recognizing generative artificial intelligence (AI) as an "arrival technology"--one that has permeated K-12 classrooms and homes with or without schools' officially adopting it--the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) developed guidelines in 2023 for responsible implementation in schools under the direction of Dr.…

Great organizations have a clear sense of what they want to accomplish and how they are going to get there. For state boards of education, this vision and roadmap are typically articulated in a strategic plan. The best plans are living documents that guide state board actions or multiple years; lesser plans gather dust. What separates the two? The…

In this article, Arnold Shober asserts that despite the special challenges of public governance, state boards can effectively serve as beacons of policy. An effective board is driven by effective members whatever its structure, and effective members are committed to a shared agenda and the larger project of providing direction for a state's…

More than a decade ago, the K-12 Framework for Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) shifted states' notions of what constitutes the core of science skills and knowledge that students need to thrive in school and beyond. The majority of states adopted standards based on the framework as well as the NGSS. Yet because of the…

The 2024 National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) represents a significant effort to help states and schools leverage technology to modernize K-12 education in the United States. Because state boards of education critically shape education policy in their states, they can use the NETP to drive substantial improvements in digital access and…

Policymakers' solutions to the problem of inequitable access to postsecondary institutions often focus on the financial barriers students face. However, other barriers are just as significant. Students may face barriers in the logistical aspect of applying to college. They may not have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in college…

High-quality K-12 instructional materials can meaningfully improve teaching practice and student achievement, especially when paired with professional learning support. Yet state policymakers have usually left ultimate authority for textbook selection to school district leaders. Consequently, the quality of materials across U.S. classrooms and…

Children across the nation lack access to high-quality pre-K programs that can support their development and build foundational skills for elementary school. The pandemic set pre-K enrollment and funding back further, with an enrollment decline of nearly 300,000 children and state spending remaining relatively flat. As children and families return…

The policy landscape around curriculum selection and implementation is thorny: the federal government cannot mandate any state or local curricula, state policy varies widely, and local schools and districts often lack the capacity to support and sustain detailed reviews of materials and ongoing teacher training in quality curricula. Cultural and…

In a recent landscape of policies in 50 states and the District of Columbia, I found that states vary significantly in how they authorize, review, and approve teacher preparation providers and programs. What these policies have in common is a requirement that all programs meet the same standards. But in practice, they do not. Too often,…

Children from low-income families face many social and economic disadvantages, and high-quality preschool can help to alleviate some of them. Is "preschool for all" the best way to extend preschool subsidies to unserved disadvantaged children? Fully funding such a policy would be costly, and it is likely that a significant minority of…

In this article, Frederick Hess discusses a concept he calls "greenfield schooling." The premise is simple: Profound educational improvement requires more than fine-tuning systems that have evolved over two centuries; it requires policymakers and educational leaders to revisit organizing assumptions about the grammar of schooling. In…