In 2011, Public Act 97-8, commonly referred to as Senate Bill 7 (SB 7), was signed into law by Governor Pat Quinn. Senate Bill 7 was one of the most significant changes to the Illinois tenure laws since the laws were enacted in 1941. Using discourse analysis methodology, this study examined the language used by various organizations and…

Young children of colour with disabilities have experienced more exclusionary practices in educational settings. Given the fast-growing number of students of colour across classrooms in the United States, and approximately 1 in 6 students identified with disabilities in public schools, it is important to pay attention to why exclusionary…

This document was created as a resource to identify and describe four properties of effective resource allocation systems to help anchor the resource allocation review process in the State of Illinois and build districts' understanding of these properties. An effective resource allocation system will have the following properties: (1)…

In this dissertation, I analyze the development and dissemination of state-level policies to prohibit colleges from considering criminal history for purposes of admissions otherwise known as ban the box in higher education. This research engages with practical and instructive questions of how individuals or coalitions can learn from other policy…

Background/Context: In the United States, strengthening the professionalization of teaching and teacher education has received extensive attention. Notably, the educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) has gained traction. Developed by the Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, & Equity (SCALE) in 2009, edTPA requires teacher…

Community college students are an untapped reservoir of talent and including them in social work education aligns with the values of the profession. Yet these students encounter formidable obstacles on the path from a 2-year degree to an affordable social work degree. In this article, we describe the systems thinking underlying a newly instituted…

Research on stakeholders in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) management in the schools has shown that several school personnel (e.g., nurses, athletic trainers, principals, speech-language pathologists) all contribute unique knowledge to a school-based mTBI management team. Special educators (SPEs) may be another stakeholder group that could…

This critical qualitative study of testimonios with undocumented Latina/o students in the Midwest explored how institutional agents impacted the level of difficulty students experienced in navigating their collegiate environments. We used social capital theory and Latino critical race theory as our analytic frameworks and employed a critical race…

Since 2009, the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) has been rapidly implemented as a policy tool for strengthening teacher professionalization across the United States. However, its national assimilation has become a target for both praise and critique among teacher educators. In this article, we examine such diverse perspectives.…

Professional organizations aim to strengthen and protect the professions they serve. However, organizations can also behave in hegemonic ways, eroding specializations and advancing a policy agenda without critical member input. Exploring issues of power and inclusion is essential not only for the survival and stability of the organization, but…

The Illinois State Board of Education crafted their Strategic Plan as a roadmap to equity, defining the steps their agency will take to improve and increase opportunities and supports for Illinois students, especially those in the greatest need. They adopted the plan in November 2020, nine months into a global pandemic that continues to shape the…

The report contains real-world, proven school climate strategies to guide policymakers in building a comprehensive and coherent state-wide approach for improving school climate. It features 12 recommendations linked to existing state policy examples policymakers can use to build a comprehensive, coherent state-wide approach for improving school…