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…

More states are thinking about their data systems and how to give decision-makers the information they need. As states work to create successful education and career pathways, they need transparent, well-structured and well-governed data systems. To learn more, our team conducted a 50-State Comparison on state longitudinal data systems to collect…

Trauma-informed pedagogy recognizes childhood trauma and its influence on students' behavior, health, and ability to learn. By utilizing trauma-informed pedagogy, teachers can help children who have experienced trauma build resiliency. To determine if pre-service teachers are being trained in trauma-informed pedagogy, a systematic review of…

For states to succeed in their efforts to improve reading instruction, they must ensure teachers are prepared to implement and sustain scientifically based reading instruction. The states most successful in leveraging policy to improve reading outcomes for students have taken a cohesive and comprehensive approach focused on improving teachers'…

While reference societies as an "externalization" process are often used to justify borrowing policies from abroad, a concerted attempt to understand how "power" influences this process, particularly regarding "semiperipheral" references to the periphery, remains absent. This article explores the externalization…

Research on higher education policy in the United States often seeks to understand commonalities across state contexts to understand broader concepts influencing decision-making. However, this minimises the importance of abstract and distinct factors impacting policy processes within a state. While researchers in other fields attribute these…

What can the federal government do to help ensure that the public schools attended by children living in poverty have enough resources to serve their students? In this brief, we describe existing federal efforts to support education spending in high-poverty districts, discuss their limitations, and suggest alternative approaches for federal…

This critical literature review employs a novel combination of theoretical perspectives to examine the ways teachers navigate restrictive language policy. Specifically, we examine the documented effects of California's Proposition 227 on pre-service and in-service teachers' language ideologies and classroom practices. In our investigation, we…

This policy analysis examined the intersection of a statistical model and locus of control to recommend an accountability model that best upholds the criteria of equity, efficacy, and impact on student learning for Missouri schools. Using Eugene Bardach's eightfold path and informed by the quality education in schools framework, this analysis…

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.…

This brief is our fourth annual review of how states are and could make a difference in school attendance with new policies and practices. Reversing today's chronic absenteeism requires state leaders to make reducing chronic absence a priority. In our work with states, we see how state leadership, especially from governors and state education…

In 2021, Illinois became the first state in the United States to require that K-12 students learn about Asian American history. Illinois achieved this when lawmakers passed House Bill 376 (H.B. 376), colloquially known as the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (TEAACH) Act. H.B. 376 received praise for being the first legislation…

The Science of Teaching Reading (STR) has received increasing attention as states continue to pass educational policy initiatives grounded in STR research. One major change resulting from STR policies is the heavy focus on the systematic instruction of phonics. Texas in particular has seen sweeping changes to their preservice teacher (PST)…

Using frame analysis, the present study examined the intersections of science of reading research, media coverage, and state literacy policy to explore how Colorado policy and media documents have defined reading achievement. It also analyzed the values, assumptions, and agendas within these definitions. It identified diagnostic frames that…

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…