"Fix Injustice, Not Kids and Other Principles for Transformative Equity Leadership" offers a deep dive into the leadership values, commitments, and practices that help educational leaders create and sustain equitable schools and districts. Drawing from their extensive equity and inclusion work with schools, Paul Gorski and Katy Swalwell…

The overwhelming majority of families rely on public education for a foothold in the American Dream, making it perhaps the most consequential expression of America's core value of opportunity for all. State policymakers are the constitutional stewards and primary funders of America's public schools. They have the awesome responsibility of guiding…

Multilingual learners (MLL) are a large and growing group of disadvantaged students in the United States public education system who come from refugee and immigrant backgrounds and require linguistic instruction, in addition to content instruction. MLLs are entitled to language instruction, and school districts receive additional funding for these…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Policy Priorities." Contents include: (1) IDRA Kicks Off 50th Anniversary…

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is required by RCW 28A.250.040 to report annually on online learning. This report uses data extracted from the Comprehensive Education Data and Research System (CEDARS). Key findings from the 2022-2023 school year include: (1) More students accessed online courses and more schools and…

How can states and schools use data to support their efforts to improve educational equity? "Building Educational Equity Indicator Systems: A Guidebook for States and School Districts," provides information to help state and school district leaders develop ways of tracking educational equity within their preK-12 systems. The guidebook…

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine how many young children and students (birth to 22 years old) were identified with visual impairments and receiving special education services in the United States. Professionals estimate at least 50% of students with visual impairments have additional disabilities and are not identified as…

English learners (ELs) represent a growing share of the student population in the United States, yet are often sidelined in federal education policy discussions. At present, an uneven approach has yielded sharp differences in ELs' educational experiences, with some states prioritizing bilingual education models and others emphasizing…

With over 37 million residents, California is the most populous state in the country. California's primary and secondary schools enroll over 6.2 million students,1 and there are 3.4 million undergraduates attending 683 postsecondary institutions in California. Yet, because of the lack of a strong data infrastructure, we are unable to answer basic…

Youth in the juvenile justice system need access to high-quality educational services and supports in order to reduce their risk of reoffending and increase their likelihood of further participation in education and the workforce. However, states have historically struggled to provide effective educational services to youth who are incarcerated.…

One tool that many families own, across the globe, is a basic mobile phone. The use of low-cost basic mobile phones for educational purposes in humanitarian settings is critical where access to connectivity and higher cost devices is limited. The portability of mobile phones, combined with their communication features, offers multiple uses to…

Many states are building systems and structures to integrate their early care and education data. Combining data from different programs and agencies that serve young children allows policymakers and program decision makers to better answer critical questions about the needs of families in their communities, as well as questions about services and…

In March 2020, Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) convened a Shared Solutions Workgroup of state and national experts to explore strategies for effective Career Technical Education (CTE) data reporting and communication. Over a series of meetings, the workgroup co-designed a set of tools and resources to help…

This article explores ways to improve the use and usefulness of four large and independently developed U.S. Education Department (ED) school-based data collections: the annual EDFacts' student outcomes on state assessments and high school graduation rates; the annual Common Core of Data's student and teacher counts and district and state finances;…

Given that work-based learning (WBL) can -- and should be -- a key driver of student career readiness in these efforts, it is essential that all states have a robust work-based learning continuum of experiences and exposure that spans K-16. WBL is an essential element of career and technical education (CTE), and ExcelinEd's CTE Playbook series…