In 2013 and 2015 Oregon enacted legislation that shifted school discipline policies from a zero-tolerance approach to one that emphasizes preventing behavioral problems and reducing unnecessary suspensions and expulsions. Suspensions and expulsions are often referred to as exclusionary discipline because they remove students from classroom…

A 2020 lawsuit involves a public school teacher who refused to address transgender students by their preferred names because of his religious beliefs. This case is particularly significant because it is the first K-12 decision that analyzes this matter. This issue has important policy implications for schools and students.

Schools and districts across the country have been thrust into the political limelight as they grapple with sometimes competing policy messages about the education of transgender and gender expansive students. Drawing on 2 years of survey data from families of transgender and gender expansive youth in one mountain state, this article uses critical…

While recent scholarship generally emphasizes how public school principals' perceptions influence various school safety practices, far less is understood about how principals' perceptions of school crime risk and academic climate informs schools' decisions on specific school safety outcomes, including a school's SRO/police presence and policies on…

Background/Context: Scholars and practitioners continue to work to identify ways to change structural conditions, school-level policy, and stakeholder mindsets to support minoritized youth in advanced coursework. Open access policies, in which students do not need a previous teacher's approval or a prerequisite grade to enroll in an advanced…

The Mastery-Based Learning Collaborative (MBLC) is a demonstration project taking place in 47 schools across Washington to help decision makers understand what quality mastery-based (or competency-based) learning looks like, how long it takes to implement, and what resources are necessary. The schools receive funding, coaching, and professional…

This study examines Cambodian students' exam cheating practices throughout their schooling. Based on a thorough analysis of interviews with 19 university students, the study found that, although cheating was more prevalent at the secondary level, individual students' cheating experiences varied in frequency and timing (i.e. when they started,…

Critical Race Theory is the theoretical framework used to structure the discussion of data and results. The purpose of this descriptive multi-embedded case study was to investigate the perspective of effective elementary school principals in a large, diverse suburban school district in the Metro area who narrowed the race-based academic…

Over the past decade, teacher autonomy within the formal educational system has been a central topic of discussion among educational stakeholders. This study explored influence over school policy and classroom control (teacher autonomy) among in-service science, technology, and mathematics (STM) educators within the United States. The National…

Over the past two decades, there has been rapid growth in understanding of bullying in schools and its many negative effects. The reported incidence of bullying and other school violence has increased over time, and UNESCO recently estimated that 246 million children and adolescents experience violence in and around school every year (UNESCO…

In this conceptual article, we present a theoretical framework designed to illustrate the many contexts and factors that interact and shape the work of mentor teachers. Drawing on the literature on K-12 teaching and on teacher preparation, we argue for greater acknowledgment of the complex work of mentor teachers as they navigate multiple…

In the USA, there has been a nationwide call for comprehensive sexual health education programs to be LGBTQ+-inclusive. The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) K-12 curriculum was intentionally designed to align with the National Sexuality Education Standards and to be inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning as well as other…

This zine represents a large community project done with the collaboration of Waterloo's NAACP Education Chapter, ASK (Access for Special Kids) Resource Center, community members, caregivers, college students, and faculty. The importance of this zine was to highlight the work from town hall meetings and caregiver interviews, but also show…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate music teacher professional development (PD) practice and policy in the United States between 1993 and 2012. Using data from the nationally representative Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) spanning these 20 years, I examined music teacher PD participation by topic, intensity, relevance, and format; music…

The literature has revealed that high-performing districts establish collaborative working relations with school leaders as a part of the strategy to improve student achievement. This study was designed to investigate the relationships and interactions that school owners and principals in municipalities with high-performing school results employ…