This roadmap for Illinois public schools through school year 2022-23 defines the steps the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) will take to provide each and every student in the state with safe and engaging schools, excellent teachers, and equitable learning opportunities. This plan reflects both the realities and uncertainties are faced…

States like Georgia have brought policy change allowing schools to arm teachers. However, ramifications of unforeseen costs and possible legal issues this could bring are still unclear. Since no school that out has openly armed their faculty and/or staff has been in an active shooter situation it is unclear whether this policy is effective.…

The goal of this brief is to provide a summary of research from various scientific and educational fields on trauma informed care (TIC) for educators and administrators supporting the mental and physical health of youth experiencing homelessness (YEH), with specific recommendations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Background: The COVID-19…

According to higher education policy experts, "Campus threat assessment is not merely a recommendation, but an emerging standard of care." However, despite evidence of the emergence of this standard and the consistency of recommendations that comport with those made by the Virginia Tech Review Panel, college campuses continue to vary…

Social distancing and school closures forced by the COVID-19 pandemic present extraordinary challenges for education. While the nation is just beginning to understand the impact of the last few months and what the months ahead will mean for students, families, and educators, the depth of students' connectedness to school and the quality of their…

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) updates its Comprehensive Strategic Plan for Elementary and Secondary Education each year, as required by Public Act 93-1036 (the Education Reform and Accountability Act of 2004). This annual "Strategic Plan Progress Report" details actions the agency is taking to fulfill the Board's mission,…

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…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the priority level of the roles and responsibilities of the superintendent/principal in Illinois as perceived by board of education presidents, teachers' union presidents, and practicing superintendent/principals in the 102 Illinois school districts utilizing the superintendent/principal model.…

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) develops and maintains a continuing five-year comprehensive strategic plan for elementary and secondary education in accordance with Public Act 93-1036. Agency staff members revisit the plan each year to review the agency's accomplishments and to refine the agency's strategies. The State Board amended…

The Illinois State Board of Education's 2015 Comprehensive Strategic Plan is the agency's 11th such report as required by Public Act 93-1036. The first plan focused on ISBE's three primary goal areas: enhancing literacy, improving educator quality for all children, and expanding data-driven management and school support practices. Since 2005,…

Each year, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) updates its continuing, five-year comprehensive strategic plan for elementary and secondary education, per the Education Reform and Accountability Act of 2004. ISBE's Comprehensive Strategic Plan for Elementary and Secondary Education provides a comprehensive review of how the agency…

Independence Day School is a small college preparatory school serving grades 9-12, in rural Illinois. As part of its commitment to creating a safe school for all students, it adopted a "safe zone" classrooms policy. The policy states that classrooms where conversation about homosexuality is permitted are marked with inverted pink…

As U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan works with other Obama administration officials on policy responses to the shootings at a Connecticut elementary school, he brings a personal and professional history that has acquainted him with the impact of gun violence. As schools chief in Chicago from 2001 to 2008, he was affected by the gun deaths…

School counselors help foster student's academic, social, and career development; yet, school counselors are often neglected in research on school climate and student safety. Framed by the theory of planned behavior, this study examined how 206 school counselors' multicultural counseling competence, multicultural self-efficacy, and perceptions of…

This report provides a comprehensive review of the literature on restorative justice in U.S. schools. The review captures key issues, describes models of restorative justice, and summarizes results from studies conducted in the field. The review was conducted on research reports and other relevant literature published, or made publicly available,…