This general qualitative research utilized semi-structured interviews of eight (8) experienced Title IX investigators from institutions of higher education (IHEs) in Massachusetts to understand federal Title IX regulatory compliance burdens. The rate of occurrence of sexual assault and harassment, as forms of sex discrimination, at IHEs remain…

More than 50 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, recent studies, complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Education, and lawsuits filed against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill reveal that many academic institutions are engaging in blatant racial discrimination by gaming the system,…

Despite advances in improving CCR for students with disabilities, a great deal of work is needed to help more students achieve their full potential. The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) provides states with flexibility over the design of their educational systems and offers additional provisions to support CCR for all students, including…

On February 24, 2017, all of the authors of the state-of-the-state manuscripts published in the "Journal of Education Finance" met in Cincinnati, Ohio, to participate in a roundtable discussion focused on recent legislative actions in 38 states. A majority of those papers were revised to reflect a final report on legislative actions…

Strong and stable school leadership is critical for success in schools across the nation. The duties of the principal are many and varied. Principals, for example, can oversee instruction, purchase curricular materials and supplies, and provide professional learning and supports for teachers. Carrying out these duties effectively makes a…

As COVID-19 rapidly changes the economic landscape throughout the country, higher education institutions (HEIs) are facing new, constantly evolving challenges. To address these challenges, federal and state governments are quickly drafting laws and regulations that are impacting colleges and universities, and their employees. This article briefly…

This marks the ninth hearing that the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee has convened in advance of the Higher Education Act reauthorization. The purpose of this hearing is to discuss the unique challenges facing minority serving institutions (MSIs) and to learn about programs and support to help facilitate student success.…

This article takes a first look at the major issues and trends that are currently being seen in 2019 emerging in the region's legislatures related to higher education and workforce development. Topics include: affordability, student loan debt, and college closures/mergers/acquisitions/collaborations. Other bills touch on emerging issues:…

A recent survey of 41 different state boards of education revealed that officials from 28 states indicate that they are experiencing teacher shortages. The shortages in some states are significant. While the teacher shortage in many states is tied to different factors, one frequently cited reason for leaving the teaching profession is low pay.…

Health care is one of the economy's biggest industries, so it is natural that the health care industry should play some role in the teaching of introductory economics. There are many ways that health care can appear in such a context: in the teaching of microeconomics, as a macroeconomic issue, to learn about social welfare, and even to learn how…

States, programs, and schools have long focused on the inputs of teacher preparation--the rules for candidates and the preparation programs they attend--because inputs were thought to predict teacher effectiveness, and because they were often the best option available. But in the early 2000s, policymakers began trying to evaluate preparation…

As an associate registrar at Berklee College of Music, the author is responsible for ensuring the College's compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). In 2009 he was asked to be part of a team charged with assessing Berklee's conformity with a soon-to-be-enacted state regulation. The Massachusetts Department of…

In this year's report on the Condition of Education in the Commonwealth (COE), the Rennie Center seeks to highlight how educators can be empowered to effectively meet the academic and social-emotional needs of their students in 2022 and beyond. The report relays findings from research on immediate supports to address student needs in the wake of…

Leaders engaged in Massachusetts' public higher education system--including at community colleges, state universities, and UMass--have demonstrated their strong commitment to improvement in recent years. The state Department of Higher Education's Vision Project is focused on reforms necessary to "produce the best educated citizenry and…

The State-specific summary report serves as an assessment of Massachusetts' annual Race to the Top implementation. The Year 4 report for Phase 2 grantees highlights successes and accomplishments, identifies challenges, and provides lessons learned from implementation from approximately September 2013 through September 2014. In Year 4,…