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 "Breaking Barriers to Learning." Contents include: (1) The Importance of…

This case focuses on the Board of Trustees of a large urban school district in Texas, as they worked to decide when learners would have the option to return to in-person learning even as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect the community, particularly communities of color. This decision-making process included two back-to-back school board…

The present study examined the utilization of Clery Act information by college students. Results from 107 students indicated that awareness of the Clery Act and knowledge of crime log information was lacking. Using an experimental design, study participants demonstrated potential benefits from exposure to information about campus crimes. This…

Objective: Campus recreational sport activities impact college student health and well-being in a variety of domains. This multi-institutional study examined the participation of students in campus recreation during the pandemic and explored the relationship between student participation and their demographic markers, COVID-19 experience, and…

This qualitative phenomenological study explored strategies utilized by risk management leadership to encourage positive behaviors in student organizations at a four-year mid-size higher educational institution in Texas. Through semi-structured interviews, participants described various protective behavioral strategies implemented to encourage…

Mental health has a substantial effect on student academic performance. As the need for mental health resources in Texas significantly outpaces availability and access, schools are often the best location for students to connect with necessary mental health services and community support. The Texas Education Agency and its partners, including the…

Drawing from a context of reception framework, this article asks the following questions: How do educators describe issues of safety and belonging in the context of a charged immigration policy climate? What practices have educators developed to support immigrant-origin youth? And, what are the relationships between educators' perceptions of…

The intent of this annual report is to shine light on the Texas Education Agency's commitment to ensuring that every one of the more than five million public school students in Texas is prepared for success in college, a career or the military. The achievements of Texas students are a testament to the hard work of educators across the state. Their…

As the 2021-22 academic year came to a close, the United States was rocked by the news of another school mass shooting, this time at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen fourth-grade students and two of their teachers were killed when an 18-year-old former student entered the school through an unlocked door, made his way to his former…

Campus shootings have impacted campuses across the United States for almost two centuries. Between 2015 and 2016, at least three historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) experienced multiple shootings where students were killed in each incident. This qualitative comparative case study used secondary data to explore the similarities and…

During the past year, Texas students, families, and educators have shown tremendous grit and determination as they continue to emerge from the effects of the pandemic. While much work remains in mathematics, results from the last school year show that Texas students have largely reached pre-pandemic levels of proficiency in literacy, and Texas…

The 2020 Texas Educators' Needs Assessment Regarding School Safety and Victims Services included responses from educators across the state of Texas regarding school safety. This needs assessment generated data that provided researchers with the unique opportunity to analyze the school safety issues in Texas (Fuller et al, 2020). The purpose of the…

While there is an increased national focus on student safety and gun violence in schools, the policies for arming teachers are often vague and unclear. Additionally, policies and laws enforcing safety protocol for students differ across states. Clarity in policies are important for stakeholders in school communities who can use such information to…

This is the second in a series of five briefs published by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology on the key considerations facing educational leaders as they work to build and sustain core digital infrastructure for learning. These briefs offer recommendations to complement the fundamental infrastructure considerations…

School leaders fail to recognize parents' and teachers' perceptions of factors that affect children's learning in elementary schools, resulting in the problem of low parental involvement and academic achievement. The purpose of this quantitative method comparative design study was to examine the perception of parents and teachers concerning…