While U.S. voters delivered a significant change in the 2024 federal elections, they opted for steady leadership at the state level. No state board of education shifted in partisan control, and only five seats saw a shift in political party out of 27 races that were contested in the general election. This policy update looks at the results of…

2017 saw every legislature in the West in session--including the 15 Western states, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam--with legislators addressing a diverse array of higher education topics and dealing with an equally wide variety of budgetary outlooks. As in past years, Western states featured some of the largest…

This report includes the latest information about how investment in early childhood education (ECE) correlates to school success and economic development. Members of state boards of education know that quality experiences have the largest impact on student outcomes. This report outlines quality in ECE, highlighting challenges that every state…

With very few exceptions colleges and universities of all types--2-year and 4-year, public and private-- are feeling the fiscal pinch. They are caught in the vise of rising expectations and constrained revenues. Public institutions are operating in an environment in which state-level policy-makers press for increasing numbers of graduates,…

Resource allocation to school sites in public school districts is inequitable. While Student Based Funding (SBF) has been implemented in several major urban school districts, there are few empirical studies about how SBF policies are derived and implemented. Current efforts to align resources with student need are hindered by a lack of systematic,…

Persistently low-achieving public schools around the country have received $5.8 billion from the federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) program, in addition to districts and state funds, and other supplementary federal funds. Despite all of these sources of funding, most of the schools receiving them have failed to make a dramatic difference in…

The Washington State Board of Education (SBE) provides oversight of the Washington K-12 education system to ensure that all students have the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills they need to be become lifelong learners, take advantage of their choice of post-secondary training and education, support themselves and their families, live…

Governing public schools is one of the most important responsibilities a citizen can undertake. School board members work on behalf of all the families in their community, with fellow board members and with other community partners, to ensure that each student has equal and ample opportunities to reach his or her greatest potential. This guide…

The challenge of producing the systemic changes that are needed to boost educational attainment and economic competitiveness across the country falls heavily on entities that coordinate public postsecondary institutions. Coordination of postsecondary education, whether of a single system of institutions or across an entire state, requires…

Public organizations charged with coordinating higher education institutions face a complex set of tasks. Whether coordinating institutions within one sector or across sectors, such organizations play vital roles in promoting a state's capacity for policy leadership to meet the growing need for an educated citizenry. National experts have…

Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) is an innovative program and strategy developed by the Washington (WA) State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) in conjunction with the state's 29 community colleges and five technical colleges. Its goal is to increase the rate at which adult basic education and…

The knowledge, skills, and practices of early childhood care providers and teachers are critical factors in their delivery of high-quality developmental and educational experiences to young children. However, studies have found that the majority of professionals that make up the current early childhood workforce are not adequately prepared. Recent…

THIS BILL, ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, IS KNOWN AS THE "COMMUNITY COLLEGE ACT OF 1967." IT AMENDS EXISTING LEGISLATION TO BRING IT MORE IN KEEPING WITH PRESENT-DAY REQUIREMENTS FOR A JUNIOR COLLEGE SYSTEM. ITS PURPOSE IS TO (1) OFFER A POST-HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION TO EVERY CITIZEN, REGARDLESS OF BACKGROUND OR…

The District of Columbia Mayor, Anthony A. Williams, is not alone among big-city mayors in extending a growing interest in public education to charter schools. This article discusses big-city mayors that have launched initiatives to form more of the independently run, but publicly financed schools. The notion of creating charter schools that…

IN 1965-66, AN INDEPENDENT RESEARCH AGENCY STUDIED THE EXISTING STRUCTURE OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN WASHINGTON AND CONCLUDED THAT (1) DEMAND FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE EDUCATION WILL INCREASE, ESPECIALLY IN NONTRANSFER PROGRAMS, (2) THE STATE SHOULD CONTINUE AND STRENGTHEN ITS OPEN DOOR POLICY, (3) A SYSTEM OF INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICTS IS…