Federal law defines English learner (EL) eligibility differently for Indigenous, compared to non-Indigenous, students, allowing for broader entry into the EL category, along with its accompanying resources and services. We interviewed EL leaders from 25 state departments of education to learn about their level of understanding of the…

Youth who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits experience disparate educational, employment, and economic outcomes when compared to youth with disabilities who do not receive these entitlements. Promoting the Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE) was a 6-year national research demonstration project that…

Alignment with the Montana Indian Education for All (IEFA) Act, tenets of Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit) (Brayboy, 2006) and the 7 Essential Understandings, results in the effective integration of Computer Science and Storytelling into the classroom. Teacher disposition and pedagogies that reflect current education transformation trends…

In 2017 the National Association of System Heads launched its Taking Student Success to Scale: High Impact Practices Network. The goals of this initiative were to identify and scale promising High Impact Practices (HIPs) at both the campus and system level to prioritize equitable participation for low-income and first-generation students and…

The American Indian presence in Montana enriches the state's culture. Educationally, however, there are gross disparities between academic performance of American Indian students when compared with the student population as a whole and with various ethnic/cultural subgroups. Montana's educational data mirror the Bureau of Indian Education national…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how the principles of universal design can be implemented by faculty and course designers to help give all learners access to equivalent information. It describes how information communication technologies can create barriers to information access, particularly when course content is rich in…

Montana's Indian Education for All Act is an unprecedented state constitutional mandate requiring educators to integrate American Indian content into all instruction. Not all educators in this western state in the United States embrace this requirement, but those who do become change agents as they lead students to challenge the status quo.…

This article focuses on how three dimensions of critical democracy preparation (place-based geographical knowledge, social and political awareness of American Indian history and culture, and orientations conducive to the development of personal connections with American Indians) were impacted by different instructional approaches introduced when…

This study focuses on a professional development program for science teachers near or on American Indian reservations in Montana. This program was framed by culturally relevant pedagogy premises and was characterized by instructional strategies and content foci resulting from the intersection between three cultures: tribal, science teaching, and…

The supreme courts of Montana, New Jersey, and Texas have overturned their respective educational finance systems. Provides analyses of the three cases and a discussion of the implications for other states. (MLF)

Discusses the Montana Supreme Court's declaration that the Montana system of financing education was unconstitutional as it relates to emerging legal principles drawn from federal school finance court challenges. Speculates on future directions in state education finance equity litigation. (54 references) (MLF)

This article presents a teacher's story regarding the necessity of a laws such as Indian Education for All (IEFA). According to the law, all school personnel are expected to "gain an understanding of and appreciation for the American Indian people." It is deeply rooted in democracy and reflects so much of what the teachers believe about…

Financial resources do affect educational quality. When the advantaged have the better-financed school, America will continue to provide unequal education to those who most need what school has to offer. Legislative responses to early litigation and the recent litigation in Montana, Texas, and New Jersey are discussed. (MLW)