A document from the U.S. Department of Education intended to clarify schools' responsibility to make sure students with disabilities have access to extracurricular sports has drawn sharply different opinions. Disability-rights advocates welcome the guidance, while critics say federal officials are pushing requirements that could place new…

The Federal Direct Student Loan Program offers loans to students and their parents to help pay for postsecondary education. Under current law, about $1.4 trillion in new direct loans will be made to students between 2013 and 2023, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects. Analysts and policymakers have raised concerns about various features…

At the turn of the century, the United States was trying to come to grips with a serious education crisis. The country was lagging behind its international peers, and a half-century effort to erode racial disparities in school achievement had made little headway. Many people expected action from the federal government. George W. Bush and Barack…

The use of crisis procedures, such as seclusion and physical restraint, in U.S. schools has garnered a great deal of national attention, resulting in reports from professional organizations, proposed legislation, and recent recommendations from the U.S. Department of Education (U.S. DOE; 2012). In this paper, we review the recommendations from the…

The United States Department of Education's "Annual Performance Report" for fiscal year (FY) 2013 and "Annual Performance Plan" for FY 2015 provides information relative to the closeout of the "FY 2011-14 Strategic Plan" and formulation of the "FY 2014-18 Strategic Plan." This year the Department has…

No one doubts that globalization is one of the most important trends of today. As American universities expand their global footprint with branch campuses in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and elsewhere, many faculty are concerned about oppressive governance, human-rights violations, and lack of academic freedom abroad. Meanwhile administrators grapple…

This election season, "Forward" was the watch-word of President Barack Obama's campaign. During the election battle, it stood for moving ahead with four more years of his leadership, and for the future-focused thinking the president espoused as a candidate. But what does "forward" mean for President Obama's second term in…

"Professionalizing the Nation's Cybersecurity Workforce? Criteria for Decision-Making" considers approaches to increasing the professionalization of the nation's cybersecurity workforce. This report examines workforce requirements for cybersecurity and the segments and job functions in which professionalization is most needed;…

America's financial-aid system has become almost impossible to navigate and burdensome for those who need it most. Tuition and fees are skyrocketing, forcing almost half of college-going students to borrow. Low and middle-income students are taking on frightening levels of debt. Bachelor's degree recipients leave school with an average of $26,600…

America's college financial-aid system has helped millions of students obtain a postsecondary education, but the system's flaws are increasingly apparent. Growth in tuition and fees outpace available resources, particularly for students striving to rise out of poverty. Low- and middle-income students confront frightening levels of education debt.…

While both the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and he U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) base their services and eligibility criteria on the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (hereafter referred to as "The McKinney-Vento Act"), each agency uses a different definition of "homeless" due to differences…

Given that many jobs of the future will be STEM jobs, that our K-12 system is "middle of the pack" in international comparisons, and that progress on STEM education at multiple levels is critical to building a just and inclusive society, there is an urgent need to continue to improve STEM education in the United States. Much knowledge…

The federal government is making a $3.5 billion investment to turn around 800 to 900 low-performing schools. In exchange for up to $6 million for each school over a three-year period, these schools have chosen to pursue one of four improvement models--school closure, restart as a charter school, turnaround through replacement of the principal and…

During few times in America's history has leadership in education been more critical. Far too many communities continue to face the enduring impacts of systematic racism and generational poverty. The nation's schools have also been impacted by COVID-19 and, for many, the effects are staggering and could last for years. At the same time, as the…

There is growing unease about suspension and expulsion of children at the preschool level. Preschoolers are expelled at three times the rate of K-12 students (Gilliam, 2005). Boys--particularly African-American boys--comprise a disproportionate number of these cases, a fact that has caused concern among parents, policymakers, and advocates alike.…