Far too often, conversations about diversifying the teacher pipeline are left to district and school leaders. Conversely, too little conversation is grounded in the kinds of policy changes at the state level that are foundational to giving local and district leaders the tools to attract, recruit, and retain a diverse teacher workforce. This…

Finding funds to build and renovate facilities is a major hurdle for public charter schools because most state laws do not provide charter schools with the full amount of state and local funding that other public schools receive. Although an increasing number of states are passing laws to address charter school facility funding gaps, inequities…

Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, the federal government allocates 7% of Title I funds, about $1 billion per year, for school improvement. States have substantial autonomy in allocating these funds, including which schools are identified for federal school improvement, what improvement strategies are used, and whether external intermediaries…

This brief arises from two distinct yet related activities currently underway within the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE). First, IDOE is preparing to review the state early learning standards. The idea for this brief arose initially in that context as a means of considering how to intentionally design and use early learning standards to…

The link between health and learning is clear: healthy, active and well-nourished children are more likely to attend school, be ready to learn and stay engaged in class. Yet far too many students--particularly low income students and students of color--spend their days in buildings with unhealthy air, have limited opportunities for physical…

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis will undoubtedly have dire consequences for all sectors of public education. The rapid transition to remote modes of instruction in the spring of 2020 and the subsequent anxiety about the start of the 2020-21 academic year have highlighted the critical need for well-prepared educators. Although calls…

The report contains real-world, proven school climate strategies to guide policymakers in building a comprehensive and coherent state-wide approach for improving school climate. It features 12 recommendations linked to existing state policy examples policymakers can use to build a comprehensive, coherent state-wide approach for improving school…

This article maps the genealogies of how California and Texas have dealt with school policy. The twin purpose is to shed light onto the dynamics governing the formation of K-12 education policy in two influential and different states, and visualizing the intensification of state-federal interaction that has gradually evolved into a national school…

Over the last 20 years, state education agencies (SEAs) have been given considerably more responsibilities for directing and guiding the improvement of low-performing schools. At the same time, federal policies strongly pressed SEAs to use research to design these supports. Very few studies have explored the SEA as an organization, or its role in…

The West Comprehensive Center (WCC) is working with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), the Nevada Department of Education (NDE), and the Utah State Office of Education (USOE) to assist districts and schools that are implementing activities to improve outcomes for Indian students. As a first step, WCC staff reviewed state and national law,…

Drawing on deep expertise and diverse experiences in the sector, the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) and the Charter School Growth Fund (CSGF) have collaborated to identify a set of key policies and practices that could dramatically accelerate the replication and growth of high-performing charter schools and charter…

The reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, December 3, 2004, (IDEA '04) and its implementing federal regulations, October 13, 2006, prompted the need to revise Virginia's special education regulations. Input was received from a Stakeholders Group that included school personnel, parents, consumers,…

Because of the individual authority of each State for its own educational program, practices and policies differ widely among them in many respects. Yet in the midst of differences there are also common elements of development. The U. S. Office of Education, in presenting this series of monographs, has attempted to point out those common elements,…

In its educational progress, a state is helped by a comparison of the features of its school system with the same features in other states. Such comparisons serve to set in clear perspective likenesses and differences; and since our state educational systems have been developed not only according to the experience of the individual state, but also…

It is not a simple matter to attempt to summarize the achievements or point out the apparent tendencies in an educational program providing for 21,000,000 children, engaging the services of 600,000 teachers, and involving an annual expenditure, with public secondary education, of more than $2,000,000. Neither is it a simple matter to present a…