In the past fifty years, governments across the world have experimented with a variety of market-based reforms to improve public service delivery. Market-based policies have been particularly influential in efforts to reform K-12 education governance in the United States. Prominent examples of these reforms include laws establishing public charter…

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…

This non-regulatory guidance discusses provisions that govern within-district allocations under Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and accompanying regulations in 34 C.F.R. §§ 200.64, 200.77, and 200.78. It first addresses required and…

COVID-19 has been a challenging issue for America's public schools and students. The pandemic highlights many issues that already impacted education but have now become far more transparent as the forced school building shutdowns and transition to online learning have spread across the nation. For the 2020-21 school year, the concern is not only…

Although law and regulation governing the distribution of intellectual property rights has significant implications for the cost, quality, and adaptability of educational products and services, PreK-12 education researchers have largely overlooked this issue. Recent changes to federal regulations in the U.S. require some federally funded…

Of the many factors that affect what school districts buy and do for their students, an often-overlooked issue is the influence of federal education grant programs. Nearly every school district in the country receives funding from the US Department of Education (ED) through grant programs that support elementary and secondary education. While this…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides services to students who have disabilities. These IDEA-funded services are afforded to students between the ages of 3 and 21 who attend not only public schools (including charter schools), but also private schools. IDEA contains comprehensive guidelines on 3 processes which, by…

"Dismantled" is an accessible, critical look at the devolution of local power in the Detroit public school system. The author examines the rise of charter schools and other private enterprises, the eclipse of control from local actors to new players and influences, and the invaluable lessons the experience holds for urban school systems…

To effectively promote and advocate for our dance programs, we need to educate administrators, fellow teachers, counselors, and school board members using strategies that will help them deepen their understanding of dance's impact on student learning. In this article, we discuss how dance educators can use common educational language, brain…

Federal regulations require that all students in specified elementary, middle, and high school grade ranges participate in state assessments used for accountability. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that all children with disabilities are included in all general state and districtwide assessment programs with…

This hearing explores the accountability rule that the Department of Education proposed on May 31st. This goes to the heart of the law to fix No Child Left Behind. The Federal Government decided that math and reading test results would determine whether schools and teachers were succeeding or failing. The two main concerns of this hearing are: (1)…

Federal school finance policy over the past 30 years has focused on resource allocation within school districts. Regulations require equal staffing across schools, particularly Title I schools, which are designated based on the percent of low-income students enrolled. The requirement to equalize staffing levels creates a loophole where, even with…

In March 2019, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced a proposal to establish a new, nationwide federal tax-credit scholarship program. Representative Bradley Byrne (R-AL) introduced a companion proposal in the House. Although Congress' support of school choice is praiseworthy, a federal tax-credit scholarship program poses a threat to education…

The paper aims to analyse how pupils' equal educational opportunities are warranted. We focus on how regulations of adapted education and the right to special needs education provide school leaders' and teachers' room for discretionary decision-making, how it is interpreted and how discretionary power is justified. The paper draws on findings from…

Over the course of two short years and through quiet regulatory actions, many of which have not garnered many headlines, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has loosened accountability for U.S. schools and colleges, putting millions of students at risk of civil rights abuses and fraudulent financial schemes. Through aggressive use of its regulatory…