The next President of the United States has an enormous responsibility--and opportunity--to provide an equitable foundation for a new generation of learners. The magnitude of the coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated the importance of schools as community anchors that children and families rely on for much more than an education. This document…

To meet current federal regulations and provide the opportunity for individuals to receive services in the least restrictive environments, states are focusing on providing day habilitation services in inclusive community environments, rather than traditional congregate facility-based programs. The two main services of day habilitation focus on…

This is the "41st Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2019." Section 664(d) of the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act" ("IDEA"), as reauthorized in 2004, requires that the Department of Education report annually on the progress made toward the…

This document records testimony from a hearing before the Committee on Education and Labor to examine the policies and priorities of the United States Department of Education. Member statements were presented by: (1) Honorable Robert C. Scott, Chairman, Committee on Education and Labor; and (2) Honorable Virginia Foxx, Ranking Member, Committee on…

The United States Department of Education's (the Department's) "FY 2015 Annual Performance Report" (APR) and "FY 2017 Annual Performance Plan" (APP) provide information relative to the "FY 2014-18 Strategic Plan." Again this year, the Department has consolidated its APR and APP in an effort to provide a more complete…

"Children's Budget 2019" is a comprehensive analysis of how kids and families have been faring in the federal budget over the past five years. The book captures and analyzes historical funding data and spending trends across a wide range of policy areas including child welfare, early childhood, education, health, housing, income support,…

Far too often, the question of how to improve educational outcomes for minority children living in the United States leads to familiar proposals involving school busing, educational vouchers, or the formation of mixed-community charter schools. The purpose of this report is to note that each of these shares a commonality that should not be…

The commentaries on Downey and Condron found in this issue help advance an overdue conversation about schools and inequality. This paper considers two questions that are prompted by the comments from the authors' colleagues: (1) Would we make more progress reducing socio-economic and racial achievement gaps by reforming schools or by reforming the…

College students who are parents or caregivers of dependent children make up more than one in five U.S. undergraduates. Colleges need basic information about the experiences and outcomes of the student parents they serve, since these students face distinct challenges, including high rates of economic insecurity and significant time and caregiving…

The author draws on his extensive experience helping lead Congress's education efforts and later a highly respected education research concern to propose a new approach to federal education policy that expands and transforms the federal role. This new approach would significantly expand federal aid to schools that is not restricted to particular…

For decades, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has enforced civil rights in our nation's preschool through 12th grade (P-12) and post-secondary schools, which now serve almost 80 million students annually. In Fiscal Year 2015, the OCR promoted excellence in education through conducting investigations and monitoring schools under resolution…

When the pandemic forced schools to move online, no one was prepared. It was a true crisis, but out of crisis often comes innovation and discovery. That is exactly what a fall 2020 nationally representative survey from the American School District Panel, a collaboration between RAND, CRPE, Chiefs for Change, and Kitamba, found. A RAND report…

For most Americans, concerns related to students who identify as transgender are a new reality. The Obama Administration's response to this new reality was an unlawful attempt to force a one-size-fits-all policy on the entire nation rather than allow parents, teachers, and local schools the time, space, and flexibility to find solutions that would…

A recent Heritage Foundation report argues that Title IX does not require schools to protect students from discrimination on the basis of gender identity. It criticizes the Obama Administration for issuing guidance and enforcing Title IX to protect transgender students, and it urges the Trump Administration and courts to keep gender identity…

Passage of the "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA) provides opportunities to improve how schools address barriers to learning and teaching and re-engage disconnected students and families. Of particular relevance to these concerns, ESSA replaces what has been described as a maze of programs with a "Student Support and Academic…