Purpose: Our purpose was to gather and evaluate accurate, up-to-date information on physical education (PE) policy implementation across multiple U.S. states and regions. Methods: A U.S. Physical Education and Physical Activity Policy questionnaire was developed and completed by 4,845 public-school PE teachers from 25 U.S. states. The U.S.…

Technology use has been identified as a key contributor to the decrease in youth mental health (Children's Bureau, 2019; Lebrun-Harris et al., 2022; Dwyer, 2022; Mojtabai et al., 2016; Yasakci, 2019; Odgers & Jensen, 2020). The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to investigate how school district administrators are…

Background/Context: Since 2013, opting out of state standardized tests has become a movement--the grassroots, organized efforts to refuse to take high-stakes state standardized tests. In particular, opt-out rates in the state of New York have been consistently fluctuating around 20%. Purpose/Objective: This study aims to examine the actor…

This dissertation examines a social policy exemplar case in New York State's education policy history, the legislation that established the NY State Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge (SEEK) program. This presently upheld state legislation passed in July 1966 to increase college access, retention, and degree attainment of students of…

To best train and support school leaders in their evolving roles, they require high-quality preparation and in-service pipelines that both address the changing demands on their positions and acknowledge the cascading effects that well-prepared leaders have on both student outcomes and in school culture and retention. Including school leaders in…

States are grappling with policy strategies to determine attendance in the era of COVID-19 school closures and remote learning. Allowing districts and schools to develop an attendance policy using a combination of options to determine attendance can offer maximum flexibility. These options include, but are not limited to: (1) time on task (task…

With renewed calls for charter schools by Donald Trump's new Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, a review of dominant policy theories and their usefulness in analysing policy decision making once again becomes relevant. This paper evaluates the policy case, of the adoption of Charter School Legislation in New York in the late 1990s, making use of…

During the 2013 New York City mayoral race, the coalition A+ NYC--made up of community organizers, social service and advocacy groups, and other citywide and statewide groups--set out to ground the education conversation in research and proven practices. In a campaign called PS 2013, A+ NYC brought together education experts and practitioners as…

Students, teachers, and school leaders are seeking flexibility and supports to enable powerful, personalized learning experiences both inside and outside of the traditional classroom. In personalized learning, instruction is tailored to each student's strengths, needs, and interests--including enabling student voice and choice in what, how, when,…

How do policymakers craft policies, particularly centered on the Common Core State Standards, to be more resilient and less likely to disintegrate during enactment? Researcher Jonathan Supovitz in "Slowing Entropy: Instructional Policy Design in New York City, 2011-12" examines the design of a New York City Department of Education policy…

Building on the resources offered in the first volume of this series, this second volume offers governance members, leaders, and other academics valuable insights into the governance process in higher education. In a chapter drawn from his keynote address at the March 2015 SUNY Voices conference, Steven Bahls, president of Augustana College,…

District policy makers never have more potential influence than when they are crafting a Policy. In this paper Jonathan Supovitz argues, that the success of an instructional policy depends to some extent on the choices made in its crafting before it is let loose upon the world. The way a policy is framed and designed has important implications for…

The purpose of this case study is to examine the perceptions of school personnel and state leaders in New York State regarding the current teacher evaluation process known as the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR), which is the annual evaluation of all teachers and administrators in New York State. Results of the APPR are used for…

The premise of the white paper is that education policy results are better for students when policies are informed and shaped by highly effective educators who know firsthand what it takes to deliver excellent teaching and learning. Policymakers and educators should share a sense of urgency to work together to provide every child in our country…

This paper advances the theoretical and applied connection between education policy and community development. We call this community-aware education policy, and it is based on Dean's (2012) conception of human need that is thick (i.e., accounts for a relational context), rather than relying solely on a thin conception (i.e., instrumental view…