The past few years have seen a rise in interest in local elected offices, specifically in school board seats. These seats hold unequivocal power over what school districts can do in terms of advancing equity and excellence in education. We explore one facet of what became a playbook of anti-equity efforts in school districts during the COVID-19…

Partisanship influenced learning modality after the pandemic's onset, but it is unknown whether partisanship predicted other aspects of educational operations. We study the role of partisanship, race, markets, and public health in predicting a range of operations--from modality to family engagement to social-emotional support to teacher…

Uses a political fragmentation index to calculate how political power affects educational spending in Virginia. Compares different political voices relative to each other, examines the role of power distribution, and considers political fragmentation across several dimensions. Along with traditional demand variables, interest group pressures…

This study had two broad goals: to discuss state politics and accountability policies in Virginia and Georgia before the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and to analyze the civil rights implications of NCLB's accountability requirements for future policy decisions. Part 1 describes previous policies and governance arrangements and how these factors…

The firing of the director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia after a 20-year tenure and similar changes in other states have raised concerns that higher education policy boards face tightened political control. Some Virginia legislators feel the dismissal has left the council with little credibility, and substituted political…

This report on Virginia higher education briefly reviews the impact of economic recession, slashed budgets, increased tuition, and increasing politicization upon the state's higher education system, and then looks ahead to issues critical to the higher education's future in the state. The report proposes action in three areas: (1) adequate funding…