As 2015 came to an end, education funders in Texas were reflecting not only on the results of their grantmaking over the past year but also on what the state legislature had (and had not) accomplished during its most recent session. Thirty-four Texas funders felt a particular sense of satisfaction because they had helped shape some of the new…

This article describes how positioning an organization to be seen as trusted and expert on an issue requires careful relationship-building, patience, and an abundance of time. Such an effort often requires help, and so American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) and Washington Partners are working together to further AIHEC's goals.…

In 2009, a seldom-used policy lever emerged in the form of a competitive grant program, Race to the Top (RTTT), and sparked a flurry of state-led initiatives as states vied for federal dollars. The current study examines the policymaking context that surrounded these events and propelled Tennessee to the top of the race among the states. Through…

Policymakers and educational leaders continue to use school district decentralization as a reform effort that attempts to shift power and authority from central office administration to school-level leadership. In 2015, the Nevada Legislature passed legislation to restructure the Clark County School District (CCSD), the state's largest school…

Research on evaluation has mainly focused on the use of evaluation and has given little attention to the origins of evaluation demand. In this article, I consider the question of why parliamentarians demand evaluations with parliamentary requests. Building on the literature of delegation, I use a principal-agent framework to explain the origins of…

As more and more cities and states diversify the educational options available to parents and students, creating magnet, open-enrollment, small school, career and technical, charter, and private school opportunities, educational choice markets need to become a part of the regulation conversation. In this report, Mike McShane examines the…

This paper examines the debate in the U.S. Senate over the reasons why state governments have decreased funding for higher education. One side believes that federal mandates on states to pay for Medicaid have forced them to reduce spending on higher education. The other side believes that states unwisely reduced taxes, which decreased their…

This research presents findings of the policymaking environment in the area of postsecondary education benefits for undocumented immigrants in New York. In addition to describing the response to ever-changing federal, state, and local actions, this investigation also identifies five political forces (power of the governor, pressure of advocacy…

On May 3, 2016, House Bill (HB) 879--the Georgia Seal of Biliteracy--was signed into law by Governor Nathan Deal and went into effect on July 1, 2016. Outside of the language education sphere, many educators and policymakers may not fully understand the benefits of studying other languages. Yet, this policy hinges on the utility of simultaneously…

This article deals with the importance of building partnerships between legislators and educators in order to impact educational legislation. To this end, the faculty in the college of education at a large, urban university made institutional changes to establish a proactive relationship amongst stakeholders. As a result of this exchange, we were…

This article reports on a study that examined whether the presence of a consolidated governing board for higher education conditions the impact various political factors have on state support for higher education. The existence of a consolidated governing board is shown to significantly alter the politics of the state higher education…

Teachers' unions find themselves on the defensive in states across the country, as governors and lawmakers press forward with proposals to target job protections and benefits that elected officials contend the public can no longer afford academically or financially. Many of those efforts are being driven by newly elected Republicans, who have…

The purpose of this descriptive, single case study was to provide knowledge and insight about state education policy-making, specifically, the process by which education-related bills pass through a legislature. This study was also designed to identify factors of influence shaping legislative decision-making as perceived by lawmakers and observers…

Virtually all voucher programs in the United States limit vouchers to a large struggling city such as Cleveland, Milwaukee, or the District of Columbia. This study examines the votes cast by 188 Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives who cast votes on (a) a nationwide voucher plan in 2001 and (b) a 2003 proposal for vouchers for DC. This…

Several studies have focused on the increasing gender diversity in the boardrooms of corporations; both on what causes the increase and how this affects performance. Institutions of higher education also have governing boards but their incentive structures are quite different than those of corporations, thus providing a unique opportunity to study…