For many years Denmark has had a reputation for being laissez-faire in language matters. There is no explicit language legislation, and the Danish Language Council has mainly descriptive functions. However, there is a powerful standard language ideology, and in other societal domains such as education or immigration, language is heavily regulated.…

America's regional comprehensive public institutions of higher education serve a unique role as the portal through which so many of the students and much of the nation's future workforce gain the skills needed to face the economic challenges of the 21st century. In support of the critical role that its members play in the development of their…

America's regional comprehensive public institutions of higher education (American Association of State Colleges and Universities institutions, AASCU) serve a unique role as the portal through which so many of the students and much of the nation's future workforce gain the skills needed to face the economic challenges of the 21st century. In…

Inclusive physical education and physical activity programs in schools provide equal opportunities for all students, including those with disabilities. All students, regardless of ability, should get the recommended 60 minutes or more of daily physical activity. Schools can help them meet this recommendation. This brief is for state education and…

A unique partnership between art therapists and legislative advocates afforded an opportunity to combine their skills for micro-level (psychosocial) and macro-level (social policy) change in pursuit of gun control reform. In a two-day retreat for gun violence survivors rooted in an arts-based narrative engagement, the art therapists aided the…

The assessment landscape is varied and complex. Because assessments serve many purposes, they can take multiple forms depending on what they are measuring and how they are used. The intended purpose behind each assessment influences its design, and the design influences how assessment data can be used by students and their families, school,…

Pending legislation, regulatory changes, and judicial decisions will require colleges and universities to adapt, perhaps in significant ways. Designed to help governing boards, institutional leaders, and senior staff understand the current policy landscape, this publication summarizes and contextualizes the most pressing federal and state public…

Approximately 3.6 million young Americans ages 18-24 are raising children, and another 900,000 in the same age range are non-custodial parents. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many young parents faced significant challenges in balancing their jobs and child-rearing responsibilities with efforts to build additional skills and advance in their…

The concept of political justice is deeply tied to our professional Code of Ethics. Social workers are well suited to challenge political inequalities that keep clients and communities from political participation. Laws affecting access to voter registration, casting a ballot, and having that ballot counted vary widely across the United States,…

This report catalogues the growth of the modern mixed-race population in the United States and highlights the many complications this population presents for the future of civil rights law and policy. What is most distinctive of today's mixed-race individuals is their assertion of a mixed-race identity which they claim embodies a different…

Congress has legislation before it to increase the maximum Pell Grant by $550 for low-income students. But students would not be allowed to use the extra Pell dollars at for-profit colleges and universities. This has the for-profit higher education industry claiming discrimination against them in their lobbying campaign insisting that any federal…

Food insecurity--the condition of having inadequate food due to a lack of resources--affected roughly 1 in 10 Americans in 2019, and this number increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among college students nationwide, the prevalence of food insecurity is unknown; however, studies have shown that food insecurity is a problem for some college…

A college education is an investment in the future of every student who pursues one, but it does not come cheap. College expenses include tuition, fees, books, equipment, and room and board, if a student chooses to live on campus. These all add up, and every student must determine where the funding for college will come from. Students with…

The Immigration Restriction League (IRL) made literacy, and by extension education, a major aspect of immigration reform in United States in the early twentieth century. Appealing to an educated, conservative constituency, it promoted a literacy test aimed at systematically excluding "undesirable" immigrants. Literacy was initially…

When either privileged or under-resourced families navigate gray areas in the law, including federal laws related to students with disabilities such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, inequities are revealed. Research and emerging trends have raised increasing concerns about unfairness and abuses of disability policies, particularly with…