As our education systems continue to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic we urge the next administration to prioritize investing wisely in the future of our nation through federal programs and policies that support the nation's 50 million K-12 public school students. A comprehensive and significant investment in the education of our public school…

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. students attend rural schools. Researchers report that at least half of public schools are rural in 12 states (i.e., Montana, South Dakota, Vermont, North Dakota, Maine, Alaska, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Mississippi) (Showalter et al., 2019). Providing quality education to all rural students is a…

The Department of Education Charter Schools Program (CSP) provides grants to open or expand charter schools. Enrollment in charter schools that received CSP grants grew from 213,576 to 1,380,530 students from school years 2006-07 to 2020-21. This report examines (1) enrollment growth at new charter schools that received CSP grants compared to…

Children in U.S. military families may transfer schools nine times, on average, before they graduate from high school. These moves may be especially challenging for children with disabilities and their families, as special education services provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act--the primary federal special education…

Nationwide, public schools began to experience a youth population decline prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. After 14 years of successively smaller U.S. birth cohorts, elementary public schools now face gradually declining student counts. The complex convergence of shifting age demographics, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and ongoing…

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits federally funded programs, activities, and institutions from discriminating based on race, color, or national origin. In its current form, Title VI remains largely unchanged since its adoption. Unlike the Civil Rights Act's better known and more heavily litigated provisions, Title VI is concerned…

Since the enactment of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, P.L. 89-10, as amended) in 1965, the major programs of aid to elementary and secondary education authorized under it have sought to provide for the equitable participation of eligible students enrolled in both public and private elementary and secondary schools. This is…

Education refers to school choice as the opportunity for students and their families to create high-quality, personalized paths for learning that best meet the students' needs. For Indian students, school choice can be a means of accessing instructional programs that reflect and preserve their languages, cultures, and histories. For many years,…

As state leaders continue to help their districts and schools respond to the COVID-19 crisis, they must not forget the lessons learned during the last 18 months. The $125 billion allocated through the American Rescue Plan is an opportunity for state leaders to support districts and schools in meeting students' most immediate academic, social, and…

The UChicago Consortium, Network for College Success, and the To&Through Project's new paper, "Practice-Driven Data: Lessons from Chicago's Approach to Research, Data, and Practice in Education," shares key lessons learned from Chicago's approach to using data to foster ongoing improvement in students' educational attainment. This…

Gateway Public Schools--a middle and high school serving a diverse group of about 800 students in San Francisco--was founded in 1998 by parents of students with learning disabilities seeking a supportive environment for their children. As a public charter organization with a lottery entrance system, Gateway seeks to admit a student body that…

For many New Yorkers, the COVID-19 pandemic has massively disrupted their ability not only to thrive, but to survive. This reality has been particularly true for the city's children and for the parents, caregivers, and educators who work hard to support them. The pandemic initially forced all of New York City's school buildings to close,…

In the wake of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, researchers estimate that the teachers of roughly 50 million K-12 public school students have had to transition to remote instruction. Emerging research about the impact of the pandemic on schooling consistently reveals that school closures have presented significant hurdles to…

The Education Equality Index is the first national comparative measure of the achievement gap between students from low-income families and their peers across the state, measured at the school and city levels. Through the Education Equality Index, Education Cities, in partnership with GreatSchools and Schoolzilla, has amassed one of the largest…

This report evaluates how well each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia support their public schools, based on objective and measurable factors aligned with the Network for Public Education's (NPE's) values. NPE values specific policies that will make our public schools vibrant and strong--a well-trained, professional teaching force,…