Background/Context: Indigenous communities of the "Americas" have a long history of exercising sovereignty over and self-determination in the education of their children that predates colonial invasion. This was disrupted by the advent of colonial education and its assimilationist aims, and Indigenous communities have been in an ongoing…

While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected all families and communities, it is most deeply impacting students of color, students from low-income families, English learners, youth in foster care, unhoused students, students with disabilities, and other marginalized children and youth -- as well as their families. The pandemic has exposed and worsened…

In spring 2020, as U.S. schools closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and moved to distance learning, school districts were left scrambling to prepare. Few resources were available to support U.S. public school districts in handling distance learning during a pandemic, or any other event that could cause a sudden transition to long-term remote…

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a legal framework that originated in the 1970s intending to challenge legal scholarship to consider the historical and present impact and causes of structural inequality and racism. CRT is an academic lens primarily used at the doctoral level and is not a defined curriculum or something outlined in the Kansas State…

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the ways in which school districts provide educational services to all students, especially students with disabilities. Eligible U.S. students with disabilities have a right to a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and students with disabilities who…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify key school leadership practices that center social justice and are evidenced across multiple school and district contexts. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative, multidistrict research design is used within this study. Sampled across seven US school districts, 24 school leaders were…

In this article, we examine how school district leaders bolster white supremacy by deploying white innocence, a discourse in which individuals or entities project a positive image of themselves while deflecting blame for racism. We focus on a school district that was the site of strategic and sustained advocacy from Black community members and…

This third of six briefs analyzing data from the U.S. Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), covering the 2020-21 school year, explores the educational settings where students with disabilities spend their time. As was the case in the analysis of the previous CRDC covering the 2018-19 school year, students with disabilities spend more time in…

Public school enrollment dramatically decreased during the pandemic, but the patterns of decline and student movement across schools are not yet well understood. Using statewide student-level data from Virginia, we find pre-K-12 enrollment dropped by 4% between fall 2019 and the first post-pandemic fall of 2020. The changes were the largest in…

I provide a broad frame for understanding racial disproportionality in special education by showing how the inequity is a byproduct of the educational debt. I used a single case study design that relied upon qualitative semi-structured interviews, document analyses, and school board meeting transcripts gathered from a mid-sized urban school…

Purpose: This study investigated how superintendents lead the process of within-district racial and socioeconomic integration. Design/methodology/approach: The researchers used Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology to analyze interviews with superintendents, documents and videos from four school districts in suburban, southeastern…

This dissertation presents a comprehensive program evaluation of the dual enrollment program in a large urban school district in California. Dual enrollment has grown in popularity and is being utilized by many school districts across the country to provide access to college coursework and increase matriculation rates. This study aims to assess…

At the end of a two-year discussion about the value of homework in elementary school, the Seaview district decided to move away from the traditional model of homework, and introduced Wonder, Reading, and Play (WRaP) intended to be more equitable and authentic. A case study was conducted to assess the district's goals for and implementation of more…

Families face adverse experiences in gentrified urban areas, including dangerous living conditions, eviction, and homelessness. Parents and caregivers often work long hours to avoid these outcomes, leaving children with reduced home literacy interactions lacking necessary letter knowledge for kindergarten. This study examines the effectiveness of…

In recent years, researchers, advocates, parents, and students have raised concerns about equity in school dress codes. Concerns have included the detrimental effects of removing students from the classroom for dress code violations. A committee report accompanying H.R. 7614 included a provision for the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) to…