Tennessee's State Board of Education developed Educator Diversity Policy 5.700 to promote the recruitment and retention of educators from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Accordingly, districts throughout the state develop annual diversity goals that reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of their student population and strategies for…

Strategic communications is important for building awareness, engagement, and commitment for serving children and youth. When this communication is bidirectional, it also creates avenues for state education agency (SEA) leaders to receive timely, honest feedback from stakeholders about the effectiveness of whole-person initiatives. This guide is…

On January 19, 2021, the author of this letter sent the final "Frequently Asked Questions: Impact of COVID-19 on Accountability Systems Required under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA)," and accompanying "State Plan Addendum template," that provide responses to questions that States have raised regarding…

The Department is providing States flexibility for reporting SY 2019-2020 average daily attendance (ADA) data in order to ensure the data are consistent and as accurate as possible. As required by section 8101(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), each State will continue to report ADA based on either the Federal or the…

On March 13, 2017, the United States Department of Education (USED) released a revised template for the Consolidated State Plan under section 8302 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The purpose of the Consolidated State Plan is to provide stakeholders with quality,…

Governments have injected billions of dollars into the massive school improvement industry, but little is known about the providers that offer services and whether their services actually improve schools. Bryan VanGronigen and Coby Meyers highlight their research the topic, which has found that few states monitor and evaluate provider performance…

On January 22, 2023, the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) released high school graduation rates for the State of Florida and the District. The FY23 Federal High School Graduation Rate includes standard diplomas but excludes special diplomas and General Education Diplomas (GEDs). Students with Disabilities (SWD) on Access Points curriculum…

Mental health and well-being significantly impact students' academic performance, social interactions, and school engagement. Partnering with communities can enhance the effectiveness and reach of mental health initiatives and supports within educational settings. By collaborating with community organizations and agencies, schools can augment…

As part of its effort to make universal prekindergarten (UPK) available to four-year-olds, California has recently expanded transitional kindergarten (TK) in its public schools. TK will be a full pre-K grade level in all districts by the 2025-26 school year. Other states that seek to broaden access to early care and education (ECE) can learn…

In today's educational landscape, state and local educational agencies (SEAs and LEAs) often experience challenges connecting large-scale accountability data with actual school improvement initiatives. These challenges tend to be rooted in incoherent design and use of data systems for continuous improvement. As we aim to support SEAs in…

This resource from the Region 15 Comprehensive Center provides an overview of the process that the Nevada Department of Education used to refine the review process for the adoption of high-quality instructional materials. This refined process gives all districts, regardless of size or type, a choice of instructional materials that are…

With the increasing use of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) nationally, several states have developed systems to recognize exemplar schools that are implementing PBIS with fidelity. These systems serve the dual purpose of identifying model PBIS schools for other schools to emulate while also reinforcing schools' effective PBIS…

The objective of the audit was to determine whether the Florida Department of Education (Florida) established and implemented systems of internal control that ensured (1) displaced student count data provided to the U.S. Department of Education were accurate and complete, (2) Temporary Emergency Impact Act (EIA) program funds were appropriately…

In the author's experience, students are often coming to the school library to explore new ideas and concepts that they may not be able to explore in the traditional classroom because of curricular demands or time constraints. And the library is always open to that exploration. According to the author, they build the high-interest collections for…

The relationships between response to intervention (RTI) data, cognitive ability, academic achievement, identification methods, and specific learning disability (SLD) identification have been studied extensively in recent years; however, an empirically supported method of identifying a learning disability has yet to be agreed upon. Without a…