The purpose of this regulatory action is to amend the regulations governing the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program (§ 685.200 of title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)). These regulations strengthen and improve administration of the Federal Direct PLUS Loan Program authorized under title IV of the Higher Education…

The purpose of this study was to examine the general trend of education governance in the Canadian province of Ontario since 1995 when the Progressive Conservatives led by Michael Harris formed a new majority government. The article is divided into three sections. The first section provides the context and a historical background of Ontario…

For nearly half a century, the federal government has largely outsourced the determination of which colleges and universities are eligible to receive federal taxpayer money--in the form of student grants and loans--to member-based, geographically oriented accrediting agencies. This outsourcing of responsibility, however, has failed to protect…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced the release of its 2010 Notice of Funding Availability for the Homeless Assistance Programs that it administers. As a result of the passage of the HEARTH Act, there are four new requirements for HUD-funded homeless service programs related to education. These…

Physics Education Research is a form of social science research in that it uses human subjects. As physicists we need to be aware of the ethical and legal ramifications of performing this research, taking into account the fundamental differences between working with substances and working with people. For several decades, the federal government…

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…

Using a sociological framework this article explores the emergence and possible consequences of the 2015 U.S. Department of Education's proposed federal regulatory policy on teacher education programs and alternative route providers. After describing the key features of the policy, we examine the research literature looking for evidence of the…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) preserves the most positive legacy of the No Child Left Behind era--more accurate and transparent data about the performance of all students--and helps states take their efforts to use data in support of student learning to the next level. The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) appreciates the opportunity to provide…

Biological materials oversight in life sciences research in the United States is a challenging endeavor for institutions and the scientific, regulatory compliance, and federal communities. In order to assess biological materials oversight at Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBCs) registered with the United States National Institutes of Health,…

"One who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount," says a colorful proverb from an earlier time. This may be an apt saying for the situation facing the new head of the Federal Reserve, Janet L. Yellen, who takes over at a time when successive rounds of Fed policy have taken the central bank into uncharted territory. By historical standards,…

As voucher and tax-credit scholarship programs have expanded in recent years, another promising development has been the incorporation, into more such programs, of provisions that hold participating private schools to account for their students' performance. The newest and largest voucher programs, such as those in Louisiana and Indiana, have gone…

Accounting for a quarter of a school's impact on student achievement, principals are the leverage point for education reform and the primary drivers of school improvement. School leaders have a greater influence on all students than teachers and are the best long-term investment in effective teaching at scale. Like all professionals, teachers,…

In recent years, competency-based education (CBE) has made considerable inroads in higher education. Various institutions have developed or begun developing a range of programs modeled on competency-based principles. CBE is viewed by many, and with good reason, as a potential means to deliver a more effective educational experience at a lower…

Employers may not know the best way to reach out or how to structure opportunities for young people to explore careers within their organization. In addition, employers may be uncertain about liability, privacy policies, and safety regulations for employees under the age of 18. State and federal laws and policies pertaining to youth employment can…

The purpose of this report is to summarize the key elements of school and district level Performance Index scores (PI scores) for the 50 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) across the United States. PI scores are partial or overall summative ratings of schools or districts currently used across US state accountability systems to assess…