The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children in Texas and across the United States. The theme of this issue is "Restoring Justice." Articles include: (1) Integrating the Assets…

This study investigates the implementation of science instruction in a low SES/high minority district, and the experiences of individuals in an elementary principal network who inform science standards and curriculum implementation. This study specifically examines how principals make sense of science policies. Given the intra-school and…

Innovation zones help state policy leaders create space in state policy for local educators to design innovative education models. They allow local districts or schools to request a waiver from outdated state policies and regulations that communities have identified as a barrier to high-quality, student-centered learning. These models are also…

This report is in a series examining the troubled history of for-profit higher education, from the problems that plagued the post-World War II GI Bill to the reform efforts undertaken by the George H. W. Bush administration to the regulatory relapse under George W. Bush. From President Dwight Eisenhower to President George H. W. Bush, Republican…

The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins Act) is the primary federal law aimed at developing and supporting career and technical education (CTE) programs at the secondary and postsecondary educational levels. Prior to the 115th Congress, the Perkins Act had most recently been reauthorized in 2006 by the Carl D. Perkins…

Federal policy limits the number of students that a state may assess with an alternate assessment aligned to alternate achievement standards (AA-AAS) to no more than 1% of all students in the grades assessed in a state. The AA-AAS is intended only for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. This Brief addresses important…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) calls on states to take advantage of new opportunities to combat uneven access to quality instruction in the visual and performing arts--a key component of a well-rounded education. This piece highlights the efforts of New Jersey, California, Kentucky, and Illinois to expand arts access and urges boards to use…

Texas House Bill 2223 (2017) was developed to accelerate underprepared students' persistence and successful completion of credit-bearing college-level courses. This new corequisite mandate allows underprepared students to enroll in entry-level college courses and requires co-enrollment in a developmental education course/intervention designed to…

Beginning January 18, 2018, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act required all U.S. postsecondary institutions receiving Title IV funds to publish accessible websites, adherent to Level AA Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. This case study examines the web accessibility of all postsecondary institutions in Texas immediately after the…

Research suggests that educators' use of resources influence the ground-level effects of policy. However, we know very little about educators' utilization of policy resources. This study employs a mixed-methods research design to provide empirical evidence of the policy resources available to education policy implementers and the ways in which…

As states grapple with competing priorities and constrained resources, there is an increasing focus on efficiency and alignment of programs and resources across state agencies. The College and Career Readiness and Success (CCRS) Center recently analyzed and compared four federal laws that govern the education-to-workforce pipeline. They are: (1)…

The purpose of this "Equity by Design" brief is to provide educators and parents with information about universal supports, describe how these supports may prevent discrimination, and provide resources to address discrimination or disparate treatment in universal supports.

In the wake of the 2007 housing crash and subsequent economic recession, state legislatures across the country faced substantial declines in revenues, and by 2011, for the first time in more than a decade, average spending on education declined. However, states' budgetary responses to the Great Recession were decidedly uneven, with some making…

Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) were introduced in 2014 to improve provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Some service users have found this change positive, but there is also dissatisfaction among service users with the EHCP process. This was captured in the recent Education Select…

Universities have increasingly been subjected to policy- and industry demands to produce multi- and interdisciplinary knowledge. This paper explores the extent to which different higher education policy instruments are used to promote interdisciplinarity in teaching and research at universities in the German higher education system comparing them…