Policymakers and researchers often talk about "autonomous schools" as if there's a single, agreed-upon definition of what that means. In reality, there's no standard design for autonomous school policies, and school autonomy can mean a lot of different things. The policies that states have enacted vary widely in terms of their goals, the…

Policymakers and researchers often talk about "autonomous schools" as if there's a single, agreed-upon definition of what that means. In reality, there's no standard design for autonomous school policies, and school autonomy can mean a lot of different things. The policies that states have enacted vary widely in terms of their goals, the…

This study highlights the efforts of Indiana University East to make substantive changes to its general education program, resulting primarily from state mandates and legislation, on an extremely aggressive timeline. While fraught with challenges, these legislative mandates also presented opportunities for the institution to make necessary and…

Each year, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) publishes the "State Teacher Policy Yearbook," a comprehensive examination of the state laws, rules and regulations that govern the teaching profession, measured against a realistic set of reform goals. For five years running, the full "Yearbook" compendium…

Approximately 15 states are changing their policies to give school districts more flexibility in acquiring content. They have changed laws or policies or have bills pending in state legislatures to redefine "textbooks". Most of those changes are similar to the approach Indiana took in its new law: a "textbook" is not only a…

Homeschooling is quickly becoming a significant educational phenomenon. According to the Indiana Department of Education, the number of Indiana homeschooled children has increased by 400 percent over the past eight years, with a current enrollment total of 22,403. Furthermore, this number likely understates the true number of Indiana homeschooled…

This is the fifth report prepared by the Center for Education Reform (CER) evaluating the capacity and flexibility of state laws promoting charter schools. Three primary factors were evaluated in preparing charter-school quality rankings by state. The center finds that the establishment of multiple sponsoring authorities, in addition to local…