In 2023, charter school advocates continued to make legislative gains in statehouses across the country. These gains were made in red, blue, and purple states, oftentimes in ways that showed bipartisan support for charter schools remains firmly in place. In looking at the results of this year's legislative sessions across the country, four…

This article focuses on the history of the Fort Wayne Folk School in Fort Wayne, Indiana and its founder Terry Doran. From its outset, the Fort Wayne Folk School incited both excitement and harsh criticism from local authorities and the public. Terry's process of remembering and reclaiming a new narrative for the Fort Wayne Folk School provided a…

In 2023, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools elevated the voices of charter school students, educators, families, and advocates. The organization persevered through challenges and expanded access to high quality public charter schools for a greater number of students around the nation. This annual report covers what the sector…

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have played a pivotal role in developing the charter sector. This report profiles the efforts of NPOs that work with or alongside charter schools to ensure the sector meets the needs of students with disabilities. We profile the work of 30 influential NPOs that shape the experiences of students with disabilities and…

Democracy is in trouble. For the last 10 years, the number of democratizing countries dropped by almost half to 16, hosting a mere 4% of the global population. Faced with these global trends, as well as democracy's challenges during the first two decades of the twenty-first century, how can communication studies contribute to the study of civic…

The practice of including students with disabilities in art education has existed longer than efforts to increase access to general academic instruction. However, most teacher education programs do not offer sufficient coursework or field experiences in training pre-service art teachers to teach students with disabilities. To examine how…

This authoritative book examines the long-standing campaign that resulted in today's school voucher policies. Advocates of private school vouchers promulgated a vision of service to low-income families, students of color, and other marginalized student populations. Vouchers were sold as a way to advance civil rights. But as voucher policies grew…

Over the past two years, the Indiana affiliate's Government Relations Committee (GRC) has undergone a metamorphosis. As co-chair, the author has had the opportunity to witness the once largely inactive committee grow by 250 percent. The affiliate has embraced storytelling as an important advocacy tool. In this article, the author shares a couple…

This case study explores the impact of a student partnership in an undergraduate psychology course focused on alcohol use and disorders at a large public university in the United States. It shares insights into the process of creating a student partnership program, pairing a student with an instructor, and sharing feedback via observation notes…

Recent efforts prohibiting race-related diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives have informed localized public pushback narrating anti-equity campaigns. Emerging research and media accounts have largely focused on adults engaged with or against these efforts, with less attention on youth and their perceptions of these campaigns. To center…

This study treats Indiana (2010-2018) as a case in which to examine media-based coverage, deliberation, and ethical and empirical framings as school choice reforms were being taken up and as they evolved and accelerated. Within this time-frame, Indiana transformed into a leading state in school choice reforms. Both repetitive and shifting…

According to the American Library Association, book censorship is on the rise. While many censored books are adolescent novels, some titles for younger children are challenged as well. Books dealing with difficult social issues have been targets for censors historically, but recent attacks have focused on books portraying members of the lesbian,…

The purpose of this qualitative case-study design was to better understand P-12 students' soft skills and postsecondary readiness through the perceptions of higher education counselors and advisors. Specifically, this study investigated the impact of students' soft skills and the relation to unprepared postsecondary students. Throughout the…

The person-centered individualized education program (IEP) transition planning has emerged as a primary indicator of quality services, and as a predictor for successful post-school outcomes for transition-age youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, these person-centered transition practices are not uniformly implemented across the…

In this article, Mary Held and Cindy Lawrence describe the efforts that it took for Indiana to have its first statewide transition conference for deaf and hard of hearing students in the Spring of 2016. The conference goal is to become an effective vehicle to help professionals who work with deaf and hard of hearing students. Attendees will be…