Purpose: Studies tracking changes in physical education (PE) policy adherence after an intervention are scarce. In California, successful litigation against 37 school districts for not providing adequate PE time compelled district schools' teachers to post PE schedules online or on-site for 3 years. We performed a follow-up study 4 years after the…

The 1971 passage of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution was a significant step in advancing voting rights that offered a new route for young people to participate in public life. While met with enthusiasm in many quarters, the question of where a substantial segment of the youth vote--college students--would cast their ballots was a…

Restraint and seclusion are frequently misused in schools, leading to harmful outcomes for students. There is currently no federal law regulating these practices, which has led to inconsistencies in state and district policies. This policy paper aims to provide a brief background on current definitions, case law, and policies and provide teachers…

Though scholarship has long championed the positive impacts of classroom considerations of controversial or difficult issues, teachers have often hesitated to broach divisive topics for numerous reasons, including legislation purporting to limit controversy in classrooms and, often, that they had limited or no preparation to teach controversies,…

In her 2024 State of the State address, New York Governor Kathy Hochul introduced the Top 10% Promise, a policy offering New York students ranked in the top 10% of their high school class direct admission to the State University of New York (SUNY) system. "Access to higher education," she said, "has the potential to transform the…

This paper explores the possibilities for student agency for multilingual learners. Drawing on sociocultural understandings of agency, the discussion provides a portrait of literacy policy across the United States and its influence on opportunities for multilingual learners during literacy instruction. Exploring past and current policies aimed at…

Since federal legalization in 1973, abortion has become a safe and popular option for those who desire to terminate a pregnancy. However, the Supreme Court decision of "Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization" in June 2022 clearly outlined a national divide that shifted abortion rights in the hands of state legislatures. This shift…

The doctrine of sovereign immunity in Florida has evolved over time as the common law and statutory environment within the state has changed. Public schools and public-school employees enjoy some level of immunity protection under both common law and statutory law. Nonetheless, Florida law creates a duty to provide a safe environment for students…

On September 1, 2021, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 8 (SB8), prohibiting abortions after six weeks gestation and allowing private citizens to file lawsuits against anyone who either performs or "aids and abets" an abortion after this point. To understand the broad impacts of SB8 on Texas medical students' experiences and…

Businesses use facial recognition software, fingerprint scanning, and other biometric tools in the workplace and/or commercial establishments. Concerned with the collection, use, retention, and security of biometric data, and the impact of these practices, Illinois enacted the Biometric Information Privacy Act in 2008. We designed a project that…

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision on "Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization." By voting to uphold Mississippi's law banning most abortions after 15 weeks, the Court overturned "Roe v. Wade," eliminating the federal standard protecting a woman's right to abortion and reversing nearly 50 years of…

Fifty years after the Supreme Court issued its ruling in "San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez," the trajectory of school finance desegregation has shifted from expansive federal hopes to narrower state efforts. Attempts to address many of the disparities continue to be constrained by the complex and intersecting nature…

Policymakers have debated how schools should respond when transgender students (students who are assigned one sex at birth but identify with the opposite sex) seek to use facilities or participate in school activities consistent with their gender identity. One prominent area of contention is the participation of transgender athletes in school…

This study interrogates "Abbeville v. the State of South Carolina" using a policy-regimes framework to understand the relationship between the South Carolina Judicial System, General Assembly, and Educational stakeholders. We seek to understand how the political interests of the General Assembly and wealthy districts may have subverted a…

This report argues that the Michigan state constitution's "Blaine Amendment," a provision which prevents parents from drawing on state funding to go outside the public school system, is superseded by the United States Supreme Court's 2020 ruling in the case Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. The report discusses a legislative…