When Washington state Gov. Christine Gregoire announced recently that she wants to take control of education policy in her state by creating a new, Cabinet-level schools position that answers to her, she set the stage for a political fight--and revived a perennial debate. Governors, elected state schools chiefs, and, to some extent, state boards…

Amid the cacophony of special interests fighting to be heard in statehouses and on Capitol Hill, a cadre of current and former chief state school officers is elbowing its way into the nation's education debate at a time when states are taking more control of K-12 education. A little more than a year old, Chiefs for Change is an invitation-only…

The big incoming crop of Republican governors and state lawmakers will inherit bleak conditions for funding school programs and face potentially vexing decisions about whether to pursue the ambitious education proposals crafted by their predecessors, often with bipartisan support. Many of those victorious GOP candidates campaigned on time-tested…

The three current presidential hopefuls with experience as state governors have records on education that offer voters an unusually detailed preview of what the nation's schools might expect if any of the three should win the White House next year. Those candidates--New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, on the Democratic side, and former Governors…

A 50 state look at the nation's governors and their leadership on education over the past year shows that Governors are focusing much of their attention on two critical areas of education policy--high school and preschool. At least 22 governors proposed significant policies last year aimed at improving high schools, or have made such proposals so…

A nationally watched showdown between the U.S. Department of Education and Utah state officials over the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act came down to a cliffhanger in the last days of the legislative session when a final vote on a bill that calls for state education laws to take priority over the federal law was postponed. The feud…

This article reports how the stakes are getting higher for the various states as the 2006 state elections are approaching this fall. This article also discusses how the future of education policy will be heavily influenced by the votes cast in the November elections. Even with the heightened federal role under the No Child Left Behind Act, state…