As states continue to grapple with the most appropriate ways to hold schools accountable under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), there is a lack of consensus on how alternative settings should fit into accountability systems and whether those systems should be separate from or included in accountability systems for traditional schools. The…

Discussion of alternative education is growing across the country as states and districts look for ways to better serve students whose needs are not met in traditional high school settings. Alternative settings, however, vary greatly in how they operate, whom they aim to enroll, and the methods they use to educate students. The variation of…

Children who are homeless or in foster care change schools more often than their non-mobile peers. The impact of school mobility increases their risk of academic failure (Evans, 1996; Ingersoll, Scamman, & Eckerling, 1989; Mao, 1997, Mehana & Reynolds, 2003; Reynolds & Wolf, 1999). Laws enforcing the right of students to remain in…

Throughout history, societal investments in children have resulted in increased prosperity for individuals, communities, states and nations. This proved to be the case for California in the 1950s and 1960s, when the state strongly supported children's futures. Despite once following this path to prosperity, California has de-prioritized children…

This monograph provides a comprehensive, concise, and current overview of the law-- specifically, legislation, regulations, and published court/administrative decisions--relating to gifted education for K-12 students. For students whose legal rights are based solely on their gifted status, the law largely boils down to (a) varying state statutes…