What can the federal government do to help ensure that the public schools attended by children living in poverty have enough resources to serve their students? In this brief, we describe existing federal efforts to support education spending in high-poverty districts, discuss their limitations, and suggest alternative approaches for federal…

This study aims to illustrate how states include an improvement science approach to educational improvement in their Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) state plan. Through a qualitative content analysis of 52 state ESSA plans, we propose an introductory organizational typology to categorize states based on their explicit inclusion of improvement…

The U.S. law governing special education, the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), requires that students with disabilities be provided a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE). However, given the interpretive latitude within the law and the wide discrepancy in how this law is applied,…

This article focuses on higher education access for undocumented immigrants in the United States. Since individual states develop and govern their own policies, the political landscape around college access is always in a state of flux. This is confusing to school counselors, families, and students. We use cartography to make sense of this…

In this inquiry, we examine P-12 music administrators' present and future role in the provision, regulation, funding, and improvement of music teacher professional development (PD). We asked: (1) How do P-12 music administrators' shape PD policies and practices within their school systems? and (2) What might a robust and cohesive suite of PD…

Restraint and seclusion (R/S) are practices employed by schools to address severe student behavior. Although the use of R/S has been shown to have harmful impact for students, staff, and schools, there is no federal law that addresses its use in schools. A lack of a universal approach leaves each state to determine its own legislation and policy.…

All states identify schools most in need of improvement by using school accountability systems and other metrics. State improvement strategies range in intensity from general technical assistance to alternative governance for identified schools or districts. This 50-State Comparison provides research into the K-12 school improvement policies in…

Introduction: Special education eligibility criteria vary across U.S. states; this study reports a systematic analysis of interstate eligibility criteria in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) category of visual impairments including blindness. Method: Eligibility criteria for all 56 U.S. states, territories, and Washington, DC,…

The Every Student Succeeds Act's evidence requirements mandate the use of research in the selection of school improvement interventions, with the aim of ensuring that schools and districts invest their efforts and funding more wisely. This study of eight states presents three different approaches to the evidence requirements: using lists of…

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 led to unprecedented shifts in American education. Prior to the onset of the pandemic, children across the United States were primarily educated in brick-and-mortar school buildings, with only 0.6% of the over 50 million students in the country attending fully virtual schools (National Center…

Understanding the development of major educational policies is essential, especially federal policies integral to Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)--one of the fastest-growing types of postsecondary institutions in the United States, which collectively serve over two-thirds of Latina/o/x-identified college students. Accordingly, in this…

This study investigated the determination eligibility practices for Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) within Mississippi school districts, framed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA) and Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) guidelines. A survey of 139 educational professionals in Mississippi offered insights into…

The population of English learners (ELs) in K-12 schools continues to grow. Between the 2009-10 and 2014-15 school years, the percentage of English learners increased in over half of the states, and in 2017, English learners made up 10.1% of the total student population. Research suggests that in their transition to English, non-native speakers…

The Race to the Top (RTTT) program incentivized states to use innovation for systemwide improvement of student outcomes, but little is known about how RTTT-funded innovation was sustained after the RTTT program ended. This mixed-methods study examined state and district approaches to sustaining an international innovation called "lesson…

Though great focus has been placed on DACA on the national level, many of the actual experiences of Dreamers in regard to education and employment licensure depend on state policies. South Carolina is one of the most restrictive states in regard to rights for DACA recipients. In light of these realities, this mixed-methods study examines the views…