Although children's literature has been challenged and banned for decades, some U.S. states have recently enacted legislation limiting how teachers can address such topics as race, sex, and gender in classrooms, which may influence teachers' selection of literature. To understand this phenomenon, this exploratory concurrent mixed-methods study…

This article examines the needs in New York State for public policy to address disparities in educational outcomes, opportunities to learn and appropriate evaluations that assess student readiness to advance in their education or work opportunities. Several proposals for educational public policy changes and practices are offered in the conclusion…

In 2010, Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana opened its first Excel Center adult high schools aimed at assisting adults in obtaining a high school diploma and transitioning those adults into higher education, industry certifications, and the workforce completely tuition free. MERS Goodwill, the largest Missouri branch of Goodwill (excluding…

While the scope of a transition toward renewable energy, and away from fossil fuels, as well as other sustainable economic practices is daunting, the United States has recently begun to obtain policy momentum in the push to decouple economic activity from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A suite of recent federal laws, as well as state and local…

This report examines the success of students with lower levels of high school performance who began in transfer-level math as a result of Assembly Bill 705 (Irwin 2017). AB 705 is historic legislation that transformed placement and eventually ended developmental education in California's community colleges. Since community colleges are open access…

In 1993, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dramatically overhauled its K-12 education system and created a new school finance formula, building an educational accountability structure to ensure every child has access to a high-quality education. The Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA) established academic standards in core subjects, mandated…

In April 2021, Idaho became the first state to pass a policy restricting teachers' discussion of race- or gender-related topics. Over the next two years, 17 more states followed suit and passed similar restrictions through state legislatures, state boards of education, state attorneys general, and executive orders. Using nationally representative…

Research for Action (RFA) in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin is engaged in a five-year mixed-methods study of the reforms associated with California AB 705. Over the course of the study, our team will assess the implementation, impact, and cost effectiveness of reforms associated with the law. This report first offers a…

Prohibited concept laws have a chilling effect on teaching, resulting in the erasure of social justice topics; however, the extent to which district-level actors support such laws or the role they play in perpetuating the effect is unclear. I offer a framework for understanding how district-level policy messaging contributes to the chilling effect…

Attracting and retaining high-quality teachers is a pressing policy concern. Increasing teacher salaries and creating more attractive compensation packages are often proposed as a potential solution. Signed into law in March 2023, the LEARNS Act increased Arkansas's minimum teacher salary from $36,000 to $50,000, guaranteed all teachers a minimum…

With the 84th Legislature's House Bill 505 expansion of dual credit in Texas in fall 2015, students became eligible to begin coursework as early as ninth grade. Allowing students to begin college earlier in their high school journey triggered questions about their college and career readiness during transition to postsecondary coursework, which…

In Texas, public-funded pre-kindergarten is important because it provides the most vulnerable children with the opportunity to develop school readiness, so they can learn core competencies in kindergarten relevant to academic readiness for first grade. The Texas Legislature was back in session in spring 2019 and, not surprisingly, a bill was filed…

Over the past decade, the students of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina, the largest historically Black public university in the country, were forced into the spotlight of a national fight over voting rights that has been profoundly reshaping our democracy. During the 2018 midterm elections,…

The purpose of this paper is to not analyze how effective or ineffective Senate Bill 1720 has been since its implementation five years ago; rather, the paper's guiding goal is to closely examine a report recently published in February 2019 by The Center for Postsecondary Success (CPS) at Florida State University, claiming SB 1720 a success. In the…

Employment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) has gained increased attention through legislation, policies, advocacy, and practice. For transition-age youth, this focus aims to set a trajectory of increased competitive employment outcomes and a lower reliance on facility-based and subminimum wage jobs. Using a…