There are currently 23 states in the United States that have laws considered as some form of school disturbance law. These do not include codes or laws specifying school discipline consequences such as suspension or expulsion. They vary widely in how broadly they can be applied and how broadly they define behaviors. Students are often not aware…

In recent years, a number of states in the United States have enacted educational policies, often referred to as "critical race theory" bans, that aim to restrict teaching about race and racism in schools. This study examines how current and future elementary literacy educators interpreted and intended to respond to one such law in…

The administration of campus climate surveys has proliferated across the United States at institutions of higher education to help respond to sexual misconduct. This study reviews existing state legislation related to campus climate surveys and compares it to the recent federal mandate outlined in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of…

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…

State law requires the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to annually report to the Legislature the number of schools participating in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). The report must identify barriers to participation and make recommendations to increase participation. The CEP…

In September 2024, the House Education and Workforce Committee and the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party uncovered a troubling fact: federal agencies had inadvertently bolstered China's military capabilities by funding researchers affiliated with American universities who partnered with Chinese universities. This brief provides…

Louisiana House Concurrent Resolution 11 (HCR 11) urges and requests the state Department of Education to include school-level and system-level data in the annual report that it submits to the legislature regarding the status of health and physical education in public schools, pursuant to R.S. 17:17.4, and to urge and request each public school…

Recent advocacy efforts and state policies have recognized the identification of and support for students with dyslexia as a critical issue for schools. Current issues related to dyslexia identification include the lack of a universal definition for dyslexia and the possible confusion created by state legislation related to dyslexia. Tackling…

This next article in the series on evaluation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) focuses on the common, core responsibility of school psychologists for timely completion of the initial evaluation. For this topic, first is a legal analysis and then a discussion for professional implementation that includes ethical…

The governor of California recently proposed what he is calling an equity multiplier to be added to California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). The proposal was a response to Assembly Bill 2774 (AB 2774), in which advocates called for resources to close the opportunity gap for Black students by adding a new statewide "lowest performing…

Access to menstrual products is important to support adolescent health. Advocacy to increase access to menstrual products in schools is growing; however, ideal access requires policies that will require schools to support the menstrual health of menstruating students. We conducted a legislative review on the existence and status of state…

In 2022, New Mexico joined the list of states that adopted a statewide promise program, offering tuition and fee assistance for eligible students to pursue higher education. The New Mexico Opportunity Scholarship (NMOS) differs from existing programs by including part-time and summer enrollment, academic and workforce degrees, and older adult…

In 2009, the Lumina Foundation published "A Stronger Nation through Higher Education: How and Why Americans Must Meet a 'Big Goal' for College Attainment," which projected a staggering shortfall of college-educated adults to meet labor market demand--16 million nationally by 2025. Like many states, the Illinois P-20 Council quickly…

Community college students need access to comprehensive reproductive health care to support them in achieving both their educational and reproductive goals. This brief highlights barriers to contraceptive access among young people attending community college and outlines policies and programs that can support access. Drawing on data from a…

Context: In recent years, 44 U.S. states have proposed legislation that restricts the teaching of race and racism in social studies. Commonly called "anti-critical race theory" (anti-CRT) legislation, these laws are notoriously difficult to interpret and have led many social studies teachers to avoid discussing race and controversial…