In response to the ban on affirmative action and the decrease in racial minority enrollment, the Texas legislature created the Texas Top 10% rule, which mandates public higher education institutions to admit undergraduate applicants who graduate in the top 10% of their high school class (Cortes & Friedson, 2014; Daugherty et al., 2014; Watkins…

This quantitative study examined perceptions of K-12 public school principals toward the Tennessee teacher tenure law under Senate Bill 1528 and how principals perceived that the law has affected their ability to evaluate and retain effective teachers. The Tennessee Teacher Tenure Principal Perception Survey was adopted and slightly modified from…

Many Virginians aspiring to earn a four-year degree intentionally begin their journey at one of the 23 community colleges within the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). In concert with those aspirations, the VCCS is committed to providing its residents an affordable and accessible program of study that prepares them to transfer and earn a…

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth aged 10-24 in the USA. In response to the high rate of youth suicide, teen suicide has gained national attention and, as a result, state governments have created legislation regarding youth suicide prevention in schools. States hold the power to instruct their schools in how to address suicide…

This tenth edition of "Measuring up to the Model: A Ranking of State Charter School Laws" presents the latest activity in charter public school legislation across the country. This report evaluates each state's public charter school law against the 21 essential components of a strong charter school law. These 21 components are drawn from…

Following thirty-nine states, Illinois became the 40th state to make Civic Education a mandatory class for students to graduate high school in 2015. The mandated class is a semester long and usually occurs in the students Junior or Senior year of high school. The Illinois General Assembly then passed a separate bill that indicated that the 2016-17…

Recognizing the critical importance of early literacy, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) have both worked intensively with states on birth through third grade improvement strategies across literacy and other learning domains. Third grade reading laws are one strategy that…

State budgeting and resource allocation has been a complex process due to the demands of lobbyists for such strongly disputable priorities such as K-12 education, Medicaid, corrections, transportation, and health and human services. Funds, appropriated to institutions of higher education, are typically more delicate to the condition of the economy…

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) has identified four priority areas within its Strategic Plan that guide the work of the department in its role to support implementation of state education statute and be responsive to district, school, and student need: (1) Increase student engagement; (2) Accelerate student outcomes; (3) Strengthen the…

The annual "State Policies Impacting CTE: Year in Review" report is released every February to report on developments in CTE-related legislation and other actions enacted nationwide for the previous calendar year. The report examines how CTE and career readiness initiatives are connected and advanced in states through 2024 state policy…

This report fulfills the statutory requirement that an annual preschool through post-secondary statewide Hispanic education status report shall be submitted to the governor and the legislature through the legislative education study committee. The status report includes the following information, by school district, by charter school and…

State sex education standards in public schools vary widely. According to a study from the National Institutes of Health, only about half of adolescents receive school instruction about contraception before they first have sex. Only 20 states require information on condoms or contraception, and only 20 states and the District of Columbia require…

We estimate the impact of school finance reform on adequate and equitable district spending, school resources and student achievement in Pennsylvania. From the 2008-09 to the 2010-11 school years, amid the Great Recession, Pennsylvania's "Act 61" increased aid to school districts spending below state-determined adequacy targets…

In 2012, families in California filed a lawsuit alleging that five state statutes governing teacher tenure, dismissal, and seniority together violate the state constitution's requirements for equal protection. Central to the case were competing narratives about the relationship between these statutes, the work of teachers, and the achievement of…

This brief, the third in a series produced by the California College Promise Project (CCPP) at WestEd, describes research conducted by the CCPP on the relationship between the 2017 legislation "Community Colleges: California College Promise" (AB19) and the structure of local College Promise programs. The analysis examines College Promise…