In the late 1930s, the NAACP launched a campaign to equalize Black and white teacher salaries in the de jure segregated schools of the American South. Using newly collected county panel data spanning three decades, this paper first documents heterogeneous within-state impacts of the campaign on teacher salaries. In states that reinforced…

"State Policy Opportunities: Advancing Comprehensive School Mental Health Systems to Support Students" aims to help state leaders understand their role, as well as the urgency, in addressing student mental health needs. The specific recommendations, and the numerous state examples and resources provided, identify policy opportunities for…

This poll was conducted between August 15-16, 2022 among a sample of 2,200 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Among the key findings are: (1) More than two-thirds of school parents have heard of teacher…

The purpose of this dissertation is to understand how and why different state financial aid policy designs have developed, with particular attention to external influences, and what effect those design choices have on student outcomes. In the first essay, I use the theoretical framework of diffusion to understand the design and adoption of…

State-mandated curriculum policy documents have an important political function. Governments use them to make ideological statements about the role of schools and how the next generation of citizens are to be shaped. Beginning from this premise, we use a frame analysis methodology to examine how citizenship in the Province of Ontario, Canada is…

As families and communities grapple with the COVID-19 crisis, child care should be a front-and-center issue. Widespread school and child care closures have created an immediate crisis for workers whose jobs don't allow telework options--whether it's those in the health care industry or people employed in grocery stores or other low-wage…

This 50-State Comparison provides data on states' early care and education governance systems, with a focus on the agencies that oversee these programs, the level of alignment of these programs and the advisory entities for early care and education in the state. This data point shows if the advisory entity for each state is defined in statute,…

This brief describes a new method for states to determine how well their charter school facility needs are being met with state policies, both at present and in the future as the number of charter schools increases. The brief also illustrates how this new approach, called a Charter Facility Index, can be used in practice, with three state…

Excel"in"Ed has developed a methodology called the Charter Facility Index by which states can assess whether they are addressing the full facility needs of charter schools. The Charter Facility Index allows states to determine how well charter school facility needs are being met with existing state policies. The index also helps states…

While voters delivered a significant presidential change in the 2020 elections, they opted for steady state leadership. When former Vice President Joe Biden was elected to serve as the 46th president, it marked only the 10th time an incumbent's reelection bid failed. Meanwhile, voters returned the vast majority of state candidates to office. This…

In anticipation of the 2020-21 school year, states have been creating and updating guidance for district and school reopening plans. This policy update outlines how state guidelines informed by public health guidelines and existing data on the state spread of COVID-19 established a process for engaging stakeholders, a menu of approaches to…

This document provides a summary of five national resources, seven state resources, one multi-state resource, and two resources from other fields and/or situations planning for re-entry to school following COVID-19 school closures.

This resource provides an overview of state instructional time requirements for kindergarten through 12th grade--including days or hours/minutes per year, hours/minutes per day, and start and/or finish date parameters where they exist in state law. Education Commission of the States researched the requirements in state statute and administrative…

This resource provides an overview of state instructional time requirements for kindergarten through 12th grade--including days or hours/minutes per year, hours/minutes per day, and start and/or finish date parameters where they exist in state law. Education Commission of the States researched the requirements in state statute and administrative…

The "50-State Comparison: State Policies on Postsecondary Tuition Setting, Capping and Freezing" details the highest level of policy, by state, that addresses the authority to set tuition for the four-year and two-year public sectors. This resource shows whether a state law, rule or regulation requires a tuition cap or freeze for…