This article is an analysis on higher education state agencies in eight states in the Midwest and upper South. Analyzing these state agencies through a qualitative case study design, the purpose of this article is to develop an understanding on how a region might define and measure college affordability. The findings highlight that there is a…

In the context of the United States K-12 school system, reclassification processes of emergent bilinguals are laden with high-stakes assessments. Largely absent in reclassification scholarship is the consideration of how reclassification policies uniquely affect those learners with identified disabilities. Applying an intersectionality lens that…

This timely article engages in a content analysis of South Carolina state policies that exclude resources from (un)documented Latinx immigrants. This research explores how state policy enacts tropes of deservingness and constructs notions of good immigrants in order to exclude Latinx immigrants from educational opportunity and social mobility.…

This study is a structural analysis of Texas law and policy processes relating to college and career readiness with emphasis on Hispanics and implications for educators. The study is presented in two separate, but related articles. The first article (chapter two) reports on the structural limitations of crafting Texas statutes that created college…

This issue brief shares state policy recommendations and action steps for policymakers who are supporting the redesign of educator workforce systems to enable educators to build the skills, competencies and knowledge needed to thrive in modern, student-centered learning environments. By modernizing educator preparation and development systems,…

This brief tells the story of Indiana's efforts to develop and implement outcomes-based funding (OBF) for public postsecondary education. Indiana's story is supplemented by a briefer description of efforts in Tennessee. Based primarily on interviews with key state leaders, this story is designed to highlight the unique path each state took to…

Higher education makes important contributions to the betterment of society and to the lives of individuals. On a societal level, higher education supplies an educated citizenry and workforce. For individuals, higher education provides an opportunity for personal development, fulfillment, and economic mobility. States play a large role in helping…

As the role of the principal changes, so too must principal preparation programs and the policies that guide them. In order to ensure that our schools have a strong supply of dynamic leaders who are adequately prepared for the demands of 21st century schools, there is a growing need for innovation and improvement in principal recruitment,…

This report examines the nation's commitment to democracy by assessing the privatization programs in the 50 states and the District of Columbia with the goal of not only highlighting the benefits of a public school education, but comparing the accountability, transparency and civil rights protections offered students in the public school setting…

This brief is the first in a series focusing on Employment First implementation as it relates to one of the seven elements within the High-Performing States in Integrated Employment model. It examines the background of circumstances under which Employment First efforts began in seven states, and introduces each state's values, mission, and goals…

Transfer articulation agreements are employed by institutions of higher education and state legislatures alike to improve transfer efficiency between two-year and four-year institutions. These agreements often aim both to increase transfer rates and baccalaureate degree completion and to decrease time to degree. Studies exploring the efficacy of…

Student parents face significant challenges that can limit their ability to enter, persist in, and graduate from college. Innovative partnerships between Head Start and the higher education system is a promising strategy to bring together essential supports to meet the needs of student parents and set them up for long-term success. This briefing…

The context for child care and early education (CCEE) changed rapidly in March 2020 as the global pandemic caused the closure of child care programs and schools, widespread job loss, and negative impacts on the broader economy and family life. Black and Latino families and families with lower income experienced disproportionately negative effects…

In 2013, the North Carolina General Assembly tasked state education agencies with creating a centralized residency determination process that allows a third party to determine students' eligibility for in-state-resident tuition. This system, called the Residency Determination Service (RDS), supplanted the existing structure in which individual…

Teachers of color have a positive impact on all students and make a particularly pronounced difference in the lives of students of color. For students of color, having a teacher of color can increase academic achievement and advanced course-taking, reduce discipline incidents, improve attendance, increase high school graduation and college-going,…