The quality of a teacher's instruction is widely understood to be the most important school-based factor in student learning. By taking positive steps to retain their strongest teachers, principals can maximize the impact of teacher retention on instructional quality, a process referred to as "selective retention." This brief from the…

British Columbia (BC) charted its own course in 1949 when it passed legislation permitting Indigenous children to be schooled in provincial public schools. That is, BC's law predated federal legislation allowing integrated schooling by two years. This paper examines how and why BC followed its own policy path with respect to the schooling of…

In 1973, British Columbia (B.C.) became the first province in Canada to forbid corporal punishment in public schools (B.C. School Act), followed by the majority of the other provinces. Alberta and Manitoba however, still have no provincially enacted legal prohibition, although many school boards have updated their policies to state that corporal…

This ethnographic study explores what happens in the lives of two 1.5-generation undocumented Latino youth that results in academic engagement or disengagement. It examines how turning points, policy, language proficiency, school structure, economic needs, and family and personal circumstances affect academic identities. Findings reveal how…

This publication highlights how state leaders tackle data interoperability with the emergence of data standards for student information, assessment, digital content, and other educational applications. While states are at various maturity levels for interoperability, each state shares goals for interoperability, the drivers for those goals,…

This document contains a model policy for a partnership for traditionally underrepresented student achievement. The model legislation stipulates terms relating to: (1) the intent of the state and goal of the partnership; (2) definitions of terms; (3) the partnership sought by the (state) Department of Education (department); (4) the partner…

Purpose: Most community college students do not graduate let alone transfer to university. Hence, the purpose of this qualitative study was to (a) examine the learned experiences of California community colleges and California State University (CSU) administrators and staff in implementing the California Student Transfer Achievement Reform (STAR)…

House Bill 2685 (2018) required the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to solicit input from organizations with expertise in registered pre-apprenticeship programs, registered youth apprenticeship programs, and employer-based pre-apprenticeship and youth apprenticeship programs. Based on their input, the legislation required…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "School District Health." Contents include: (1) Habits of a Healthy School…

For educators to more fully comprehend the issues surrounding the current state of affairs regarding tribal consultation and sovereignty in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) education, it is necessary to provide a socio-historical context. This brief provides information on the evolution of Native education, from its precolonial roots to…

Consistent, reliable data are hard to come by given vastly differing opinions on the role states should play in creating structures, tracking data, and monitoring outcomes on homeschooling. The goal of this brief is to cut through some of this complexity and provide policymakers with an objective resource on homeschooling, including what is known…

In New York State, private and religious schools are required to offer a curriculum "substantially equivalent" to what is available in local public schools. Substantial equivalency--which has been law for nearly 130 years--allows parents to direct the education of their children by enrolling them in the school of their choice, while also…

Dating violence is an epidemic that is growing exponentially among the adolescent age group. Dating violence is a pattern of coercive behaviors used by adolescents to control their partners. These coercive behaviors include physical assault, sexual assault, abuse, ascendancy, degradation, intimidation, possessiveness, blaming, and the minimization…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Early Learning." Contents include: (1) Current Proposals for Texas' Investment…

California state education officials have become increasingly concerned about the growing achievement gaps and low graduation rates for the state's public colleges and universities. In an attempt to lessen these gaps and improve graduation rates, the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act (Star Act) was implemented in 2011. The purpose of this…