Understanding the development of major educational policies is essential, especially federal policies integral to Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)--one of the fastest-growing types of postsecondary institutions in the United States, which collectively serve over two-thirds of Latina/o/x-identified college students. Accordingly, in this…

State education leaders across the country are rightly prioritizing efforts to improve elementary student reading outcomes. However, too often these initiatives do not focus enough on the key component to strong implementation and long-term sustainability: effective teachers. Only when state leaders implement a literacy strategy that prioritizes…

In an era of increasing political and social divisiveness, school boards across the country face pressure to maintain effective governance amongst relentless pressure. Most school board members lack the experience to know how to effectively serve, thus, training is a necessary resource to ensure effective board governance and retain board members.…

At their best, K-12 public school systems can be engines of social and economic mobility. Unfortunately, schools in lower-income districts -- whose students have the greatest academic needs -- often receive less funding than their counterparts in more affluent districts. Discussions about closing these funding gaps usually zoom all the way out to…

Licensure tests should be an efficient and comprehensive way for policymakers to ensure that all teachers possess the basic knowledge and skills they need to effectively teach students to read. Yet more than half of states use a weak licensure test that fails to adequately measure elementary teachers' knowledge of scientifically-based reading…

Between the decades of 1970 through 1999, there were major shifts in higher education in New Jersey. Utilizing a grounded theory approach this dissertation created a database of legislation, hearings transcripts, and education reports. Searching this database for commonly used terminology, this dissertation was seeking a pattern in language use…

The continual use of suspension and expulsion remains an unsettling concern for many educational stakeholders. With some guidance from the federal government, states have begun to address the issue of discipline disproportionality through policy reform that restrict the use of suspension and expulsion for certain student groups (e.g.,…

The North Carolina Promise is a state-level policy that reduced the cost of tuition for all students who attended one of three campuses in the University of North Carolina System starting in fall of 2018. We use IPEDS data and a synthetic control approach to examine how this tuition reduction affected enrollment and persistence at these campuses.…

In 2022, Tennessee overhauled its education funding formula to improve outcomes for the 1 million students in the state. The Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act (TISA) was designed to simplify the existing funding formula and more equitably allocate resources to schools. Bellwether's case study, "After the Policy Win: First-Year…

Since the pandemic, every school district offers some form of virtual learning to student including students with disabilities with individual education plans (IEPs). Although virtual learning is common, yet, few states have policies that address special services in virtual settings. This is an exploratory mixed methods study that seeks to…

Although the COVID pandemic dramatically expanded K-12 remote learning in its first years, little is known about the lasting effects on virtual schooling policies and practices. Drawing on evolutionary theories of change and qualitative data from 2019 to 2022, we explore this topic in Oregon, a state with a long history of virtual schools. We find…

With the start of the three-year grant cycle beginning in 2017-2018, the Georgia Office of Adult Education (GOAE) implemented a state policy to require all adult education providers, not just Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) grantees, to develop and implement at least one integrated education and training (IET) program for…

While the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) plays a role in workforce development, state policymakers actively seek ways beyond WIOA requirements to connect education with workforce development. As states work to align their workforce needs with appropriate education and training, they frequently do so by identifying…

Following a high-quality early care and pre-K experience, the kindergarten-through-third-grade years set the foundation upon which future learning builds; and strengthening this continuum creates opportunities for later success. Key components of a quality experience in K-3 include school readiness and transitions, kindergarten requirements,…

Following a high-quality early care and pre-K experience, the kindergarten-through-third-grade years set the foundation upon which future learning builds; and strengthening this continuum creates opportunities for later success. Key components of a quality experience in K-3 include school readiness and transitions, kindergarten requirements,…