This article examines education law and cultural conditions for teaching and learning in Texas, the state that provided a model for the federal No Child Left Behind Act signed in 2002. Accountability testing is a primary feature of Texas education law and has an enormous impact on public school culture. Of particular interest is Houston, one of…

This article examines the primary assumption underlying the recent passage of propositions aimed at meeting the need of English language learners (ELLs). The assumption is that English language learners normally need only one year of intensive structured English immersion to learn English well enough to be academically successful in an all-English…

Romantic relationships bud and sometimes bloom in the school district workplace. When those relationships involve a sitting member of a school board or an administrator with responsibility for managing other employees, questions about a conflict of interest will be raised. Most states have laws prohibiting a public official from taking official…

I examine the state policy context of implementing an initiative that transforms the training and role of today's school counselors. This is essentially a story of political process. Like the implementation of many initiatives, the Transforming School Counselor Initiative (TSCI) is a process of gaining support and then institutionalizing a…

At a time when many states are poised to roll out new standardized tests to evaluate English-language proficiency in unprecedented depth, California is balking at carrying out a federal requirement to test the literacy of young children who are learning English. Recently, the California board of education decided to ask the U.S. Department of…

In recent years, parents have benefited from a significant expansion of educational options for their children. Parents have many more opportunities than just a few years ago to choose from an array of public school options, including charter, virtual, and magnet schools. Expanding educational options for parents is one of the hallmarks of the…

"The 2007 Legislative Briefing" is a topical summary of actions during the 2006 legislative sessions that affect education in the 16 SREB states. Topics include state budgets and the economy, tax and revenue, school finance, teacher compensation, licensure, certification and evaluation of teachers, strengthening elementary and secondary…

This report summarizes Mayor Fenty's proposed legislation to take over the District of Columbia Public Schools, compares it to actions taken or proposed by the school board, and analyzes the potential of the mayor's plan to fix underlying school system problems identified by the Council in two recent reports. The Council has produced this current…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

Recognizing that lasting change is possible when organizations form a partnership, public policy increasingly drives active sharing of resources and mutual commitment to accountability and heightened productivity. Legislation that emphasizes aligning and improving the educational system; supporting the transition from high school to college and…

To give states the information they need to sustain hard-fought education reform effectively, Achieve conducted research on state education reforms that have been sustained successfully for over a decade or more. Funded by the GE Foundation, Achieve hopes this work will help other state leaders, wherever they may be on their road to reform,…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

Section 1008.30 (formerly 240.117), Florida Statutes, requires the State Board of Education to develop and implement a common placement testing program to assess the basic computation and communication skills of students who intend to enter a degree program at any public community college or state university. Every year the State provides reports…

This report on the state's early education system offers a dark assessment, but not a fatalistic one, especially if leaders can seize and build on reform efforts that have already started in patches throughout the state. There's much more that policymakers, advocates and the state can--and should--be doing to work toward a day when all California…