To understand the complex nature of learning recognition and credit transfer in American postsecondary education and examine the systemic barriers to entry many students face as they navigate its institutions, Ithaka S+R conducted a series of qualitative interviews in fall 2024 with state and system-level leaders in Idaho, Illinois, Ohio, and the…

On September 1, 2021, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 8 (SB8), prohibiting abortions after six weeks gestation and allowing private citizens to file lawsuits against anyone who either performs or "aids and abets" an abortion after this point. To understand the broad impacts of SB8 on Texas medical students' experiences and…

Ensuring that classrooms are adequately staffed with qualified and diverse teachers has been a longstanding and growing challenge in Texas. To produce and retain more effective, diverse, and multilingual educators, Texas policymakers must expand aspiring teachers' access to pathways that meet local needs and offer robust in-school clinical…

In 2023, 2.5 million high school students participated in dual enrollment -- programs that allow them to take and earn credit for college-level courses. Research shows that dual enrollment leads to better student outcomes, such as higher graduation rates, college enrollment, and credit accumulation. However, access to these programs is…

State laws that mandate in-grade retention for struggling readers are widespread in the U.S., covering 34% of public-school third graders in 2023-24. This study investigates the impacts of Michigan's third-grade reading law on subsequent test scores and school progress outcomes for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 third-grade cohorts. Using a regression…

Civics education is a hot topic, as evidence shows that American young people appear to be losing faith in democracy itself. State education leaders must sort through fervent disputes on what students ought to learn and make good decisions on standards, assessment and accountability, as well as incentives for districts' selection of quality…

As generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) becomes more integrated into higher education, institutions struggle to communicate clear and effective policies. This multiple-methods study examines survey and interview data collected with 124 undergraduates and seven faculty members from two U.S. R1 universities regarding their perceptions of…

The author examines and critiques Ohio's new education policy in the context of historical education policy.

We examine the impact of the Texas Research Incentive Program (TRIP), a state policy that offers matching funds to incentivize private-sector donations to certain public universities. We use a national dataset and employ a generalized difference-in-differences approach with matching procedures to estimate the treatment effect of TRIP on revenues…

Because states typically fund districts based on student counts, districts reporting shrinking enrollment worry about shrinking dollars as well. The seemingly obvious quick fix is for states to hold districts financially harmless for some or all of their enrollment loss. But states have many factors to weigh when deciding whether or how to go down…

Background: Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening allergic reaction with significant risk for children with allergies. Access to potentially life-saving medication is critical for these children. This review aims to describe state laws and policies guiding stock epinephrine in schools for allergic or anaphylactic events and detail recommendations for…

In many school districts, the policies that regulate teaching personnel are governed by collective bargaining agreements (CBAs). While there is significant policy attention that has affected the scope of these agreements, there is relatively little research on how CBAs vary over time, or whether they change in response to states' legislative…

Ample research has explored the nature and efficacy of urban charter schools since the turn of the century. However, much less attention has been given to the rural charter school sector. Using data obtained from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools from the 2018-2019 school year, we describe rural charter schools nationally in terms…

In a recent landscape of policies in 50 states and the District of Columbia, I found that states vary significantly in how they authorize, review, and approve teacher preparation providers and programs. What these policies have in common is a requirement that all programs meet the same standards. But in practice, they do not. Too often,…

The Kentucky Community and Technical Colleges System (KCTCS) began hiring diversity officers throughout the system in the mid-2000s. These highest-ranking diversity officers (HRDO) on each campus led their college's efforts to comply with the statewide diversity policy. A phenomenological approach was used to discover how former HRDOs in KCTCS…