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,…

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,…

This document is part of the "50-State Comparison: Postsecondary Governance Structures," which provides a comprehensive summary of the various entities that make up postsecondary governance ecosystems in each state and the District of Columbia. This document provides the following information regarding agencies and system offices…

This document is part of the "50-State Comparison: Postsecondary Governance Structures," which provides a comprehensive summary of the various entities that make up postsecondary governance ecosystems in each state and the District of Columbia. This document provides the following information regarding other postsecondary system and…

This document is part of the "50-State Comparison: Postsecondary Governance Structures," which provides a comprehensive summary of the various entities that make up postsecondary governance ecosystems in each state and the District of Columbia. This document provides the following information regarding membership organizations for each…

To address a gap in the research, we conducted a policy evaluation to investigate if a recent state policy change had met its intended goals to decrease school counselor ratios and increase their time with students. Participants included 143 PK-12 public school counselors in one state in the southeastern region of the United States. Results of…

In this study, I utilized participant photography to understand what types of student success were recognized by educators in two rural school districts. Participants placed an intense emphasis on relationships within the community and moral aims of schooling in both the types of success and the ways in which success were recognized. These…

Teaching and learning are changing drastically in the wake of COVID-19, and once-skeptical K-12 system and school leaders are increasingly responding to students' academic needs with competency-based learning models. State boards of education and other state leaders should examine the rationale and structures that underpin these student-centered…