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…

The impact of remote and hybrid work on American life has led to a growing interest in applying similar flexibility to education. This case study explores the concept of flex-based learning. It is a model that blends in-person and at-home instruction to provide a customizable and personalized education experience for students. Flex-based learning…

The U.S. Constitution is the most well-known governing document in the country--studied by students, endlessly interpreted and reinterpreted by judges and political pundits, and placed in the category of near-religious reverence by many Americans. In the last 50 years it has been amended exactly once, in a ratification process that took over 200…

Drawing upon Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as theoretical framework and methodological tool, the present paper critically examines the legislation that has established English as official language in 30 states. This study captures the motivation and rationale of the policies, their stated outcomes and educational implications. The analysis…

The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) seeks to improve all schools. To strategically target resources and champion equity in education, the NDE blends both federal and state supports in its classification and designation system. Nebraska statute requires the State Board of Education to create a system of accountability combining multiple…

State postsecondary data systems contain a wealth of information--including detailed records about individuals--that allow states to analyze and improve their postsecondary education systems. The entities that maintain these systems operate in a context of concern about the privacy and security of educational records. They have both an interest in…

With the introduction of the California community college chancellor's "Vision for Success Report" in 2017, the community college system experienced unprecedented levels of new legislation with the goal to refocus its values and resources, placing a higher priority on helping students complete a college education, as opposed to simply…

Today, all 50 states have enacted mandates requiring some level of insurance coverage for the treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In this paper, I examine the impact of Massachusetts' mandate, ARICA (An Act Relative to Insurance Coverage for Autism) on the academic and behavioral outcomes of students with ASD in the state. Using…

Both evolution and climate change have broad scientific consensus, and yet they are the most contested scientific concepts in the US K-12 education system. This study aimed to explore trends in proposed US state legislation employed from 2003 to 2023 by anti-evolution and anti-climate change education movements to constrain the teaching of these…

Since 2020, legislators across the country have introduced bills aimed at banning instruction of Critical Race Theory in universities. This qualitative study examined 53 bills, most of which contained lists of "divisive concepts" that professors were prohibited from discussing in their classrooms. In addition, I analyzed 26 statements…

Established by House Concurrent Resolution No. 39, the Louisiana Teacher Recruitment, Recovery, and Retention (TRRR) Task Force studies the declining enrollment in teacher preparation programs and reviews strategies that can be utilized by the state and individual school districts in locations of teacher shortages to reverse declines. This annual…

Preparing students for science, technology, and engineering careers is an urgent state policy challenge. We examined the design and roll-out of a science testing requirement for high school graduation in Massachusetts. While science test performance improved over time for all demographic subgroups, we observed rising inequality in failure rates…

Bullying is a public health concern warranting policy-level responses. Toward this end, states are enacting antibullying policies that require schools to be inclusive of parents. The current study examines parent-related challenges as schools implement newly amended antibullying legislation in Connecticut. School personnel data were analyzed from…

In 2011, Virginia's General Assembly enacted legislation that required one credit in a stand-alone personal finance course for graduating students. Subsequently, the Virginia Department of Education developed Standards of Learning (SOLs) for Personal Finance and Economics (Code of Virginia §22.1-200-03B), which included a focus on personal…

This study interrogates "Abbeville v. the State of South Carolina" using a policy-regimes framework to understand the relationship between the South Carolina Judicial System, General Assembly, and Educational stakeholders. We seek to understand how the political interests of the General Assembly and wealthy districts may have subverted a…