District Human Resource departments are tasked with developing rationale, policies, and a hiring process that prioritizes hiring high quality applicants that reflect diverse backgrounds with proven experience and success with district student populations. Staff must hire diverse candidates but to do so, they must examine the implications for…

Managing student misbehavior at school is a reality today's school staff must be prepared for. Researchers and practitioners have been implementing a variety of strategies to support students with challenging behavior; however, the opportunity gap for specific students continues to exist. The number of students who are excluded, suspended, or…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Cultural Connections in Schooling." Contents include: (1) A Defining Moment for…

This study examined differences in reported campus criminality on selected community college campuses in the years between 2005 and 2016 representing the years preceding and succeeding the implementation of Mississippi's 2011 concealed carry legislation. Each campus included in this study is a public-funded community college in Mississippi. Using…

The population of English learners (ELs) in K-12 schools continues to grow. Between the 2009-10 and 2014-15 school years, the percentage of English learners increased in over half of the states, and in 2017, English learners made up 10.1% of the total student population. Research suggests that in their transition to English, non-native speakers…

Age requirements for free and compulsory education help policymakers ensure that students receive the benefits of early education and support a reduction in dropout rates. Depending on the state, students are required to attend school for as few as nine years and up to 13 years. However, exemptions exist on both sides of the K-12 spectrum to…

Charter schools are semi-autonomous public schools that receive public funds. They operate under a written contract with a state, district, or other entity (referred to as an authorizer or sponsor). Charter school laws vary from state to state and often differ on several important factors, such as who may authorize charter schools, how authorizers…

In this study, we examine the lived experiences of educators who engage with youth through media literacy education. While prior research has examined the efficacy of media literacy education interventions, little attention has been paid to the contexts in which these are conducted. Our analysis of 20 semistructured interviews reveals how the…

Over the past decade, many states have embraced the "science of reading," an interdisciplinary body of research about what works and matters most in teaching students to read. In 2021, North Carolina passed the Excellent Public Schools Act to advance teachers' understanding and use of science of reading practices, and the state's…

Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) offer parents a publicly funded, government-authorized savings account they can draw on for certain K-12 educational expenses. As these programs have expanded in recent years, they have become a flashpoint in education policy debates. For some, ESAs are an extension of existing private school choice programs'…

Iowa's Senate File 496 requires parent permission to formally survey students about their mental health, bans the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in schools before seventh grade, mandates schools obtain parental permission to use a nickname, and bans any books that depict or describe sex acts in schools. This instrumental case…

When it comes to creationism, it might seem as if the United States is trapped in a century-long culture-war rut. In a sense, the Scopes Trial of 1925 put science itself on trial, and it can seem as if every new dispute over teaching evolution is only a repetition of that famous trial. In truth, however, the power of creationism has ebbed…

All 50 US states have enacted mandates requiring insurers to cover autism-related services. We assessed whether and to what extent variation in generosity of state insurance mandates has been associated with rate of growth in the health workforce for children with autism spectrum disorder: including board-certified behavioral analysts, child…

In political science and academia more broadly, it is well understood that widespread civic engagement is a bedrock for a robust democracy. This premise drives disciplinary and institutional efforts to foster experiential learning settings that empower students to take up the responsibilities of active citizenship and the cultivation of student…

Background/Context: This article draws from a larger study focused on how recent immigration policies have influenced school districts across the United States and how educators have responded to support their immigrant-origin students. Scholars have found that immigration policy powerfully shapes the lives of many immigrant youth in multiple…