While there is an increased national focus on student safety and gun violence in schools, the policies for arming teachers are often vague and unclear. Additionally, policies and laws enforcing safety protocol for students differ across states. Clarity in policies are important for stakeholders in school communities who can use such information to…

As an immigrant, born to formerly undocumented parents who left Hong Kong for the United States with barely a middle school education and a pair of tourist visas, Tina Cheuk, was separated from her parents for four years. She later joined them at age seven. Upon arriving in the United States, she was one of three English Learners, (ELs) in her…

In the shadow of the Supreme Court's decision to uphold raceconscious policies in "Fisher v. University of Texas" (2016), and midway to Justice O'Connor's 25-year sunset clause in "Grutter v. Bollinger" (2003), affirmative action remains contentious. This qualitative theoretical study posits that we need not speculate about…

The impacts of the 2018 elections were felt in the 2019 state legislative sessions across the country. While charter school supporters continued to rack up legislative victories on increasing funding and facilities support, strengthening accountability, and protecting autonomy, they also faced political climates in several states that were…

This article examines how three relatively recent decisions enacted and upheld by Pennsylvania lawmakers have increased racial disparities in education funding and are helping to explode what Ladson-Billings has termed the educational debt. We find that districts with the highest concentrations of Black and Latinx students are profoundly…

With the deepening understanding of the importance of the early years for preparing children to enter and then succeed in school, federal, state, and local policymakers in the United States have been increasing the public-sector investment in early care and education (ECE) programs, both on a targeted and a universal basis. The state of Vermont…

The New Mexico Public Education Department's (PED) mission is to ensure all students in New Mexico receive the education they deserve and that students are prepared for college, career, and lifelong learning. To do this, the department is focused on supporting sustained learning and outreach to districts, charter schools, tribal education…

Americans are dissatisfied with the public school system--and student academic outcomes have fallen to historic lows. Increasingly, state lawmakers are responding by giving parents more options for their children's education. Some of these new opportunities, such as in Arkansas and Iowa, allow every child in the state to apply. Policymakers also…

As of February 2023, 44 states have either introduced or passed legislation that aims to control the teaching of race in K-12 public schools. Using political discourse analysis, we investigate the discourse from six "anti-CRT" documents. We frame the discourse from an agnotological perspective; agnotology is the study of how ignorance is…

In many school districts the policies that regulate personnel are governed by collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) negotiated between teachers' unions and school boards. While there is significant policy attention and, in some cases, legislative action that has affected the scope of these agreements, there is relatively little research that…

Safety Net funding is available to local education agencies (LEAs) that demonstrate a need for special education funding in excess of state and federal funding available to the LEA. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) publishes an annual Safety Net bulletin and application forms. House Bill 2242, Sec. 408 (2017) directed the…

Since the 2000s, states have experimented with reforms to improve success among underprepared students traditionally assigned to developmental education (DE). Florida's reform under Senate Bill 1720 has been among the most comprehensive and wide-reaching. Recent public high school graduates and military personnel became exempt from DE, but nearly…

This article serves as the first in a series addressing comprehensive suicide prevention programming in the school context. Suicide is currently the second leading cause of death for 10- to 24-year-olds in the United States. As schools are a place where the majority of youth spend a significant amount of time, it follows that they are a natural…

California delivers Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education using performance-based instruction and assessment. This ensures English language learners are prepared to participate in society as workers, parents, and active community members. This article describes the 20-year-old program's history, structure, requirements, and successes.

Texas House Bill 3 established a college, career, and military readiness (CCMR) outcomes bonus, which provides extra funding to districts for each annual graduate demonstrating CCMR under the state accountability system. Some small district and rural district leaders expressed concern about the ability of their graduates to meet the career…