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…

Great public schools provide opportunity for children, their families, communities and the entire state. All children, regardless of ZIP code, race or family income deserve to be educated in a fully and fairly funded school. Yet for many years Ohio lawmakers have fallen short. Even as policymakers have required public schools to do more, they…

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 "Student Voice." Contents include: (1) How Can We Address a Problem that We…

This mixed method exploratory sequential study examined Illinois high school administrators' perceptions of Senate Bill 100 implementation and the type of professional development provided for staff. This study examined administrators' perceptions on the mindset of staff, effects on student discipline, and professional development offered and…

Since 1985, when Texas passed the first dyslexia law, there has been a profusion of dyslexia legislation across the country, with a rapid increase in recent years. Including Texas, which has multiple laws, 42 states have passed dyslexia legislation focused on identification, intervention, accommodations, funding, and/or dyslexia specialists. Seven…

College and career readiness is important for the future of students (Conley, 2010). Texas leads the nation in the number of public policies aimed at improving college and career readiness, however, not all policies have been effective (Blume & Zumeta, 2013). This quantitative causal-comparative study examines the effect of House Bill (HB) 5…

State governments and other agencies are resources that have the potential to provide leadership and guidance about school-based threat assessment practices. However, accessing information regarding threat assessment-related state mandates and recommendations can be a challenging and a time consuming task for school personnel as there is no single…

Charter schools now educate nearly 3 million students in 43 states and the District of Columbia--more than 6 percent of the total K-12 public-school enrollment. Yet some 25 years after the first charter school opened in Minnesota, the merits of charters still incite debate among educators and the public. What is not often debated is that charter…

Exclusionary and punitive school discipline policies, such as suspensions and expulsions, allow educators to remove students from the classroom for poor behavior or misconduct. However, emerging research suggests that these practices also increase the likelihood that students repeat grades, are excessively absent from school, drop out entirely…

In 2012 Senate File 2284 approved competency-based education (CBE). In 2013 House File 215 provided $100,000 to be used as grants to districts/schools participating in a collaborative effort toward CBE pathways for their students and a framework toward statewide implementation. The Iowa CBE Collaborative will engage in collaborative inquiry to…

Providing teachers with data-driven feedback, aligned professional development and opportunities for advancement may help limit attrition, contribute to more effective teaching, and improve student learning. However, research shows that much of the professional development teachers currently receive does not improve either teacher or student…

Innovation zones help state policy leaders create space in state policy for local educators to design innovative education models. They allow local districts or schools to request a waiver from outdated state policies and regulations that communities have identified as a barrier to high-quality, student-centered learning. These models are also…

This study develops a comprehensive understanding of the effect of a program of positive behavioral interventions on a teachers' classroom management, and the implementation of mandated Illinois Senate Bill 100 regulations. In contrast to traditional disciplinary practices, this study explores high school administrators' perspectives regarding the…

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. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) annually publishes a bulletin and distributes application forms for Safety Net funding. The Legislature requires OSPI to annually…

Texas House Bill 2223 (2017) was developed to accelerate underprepared students' persistence and successful completion of credit-bearing college-level courses. This new corequisite mandate allows underprepared students to enroll in entry-level college courses and requires co-enrollment in a developmental education course/intervention designed to…