This general qualitative research utilized semi-structured interviews of eight (8) experienced Title IX investigators from institutions of higher education (IHEs) in Massachusetts to understand federal Title IX regulatory compliance burdens. The rate of occurrence of sexual assault and harassment, as forms of sex discrimination, at IHEs remain…

The Massachusetts Innovation Schools initiative authorized educators to operate with increased autonomy and flexibility. This descriptive case study examines the early experiences of teachers in one innovation school. We explore the innovations teachers leveraged to build capacity, with particular attention to how they enacted teacher leadership…

The recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions "Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College" (2023) and "Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina et al." (2023), hereafter collectively referred to as "SFFA v. Harvard," have garnered attention, especially among…

State boards of education are well placed to advocate for more young children to be screened for dyslexia, a disability that by some measures affects up to 20 percent of the U.S. population. Boards can also ensure that identified students receive effective interventions, as those in Massachusetts and Georgia have done. This report discusses how…

In this essay, the authors examine a congressional proposal -- the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) -- to allow taxpayers to redirect their federal tax dollars to organizations that would provide funding for students to enroll in private school or to help pay for outside educational supports. Based on the implementation of similar…

LearnPlatform by Instructure conducted this quasi-experimental study, evaluating the impact of the Breathe For Change Mindfulness, Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), and Yoga Teacher Training on K-12 student attendance and chronic absenteeism during the 2023-24 school year. The study included 172 educators and 955 students from a mid-size public…

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…

The Open Educational Resources (OER) movement is now more than twenty years beyond its inception when it was built on the concept that digital materials make learning content easy to reuse and share. This report discusses current legislative trends in OER and offers recommended OER practices for states.

Elementary schools face pressures to substantially increase student achievement in all subjects with limited time in the school day. In particular, science struggles to gain instructional momentum due to many internal and external factors. The school district of Wynne (pseudonym), located within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, has generational…

2022 turned out to be a dynamic year for charter schools, as many state lawmakers recognized the fact parents want more schooling options that fit their children's unique needs. In total, close to 50% of states with charter school laws gained at least one legislative win. Read for more details on how the charter school movement strengthened in the…

Career-connected learning is an educational strategy that combines high-quality academic instruction, skill-based learning, and real-world experiences to prepare students with the knowledge and skills that they need to pursue their career goals. Career-connected learning can be delivered in a variety of ways, including in core content classes,…

Approximately 1.3 million public school students in the United States were identified as experiencing some form of homelessness in 2019-20. Due to their unstable living situations, students experiencing homelessness often have additional educational, social, emotional, and material needs compared to their stably housed peers. Housing instability…

There is a growing call to reconsider current approaches to national and state assessment system policies and practices. State and local education agency leaders, educators, community leaders, and advocates have voiced concerns that current state assessment systems--defined primarily by end-of-year multiple-choice tests--are unable to meet…

This toolkit that can empower state leaders to transform their vocational-technical schools for the better. It builds on "Hands-On Achievement," a book detailing the Massachusetts model that Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research published earlier in 2022. The toolkit describes three keys to success, provides a brief history of…

The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) encourages states to promote equity in Career Technical Education (CTE) through data analysis, funding, technical assistance, professional development, and regular engagement of stakeholders representing learners with special population status. While Perkins V…