State law requires the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to annually report to the Legislature the number of schools participating in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). The report must identify barriers to participation and make recommendations to increase participation. The CEP…

Approximately 450 community colleges nationally are part of formal statewide or national initiatives to implement guided pathways reforms to improve student success, and many other colleges are implementing guided pathways practices on their own. Because guided pathways is a whole-college reform--and because it takes several years to fully…

Washington State's ClimeTime Network is a groundbreaking effort that has been implementing systemic capacity-building around climate science learning, as well as broader scientific literacy, for the past 6 years. This article provides an overview of the ClimeTime Network formation, framing, and implementation strengths and challenges.…

Within Extension, certain personnel, facilitators, and volunteers expected to conduct research in the form of program evaluation may have little or no training in effective research design and practices. This circumstance can lead to difficulties in the implementation of evaluation procedures, particularly with regard to program evaluation…

In April 2019, Substitute Senate Bill 5437 directed the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to begin the "phased implementation of a birth to three early childhood education and assistance program pilot project for eligible children under thirty-six months old." This model is called Early ECEAP and is…

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, K-12 schools are under immense pressure to meet the diverse needs of students. But policies and practices have not evolved quickly enough to meet those needs -- and as a result, the system continues to fail far too many young people. In "Levers of Change: How State Policies Support District…

This brief is the second in a series focusing on Employment First implementation as it relates to one of the seven elements within the High-Performing States in Integrated Employment model. It examines the background of circumstances under which Employment First efforts began in seven states, and introduces each state's values, mission, and goals…

The Running Start Summer School Pilot program was established in 2020 by House Bill 2864 and enacted as Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 28A.630.600. To determine whether the summer term should be funded under the Running Start Program, a summer pilot was created to evaluate interest in and barriers to expanding the Running Start program to…

The Washington Social Emotional Learning Committee was established in 2019 through Senate Bill (SB) 5082 to address the growing body of evidence that shows the need for improving not only a student's academic abilities, but also their social and emotional competencies which are critical to every child's development. SB 5082 requires the Committee…

In 2019, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 5082 (SB 5082), which directed the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to establish a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Committee to build upon the work of the previous Social Emotional Learning Indicators (SELI) Workgroup. The purpose of the SEL Advisory Committee is to promote and…

The "Forum Guide to Data Governance" highlights how data governance programs benefit education agencies and provide timely and useful best practices, examples, and resources for agencies implementing or updating their data governance programs. This resource is intended to address the needs of federal, state, and local agencies related…

The Agricultural Act of 2014 authorized $200 million for the development, implementation, and evaluation of up to 10 pilot projects to test innovative strategies to increase employment and reduce the need for SNAP among program participants. The 10 States that received grants were California, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois,…

Substitute Senate Bill (SSB) 5357, laws of 2017, required the Washington State Department of Early Learning, now the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), to establish a four-year pilot project to license "outdoor, nature-based early learning and child care programs," otherwise known as "outdoor preschools." As…

The pandemic hit the already vulnerable early childhood education (ECE) workforce especially hard, causing almost 40 percent of child care providers to shut their doors and many teachers to lose their jobs. In 2021, enrollment in state-funded preschool also dropped for the first time in 20 years--a nearly 20 percent decline that erased a decade of…

The Agricultural Act of 2014 authorized $200 million for the development, implementation, and evaluation of up to 10 pilot projects to test innovative strategies to reduce dependency on and increase employment among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants. The 10 States that received grants were California, Delaware, Georgia,…