This study is focused on seven states, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Minnesota, Washington, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin and the written special education complaints filed from July 1, 2014-June 30th, 2019. The problem addressed by this quantitative, correlational design study was the lack of information on the effects of multiple predictor…

This is the third in a series of five briefs published by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology on the key considerations facing educational leaders as they work to build and sustain core digital infrastructure for learning. These briefs offer recommendations to complement the fundamental infrastructure considerations…

Since 2017, hostile anti-LGBTQ+ educational bills rapidly expanded. Using traditional and critical policy analysis across three Midwestern states, we examine (1) whether state and local policymakers (n = 60) adopted trans-inclusive protections aligned with the 2017 federal "Whitaker" ruling, (2) the spread and scope of state and local…

Since 2017, hostile anti-LGBTQ+ educational bills rapidly expanded. Using traditional and critical policy analysis across three Midwestern states, we examine (1) whether state and local policymakers (n = 60) adopted trans-inclusive protections aligned with the 2017 federal "Whitaker" ruling, (2) the spread and scope of state and local…

School improvement plans (SIPs) have become a central feature of schooling. Educational leaders experience tension between balancing compliance with accountability demands and continuous improvement, and neither of these lenses is centered in the social justice necessary for closing opportunity gaps. We propose a new rubric for assessing the…

School districts held an exclusive franchise on public education services until 1991, when Minnesota passed the first law permitting public charter schools. Charter schools are publicly funded, authorized by various agencies designated in public law, but independently managed. They operate outside district control, and most can draw students from…

Wisconsin Act 31 was established for the purpose of addressing American Indian history, culture, and sovereignty within K-12 schools as a response to treaty rights issues in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Yet, in the 21 st century there remain issues with compliance throughout not only K-12 schools but also institutions of higher education. The…

The Higher Learning Commission (HLC or the agency) is a regional institutional accreditor that accredits (or preaccredits) over 1,000 degree granting institutions in 19 states, tribal institutions and including those programs offered via distance education within these institutions. Most of the institutions accredited by HLC use the Secretary's…

There is a lack of research on how Wisconsin's high schools are addressing the literacy needs of their students. State Statute 118.015 requires a district reading specialist, but there has been very little research done on compliance; therefore, the first phase of the study was to collect and analyze both demographic and descriptive data via a…

This report describes how state education agencies in the Midwest Region monitor teacher supply, demand, and shortage; details why they monitor these data; and offers estimates of the monetary costs incurred in performing such studies. This study responds to a request from state education agencies in the Midwest Region (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,…

In a 2008 survey of students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 82 percent of undergraduate respondents said they preferred courses with online lecture content, and 60 percent said they would even be willing to pay for lecture capture services. Colleges and universities that have gone down the lecture capture path have found four essential…

This qualitative study investigated the perceptions of 8 Local Education Agency (LEA) personnel who implemented the Transition Outcomes Project (TOP) in a midwestern state. These personnel represented 100% of the state LEAs who instigated the pilot of TOP in the participating state. Findings showed that TOP had 3 major positive effects: greater…

Examines five-year compliance patterns among Wisconsin child support cases that came to court in 1986 to 1998. Compliance during the first year provides some indication of long-term compliance, but half of fathers change their compliance rate over the period. Differences between divorced and unmarried fathers are discussed. (Author/MKA)

The federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has set a bar that determines the level at which students are expected to achieve, and schools and school districts are measured, not against each other, but on whether or not they meet the standard set by the law. Following the 2002-2003 school year, 60 schools in Southeastern Wisconsin school…

This document is one of six discussion papers prepared for the Wisconsin Legislative Council's Special Committee on Crimes Against Children. The introduction explains the committee's task of conducting a thorough examination of state laws relating to crimes against children, reviewing major policy issues affecting those laws to determine whether…