In 2018, state boards of education discussed and adopted policies to increase accountability for student data protection and to increase transparency of schoolwide data through data dashboards. This analysis highlights policy changes in state data protection requirements, test administration and security, records retention, and confidentiality…

Analysis of student-level data to inform policy and promote student success is a core function of executive higher education agencies. Postsecondary data systems have expanded their collection of data elements for use by policymakers, institutional staff, and the general public. State coordinating and governing boards use these data systems for…

Confronted with widely publicized accounts of assaults by juvenile sex offenders against fellow students or school staff members, several states are grappling with the issue of how to balance a student's right to an education with the threat that such a student may pose. Legislatures and agencies in several states, such as Arkansas, New Mexico,…

Background: To comprehensively address the childhood and adolescent obesity epidemic, Arkansas enacted Act 1220 of 2003. Among a series of community- and school-based interventions, the Act requires each public school student to have his/her body mass index (BMI) assessed and reported annually to parents. The process of implementing this policy on…

The manual is designed for training surrogate parents in identification, evaluation, placement, and programing for the handicapped child in Arkansas. General guidelines for the surrogate parent are listed, including meeting the child before requesting to see any school records, presuming that the agency has the child's best interest at heart, and…

Developed through a pilot project in Arkansas, this guide provides counselors with essential information and materials for conducting a counseling program in postsecondary vocational-technical schools. The guide is organized into 10 chapters that cover the following topics: counseling in the vocational-technical school (including the basics of…