We used Critical Discourse Analysis to examine the racial discourse within recent attempts to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. Specifically, we interrogated congressional markup hearings to understand how members frame student debt and the racialized dynamics embedded within. Our findings highlight three types of discourse: "All…

Background: Nearly two decades have passed since the last successful reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Since then, student loan debt and the accumulation patterns based on race have become a pressing issue to address in U.S. society. Purpose: Student debt is one of the key issues on the federal higher education policy agenda. The…

This study uses critical discourse analysis to explain how legislators determine the role and contributions of academic researchers in Congressional legislative hearings. The discursive practices that legislators use serve to construct the social identity of academic witnesses, characterize witnesses' qualifications, solicit information from…

In the first half of 2021, 26 states introduced--and 12 passed--bills colloquially labeled "critical race theory (CRT) bans." The bills introduced to date can be grouped into three categories: prohibitions against compulsion, against inclusion, and against promotion. The prohibition against promoting CRT, first introduced in the North…

Although parents of children with disabilities have forged systemic changes for individuals with disabilities, little is known about the phenomenon of legislative advocacy (LA) including methods and barriers. In this United States-based study, 49 parents of individuals with disabilities participated in focus groups about LA reporting both positive…

The purpose of this study is to investigate policy coalitions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) at U.S. congressional hearings. This study is grounded in the advocacy coalition framework, which argues that advocacy coalitions are forged by policy actors who have similar policy preferences. To identify the coalitions, according to the policy…

As Washington prepares to welcome a new Congress in January 2023, incoming policymakers who want to improve education for every student and give parents more control over where and how their children are educated have many policy options at their disposal. New Members of Congress who want to protect taxpayers and rein in college costs also have…

In 2009, a seldom-used policy lever emerged in the form of a competitive grant program, Race to the Top (RTTT), and sparked a flurry of state-led initiatives as states vied for federal dollars. The current study examines the policymaking context that surrounded these events and propelled Tennessee to the top of the race among the states. Through…

With increasing frequency, U.S. presidents have orchestrated relations between federal and state governments. A defining feature of this "executive federalism" is a pragmatic willingness to both borrow from and reconstitute very different types of past federalisms. A case in point is President Barack Obama's Race to the Top (RttT)…

With education consistently ranked as the highest priority for Latino voters, how have members of Congress responded to Latino constituents on this dimension? This article explores the relationship between Latino constituencies and the importance members of Congress have placed on this issue. Through an analysis of National Hispanic Leadership…

This research presents findings of the policymaking environment in the area of postsecondary education benefits for undocumented immigrants in New York. In addition to describing the response to ever-changing federal, state, and local actions, this investigation also identifies five political forces (power of the governor, pressure of advocacy…

Now that Republicans have taken control of the U.S. House of Representatives and bolstered their minority in the U.S. Senate, it remains to be seen if education is one area of federal policy that can avoid the partisan stalemate that many observers predict will paralyze Washington for the next two years. Republicans and Democrats famously came…

This article uses an institutional framework to analyze the political context of the next reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The authors analyze three relevant factors in the institutional environment: the role of traditional party politics, including theories of divided versus unified party government; the entrance of…

This dissertation examines the historical background of federal regulations that have expanded over the past thirty years, and their impact on state legislative resistance to No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The federal government's involvement in public education offers an instructive opportunity for inquiry into cooperative federalism. State…

In a speech before a group of career-college executives and lobbyists, freshman Representative Jason Altmire hinted that he would look out for the sector's interests in a coming conference between the House of Representatives and the Senate on legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. Referring to a provision in the bill that would…