Although quality assurance programs may improve the curricula and outcomes of early childhood programs, some U.S. childcare principals are reluctant to participate in these initiatives. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the motivation that guides Texas childcare principals' decision-making regarding participation in the…

Texas's educator workforce has been characterized over the past few decades by high attrition rates contributing to persistent teacher shortages and increased hiring of underprepared and uncertified teachers. These conditions have motivated state investment in a multifaceted strategy to seed and support teacher residency programs. State guidance,…

School nurses represent cost-effective investments in students' health and educational success. Alternative high schools (AHSs) serve an understudied population of youth who are at risk for school dropout and face numerous social inequities, heightening their risk for poor health outcomes. In this two-phase explanatory sequential mixed methods…

This is the technical appendix for the report "From Insights to Impact: Fostering Innovation through Texas" which examines the current national landscape of higher education research and development to help gauge Texas' current position and identify opportunities to drive further innovations into the future. This appendix includes the…

Many recent critical reforms in state school finance systems have been catalyzed by the courthouse, not the statehouse. Advocates for equity-focused school finance reforms often consider legal action as the best path to significant policy changes. This brief discusses state-level lawsuits on adequacy and equity grounds and their outcomes.

Racial and economic equity gaps persist in access to college, degree attainment, and employment outcomes despite attempts to close them over multiple decades, and systemic barriers make it more difficult for BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, People of Color] students and students from low-income backgrounds to not only complete their degree but receive…

Higher education institutions play an essential role in Texas' global economic competitiveness. They provide the talent and innovation that gives the state its competitive edge. The COVID-19 vaccine, ethernet, plasma screens, and e-readers are just a few of the thousands of ideas that were born out of U.S. universities. These innovations have…

More than half of community college students nationwide intend to pursue a four-year degree; however, in Texas only one in four community college students transfer to four-year institutions successfully. Among students who do transfer to a Texas four-year institution, roughly 60 percent go on to graduate with a bachelor's degree. The result is…

I use rich administrative data and several quasi-experiments in Texas to study which students benefit most from college grant aid and why. For "extensive-margin" students, grant aid causes enrollment in college, and therefore has potentially large benefits relative to these students' no-college counterfactual. In contrast,…

State governments have the purview to interpret federal special education policies as they see fit. Interpretations of these policies to music education rarely are addressed within state special education policy. The authors selected four states to analyze and compare state special education policies; Illinois, Michigan, Texas, and Virginia.…

In the United States, people often feel like they need to choose between pursuing a conventional four-year college degree or working, leaving millions of people with no opportunity to achieve the professional and economic advancement that comes with a bachelor's degree. What if this is a false choice? Apprenticeship Degrees offer a hybrid option…

Funding for community colleges varies significantly, even within the same state. Several factors account for these differences, including more generous funding for smaller institutions to compensate for their higher costs per student, unequal local funding from property tax revenues, and political forces. In theory, this variation could lead to…

Background: Few family caregivers of individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities develop long-term care (LTC) plans for their relative. Web-based interventions promoting LTC planning have potential for widespread adoption into clinical practice. Methods: We conducted focus groups with 49 primary caregivers of individuals with…

The U.S. Department of Labor approved the first nationally registered K-12 teacher apprenticeship program in January 2022, opening the door to a rapidly growing pathway for prospective teachers. By October 2022, Texas had an approved program, and the Department of Labor has now approved registered teacher apprenticeships in more than 30 states.…

Systems navigators help local educational agencies (LEAs) meet the needs of students experiencing homelessness and decrease barriers to their education by connecting them--and often their families--to resources and community organizations that can provide wraparound services. This National Center for Homeless Education brief: (1) provides…