In this essay, Jack Schneider and Andrew Saultz offer a new perspective on state and federal power through their analysis of authority and control. Due to limitations inherent to centralized governance, state and federal offices of education exercised little control over schools across much of the twentieth century, even as they acquired…

For the past decade and a half, the fight to improve America's schools has been fought largely on two fronts: academic standards as one battleground, and accountability the other, with the issue of mandatory testing adding heat to a very public--and increasingly politicized--debate. The questions for policymakers and educators are as direct as…

The "ESEA" flexibility initiative was designed to give states flexibility with certain provisions of the 2002 reauthorization of the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" ("ESEA"), also known as the "No Child Left Behind Act" ("NCLB"). This report explores the early implementation of state…

Background: Local control has historically been a prominent principle in education policymaking and governance. Culminating with the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), however, the politics of education have been nationalized to an unprecedented degree, and local control has all but disappeared as a principle framing education policymaking.…

Until recently, educational governance was left primarily in the hands of locally controlled school boards. In the 1980s, however, states began to reassert their influence in education policy making. More recently, the federal government has expanded its role in education through programs like No Child Left Behind. But as state and federal policy…

Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) developed this language access toolkit to share the expertise and experiences of National Asian American Education Advocates Network (NAAEA) member organizations with other community organizations interested in developing language access campaigns. This toolkit includes an overview of…

The "Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965" ("ESEA") is the nation's key policy driver for elementary and secondary education, shaping federal, state and district efforts to promote effective school systems and improve educational outcomes, particularly for students in high-poverty schools. The most recent…

Amid the recent proliferation of teacher-led movements resisting high-stakes testing across the United States, the authors identify how a "failing" elementary school reclaimed local discourse by taking political action against top-down measures. Framed as competing modes of school reform, the authors offer the sociocultural framework of…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Senate Help Committee Passes Legislation to Rewrite No Child Left Behind; (2) Remediation Exasperation: New York…

The debate over the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) generally overlooks--or looks past--what may be the most fundamental flaw in that legislation. As the law is now written, decisions regarding what the young should know and be able to do are removed from the hands of parents and local community leaders and turned over to officials…

This document presents a summary of the report, "How Eight State Education Agencies in the Northeast and Islands Region Identify and Support Low-Performing Schools and Districts." This larger report describes and analyzes how eight state education agencies in the Northeast and Islands Region (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New…

This report describes and analyzes how eight state education agencies in the Northeast and Islands Region (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, and Vermont) identify and support low-performing schools and districts under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Data collection for the report…

To advance sexuality education for students in grades Pre-K through Grade 12, sexuality education professionals must work more closely with public schools. Though this may be stating the obvious, one of the key priorities identified by the Future of Sex Education Project is: the need to build understanding of--and relationships with--the public…

This proceedings document provides a synthesis of the presentations on the historical and research background of graduation requirements for students with disabilities and of a panel discussion based on implementation of the various requirements. Based on the presentations and discussions, the forum participants described and refined 14 issues…

Describes reasons and objectives for expanded role of federal government in education inherent in the 2002 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) called the No Child Left Behind Act. Asserts that reauthorized ESEA also means an expanded role in educational reform for state and school districts. (PKP)