Anti-LGBTQ+ school legislation has proliferated across the United States in recent years, with potential consequences for both students and school counselors. Florida's controversial 2022 Parental Rights in Education Act offers one such example. In this descriptive, phenomenological, qualitative study, we examined the experiences of 10 Florida…

Following the recent proliferation of anti-discrimination protections supporting LGBTIQ+ youth internationally, backlash periods have ensued. Whilst liberal-progressive rights models theorise 'backlash' as an expected consequence of rights recognitions progress, some post-colonial and Queer scholars frame backlash within enduring authoritarian…

On March 28, 2022, Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 1557 "The Parental Rights in Education" bill into law, taking effect July 1, 2022. As written, the bill: (a) prohibits discussion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, and all other terms and concepts related to sexuality and gender (LGBTQ+)…

In light of recent political events in the United States, and with the urging to consider Noddings' care ethics in early childhood education, this conceptual piece considers an often-overlooked question in political discourse: what are the rights of the child, and how might these be centered in discussions of pedagogy, curricula, and legislation?…

School psychologists are well served to stay up to date on trends in special education law, particularly with respect to determinations when school teams' decisions are challenged. This allows them to focus on proactive best practices that foster accurate specific learning disability (SLD) identification and active collaboration with parents. This…

Despite the efforts of parents, educators, and activists to oppose standardized testing through the act of opting out, most states and federal law still require students to take annual standardized tests. While key arguments of the opt-out movement in a state legislative process are explored, this case study focuses on those legislators who…

Americans are dissatisfied with the public school system--and student academic outcomes have fallen to historic lows. Increasingly, state lawmakers are responding by giving parents more options for their children's education. Some of these new opportunities, such as in Arkansas and Iowa, allow every child in the state to apply. Policymakers also…

In this study, I explore the discourse surrounding parental rights in U.S. public schools, with Virginia as a focal point. Analyzing two sets of model policies regarding the treatment of transgender students--one established under a Democratic governor and another implemented following the election of a Republican candidate championing parental…

In this policy update, author Amelia Vance explores data protections for school directory information. She argues students do not have the right to attend school anonymously, but they do have a right to have their information protected and used responsibly by local and state education agencies. State boards can lead on this issue by striking the…

This guide is meant to help parents, schools, and community members use the Kansas Special Education Process Handbook. The parent guide to the Kansas Special Education Process Handbook was written by the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE). It is a start for learning about special education requirements. It is recommended to use this guide…

In 1974, Congress passed legislation known as the "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act" or FERPA, in response to "the growing evidence of the abuse of student records across the nation." The law was written to protect the confidentiality of information held in a student's records. With the introduction of technology in…

The Equality Act would extend Title IV of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) as protected classes leading to potential changes to curricula in public schools, requiring texts to affirm and promote radical views of gender and sexuality. Parents in the U.S. and around the world have successfully…

Since 2013, most states have considered one or more bills to protect student data, with many giving state boards of education more authority in this arena. The best of this legislation goes beyond compliance to better address stakeholders' fears. States that take this approach have adopted two key practices in implementation of new state laws:…

An introduction to the big picture conversation on student data privacy and the norms that are coming out of it. The author looks at the current state of federal law, and ahead to proposed legislation at the federal level. The intent is to help educators become familiar with the key issues regarding student data privacy in education so as to…

The rapid adoption of digital content and delivery systems, each with its own capacity to track, store, and analyze student usage, interactions, and academic outcomes at both a highly detailed and granular level, has emerged as an area of widespread opportunity, but also of concern. The comingling of various student data sets (demographics, usage,…