Mentoring is a series of collaborative activities and conversations between young people and older or more experienced persons (i.e., mentors) who are acting in a helping capacity to provide support that benefits one or more areas of the young person's development. This resource offers those who develop and implement mentoring services meaningful…

The Colorado Re-Engaged (CORE) initiative, created under House Bill 21-1330, allows a four-year institution of higher education (IHE) to award an associate degree to former students who meet eligibility requirements -- including having already earned at least 70 credit hours before stopping-out of a bachelor's program. Under HB21-1330, each…

Since its inception in 1993, the National Guard Youth Challenge Program has produced over 200,000 graduates across dozens of sites located in the states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Currently, the program operates 39 sites. House Report 117-88, accompanying the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2022, included…

School-based mentoring (SBM) is any intervention that takes place within the school building that connects young people with an adult. In contrast to community-based mentoring, mentor-mentee matches in SBM programs typically meet for shorter periods of time (e.g., one hour per week instead of four hours per week), have a shorter duration, and set…

Recent years have produced a surge in interest in improving state assessment programs. Many states are designing new assessments. Much of this innovation is aimed at addressing longstanding areas of unhappiness with typical domain-sampled, end-of-year state assessments: States want to streamline assessment activities, enhance the instructional…

This statutory report presents the activities and accomplishments of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) from October 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025. The audits, investigations, and related work highlighted in this report are products of OIG's mission to identify and stop fraud, waste, and abuse; and promote…

For decades, most states have made a practice of giving citizens returning from prison or jail a small amount of money, called "gate money," to cover the cost of transportation and other immediate needs. Many legislatures have considered increasing the dollar amount of their cash assistance and offering this kind of support more widely.…

The National Academy of Education (NAEd) undertook this consensus report on the evaluation and improvement of teacher preparation programs (TPPs). Specifically, this consensus report aims to (1) identify and disseminate best practices for evaluating and improving TPPs to promote teacher effectiveness and student achievement; (2) provide…

The Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program is a formula grant program maintained by the Office of Academic Improvement within the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the United States Department of Education (USED) to support the "creation of community learning centers that provide academic…

During the 2019 General Session, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 166, "School Readiness Amendments", to improve the coordination and alignment of preschool programming. This report is provided to the Education Interim Committee as a summary of an evaluation of and the efficacy of the High Quality School Readiness (HQSR) Grant…

In an effort to better support the needs of PK-12 students identified as gifted or high-ability, school leaders need to be familiar and comfortable with supporting gifted education educators and developing and evaluating gifted education programs. Gifted education educators should have defined roles and responsibilities, and school leaders need to…

When aligned with career pathways and other education and training programs in the community, IET programs offered in prisons and jails enable participants to make significant progress toward their education and training goals that can be continued after release. This guide summarizes lessons learned from the IET in Corrections project and serves…

For some time now, the arts education community has designed for broader outcomes for youth. These programs intentionally foster not only youth achievements within the arts or academics, but also youth and community thriving--through outcomes such as youth civic engagement, occupational identities, and wellness. In this report, the authors seek to…

This is the second of three annual reports evaluating the implementation and effects of two Delaware weighted funding programs for disadvantaged K-12 schools during the 2019-2020 to 2021-2022 school years: Opportunity Funding and the Student Success Block Grant (SSBG). The authors also examined best practices and coronavirus pandemic adaptations…

Department of Defense (DOD) research has found that military families and children face severe barriers to accessing mental health care, harming family well-being and military readiness. Without proper treatment, children with mental health concerns are at risk of school failure, substance misuse, and suicide. Senate Report 118-58 includes a…