California educates more than 6 million children in its K-12 public schools. More than half of these students are economically disadvantaged. Almost a quarter are English Learners (ELs), compared with fewer than one in ten nationwide. In order to better serve its student population, the state has enacted several reforms in recent years--and state…

California educates more than 6 million children in its K-12 public schools. More than half of these students are economically disadvantaged. About one in five are English Learners (ELs), compared with one in ten nationwide. In 2013, the state created the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) to simplify school funding and significantly increase…

In April 2004, teams of policymakers and practitioners from eight Western states joined Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano and the National Governors Association (NGA) at "Leadership for Turning Around Low-Performing Schools: A Western Regional Roundtable," a two-day meeting that explored the connection between educational leadership and…

A restructuring of federal, state, and local relations is ceding considerably more control of education to the states. State mandates are now far more common than technical assistance and focus increasingly on the core of instructional policy, leading to a standardizing effect as local discretion declines. (DCS)

State control over education appears to be increasing as a result of state efforts to develop specific programs in response to calls for educational excellence. Missouri's Excellence in Education Act of 1985 was just such an effort and was aimed particularly at improving teaching by attracting and retaining teachers of high quality. The act…

State, school and community must take responsibility for cooperative educational reform targeted at improving educational opportunities for poor, minority students who are at risk of dropping out of New York State's public high schools. Program recommendations include the following: (1) early childhood education programs; (2) mechanisms to ensure…