The tools charts are some of the most frequently visited resources on the NCII website. Furthermore, current and prior federal legislation and increasingly state legislation, emphasizes the use of educational programs, interventions, and assessments that have an evidence base supporting their effectiveness. State education agencies (SEAs) play an…

Recent United States (U.S.) educational policies--especially the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015--have challenged state education agencies (SEAs) to take greater responsibility for and leadership over improving underperforming schools. SEA capacity to accomplish this charge varies, so many SEAs contract with third-party, external…

In this article, Arnold Shober asserts that despite the special challenges of public governance, state boards can effectively serve as beacons of policy. An effective board is driven by effective members whatever its structure, and effective members are committed to a shared agenda and the larger project of providing direction for a state's…

Research using school discipline and infraction data has contributed to public policy conversations by helping elucidate the effects of and disproportionate experience of school disciplinary outcomes. This research brief presents results from an analysis of the public availability of such data from state departments of education. Findings suggest…

Advances in state education data systems are helping schools understand and meet the needs of learners from early education through college and the workforce. Each state has adhered to key principles for protecting student data privacy. In the report "Lessons in Data Privacy for Education Leaders. Policy Guide," (ED625423) leading…

Arising from a research-based, comprehensive school transformation strategy, community schools organize in- and out-of-school resources and supports such as mental health services, meals, health care, tutoring, internships, and other learning and career opportunities to fit specific community needs. Through this strategy, students, families,…

The potential of artificial intelligence (AI) is not yet known, but is expected to impact most aspects of our lives and work in the next 20 years. AI will be able to help solve complex problems, help with investment and business development, support medical and health care, and substantially impact the field of education. State education agencies…

Using the theoretical framework of interest convergence, this document analysis explores the legacy of Lau v. Nichols as a gateway to instructional programs for classified English learners in the state of Massachusetts that maintain the hegemony of English as the primary goal of schooling. Findings reveal that interest convergence is an organizing…

The potential of artificial intelligence (AI) is not yet known, but the technology is expected to impact most aspects of our lives and work in the next 20 years. AI will be able to help solve complex problems, help with investment and business development, support medical and health care, and substantially impact the field of education. State…

The Forum is pleased to present the "Forum Guide to Student Learning Data During Pandemic School Closures and Beyond." The purpose of this resource is to review how local education agencies (LEAs) and state education agencies (SEAs) changed their approaches to collecting and using student data during the pandemic and how they are working…

In recent years, policymakers and scholars argued that state education agencies (SEAs) should move away from simply acting as compliance monitors and take on more prominent roles as providers of technical support to schools and school districts. Scholars find that SEAs have struggled to do so, yet there is little empirical work to explain what…

State education leaders and entities play vital, if not always highly visible, roles in establishing high-quality professional learning. Through legislation and regulations, resource allocation, leadership support, and more, they establish a vision of professional learning and support its implementation in districts and schools. In particular,…

Maine Department of Education (MDOE) developed a Whole Student Approach (WSA) framework in summer 2022 to help MDOE offices, district leaders, and educators operationalize the main tenets of the WSA framework. This framework sought to support education leaders in aligning priority initiatives, policies, and resources in service of the WSA. Region…

Linguistic diversity is an integral thread in the tapestry of America. As such researchers how linguistic differences across ethnoracial groups can be understood as resources rather than problems. The aim of this study was to examine ideologies concerning race/ethnicity and language in the discourse of educational language policies that guide…

While recent research provides insights into how district and school leaders responded to the extraordinary disruptions created by the COVID-19 pandemic, less is known about the role of influential state-level education leaders during the crisis. In this paper, we draw on interviews with state leaders to examine their efforts to support students'…