In her 2024 State of the State address, New York Governor Kathy Hochul introduced the Top 10% Promise, a policy offering New York students ranked in the top 10% of their high school class direct admission to the State University of New York (SUNY) system. "Access to higher education," she said, "has the potential to transform the…

On September 1, 2021, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 8 (SB8), prohibiting abortions after six weeks gestation and allowing private citizens to file lawsuits against anyone who either performs or "aids and abets" an abortion after this point. To understand the broad impacts of SB8 on Texas medical students' experiences and…

Fifty years after the Supreme Court issued its ruling in "San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez," the trajectory of school finance desegregation has shifted from expansive federal hopes to narrower state efforts. Attempts to address many of the disparities continue to be constrained by the complex and intersecting nature…

Introduction: This study examined potential legal precedent set by holdings in administrative due process hearings where instruction in the expanded core curriculum (ECC) for school-age children was decided. Methods: This study used an analogical reasoning approach. This legal research method includes examining the rule of law, presenting cases…

Undocumented college students in the United States encounter a number of structural barriers to postsecondary education success, including disparate in-state resident tuition (ISRT) policies across the country. Texas, the first state to establish ISRT benefits for undocumented college students, has been a site of tension respective to this issue…

Monetary sanctions, also known as legal financial obligations (LFOs), are a highly consequential yet underexplored element of the criminal legal system. LFOs consist of fines, fees, costs, restitution, surcharges, and other financial penalties that are imposed on individuals when they encounter the criminal legal system. Drawing on data from a…

Education is the value proposition that provides individuals the opportunity to become meaningful contributors to society, their community, and their immediate families. It is the calling card of personal achievement and individual intrinsic benefits. Education is about access and opportunity. Institutions continue to navigate strategies of access…

Through case studies of five states with varying facilities policies, the study presented in "What about the Schools? Factors Contributing to Expanded State Investment in School Facilities" examines the factors contributing to expanded state investment in equitable public school facilities and how those factors can be leveraged to…

Beginning in 2018, the Texas Commission on Public School Finance, comprised of 13 members inside and outside of the legislature, will begin the task of studying and making recommendations to improve the school finance system. This five-part series prepares readers to engage with lawmakers and the school finance commission by providing background…

Beginning in 2018, the Texas Commission on Public School Finance, comprised of 13 members inside and outside of the legislature, will begin the task of studying and making recommendations to improve the school finance system. This five-part series prepares readers to engage with lawmakers and the school finance commission by providing background…

"Guns on Campus: The Architecture and Momentum of State Policy Action" offers a detailed summary of state legislative action and higher education system policy decisions that have occurred in two specific categories: (1) States that have permitted or are seeking to permit guns on campus; and (2) States that have prohibited or are seeking…

Texas has one of the largest primary and secondary school systems in the United States. Funding equity has been a concern in the state courts, and significant legislative actions have been taken. We examine two votes taken in the Texas State Legislature in 1993 and 2006 that follow the directives from a series of education finance equity legal…

The purpose of this Equity Brief is to provide some guidance for educators with regard to the challenges around supporting undocumented students in the midst of uncertain times and continued concerns surrounding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Many youth in the DACA Program have made the United States their home and have lived in…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Education Policy." Contents include: (1) Exciting Advances for Emergent…

The purpose of the study was to broaden awareness of legislative intentions associated with a State's facilities funding policy (Texas' Instructional Facilities Allotment, IFA). Recognizing the politically contested nature of school funding, arguments in support and against investing in facilities appear equally replete. Be that as it may, some…