The purpose of this study was to examine the presence of continuous improvement and improvement science in the Consolidated State Plans required by ESSA. Through an exploratory qualitative content analysis, we examined 52 state plans to determine the extent education policies encourage professional educators to use a continuous improvement and…

Restraint and seclusion (R/S) are practices employed by schools to address severe student behavior. Although the use of R/S has been shown to have harmful impact for students, staff, and schools, there is no federal law that addresses its use in schools. A lack of a universal approach leaves each state to determine its own legislation and policy.…

In 2009, the Lumina Foundation published "A Stronger Nation through Higher Education: How and Why Americans Must Meet a 'Big Goal' for College Attainment," which projected a staggering shortfall of college-educated adults to meet labor market demand--16 million nationally by 2025. Like many states, the Illinois P-20 Council quickly…

Transparency is a fundamental trait that teachers must exhibit in their district and on their campus in order to understand the mission and goals of the district and campus. Educators need proper training and guidance from district and campus leaders to establish a collective efficacy for the benefit of student success. As school districts find…

State governments have the purview to interpret federal special education policies as they see fit. Interpretations of these policies to music education rarely are addressed within state special education policy. The authors selected four states to analyze and compare state special education policies; Illinois, Michigan, Texas, and Virginia.…

This study aimed to explore how University Liaisons respond to homelessness on their campus. With new federal and state laws being enacted, little research focuses on the policies, programs, and services at universities. Community Colleges tend to be a more attractive option for homeless youth due to the low cost; however, universities are also…

An array of federal, state, and local laws and policies come into play when situations arise that could compromise student safety. These laws and district policies combine to form an intricate and sometimes inconsistent patchwork of protocols that schools must follow. Robert Kim discusses the interplay between federal, state, and local laws…

The Arizona state legislature has aimed to pass a series of bills banning those in schools from teaching topics associated with inclusion, social justice, and equity. Since 2020, the legislature has targeted teaching 'critical race theory' (CRT), often (mis)using the term to refer to any ideas related to systemic discrimination and racial…

The administration of campus climate surveys has proliferated across the United States at institutions of higher education to help respond to sexual misconduct. This study reviews existing state legislation related to campus climate surveys and compares it to the recent federal mandate outlined in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of…

The Massachusetts Innovation Schools initiative authorized educators to operate with increased autonomy and flexibility. This descriptive case study examines the early experiences of teachers in one innovation school. We explore the innovations teachers leveraged to build capacity, with particular attention to how they enacted teacher leadership…

The necessity of a college degree is irrefutable. However, the path to college for undocumented students can be crowded with boulders, steep walls, or altogether non-existent. Drawing on interviews with 25 undocumented Latina/o students and 5 years (2012-2017) of school ethnography, I show that their college-going experiences are framed by the…

Senate Bill (SB) 1882 partnerships, codified into Texas state law in 2017, are the latest iteration of portfolio management models (PMMs) in elementary and secondary education. PMMs aim to overhaul the current governance structure of public education, granting autonomy over critical areas of school operations to school operators, while using the…

In 2021, Illinois became the first state in the United States to require that K-12 students learn about Asian American history. Illinois achieved this when lawmakers passed House Bill 376 (H.B. 376), colloquially known as the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (TEAACH) Act. H.B. 376 received praise for being the first legislation…

As policy debates concerning LGBTQ+ students and staff continue across the American education system, there is not a clear description of the prevalence of local policy protections, even in states with legislative mandates, nor a strong understanding of how to expand reform initiatives. After conducting a document analysis of policies with a…

Background or Context: Federal and state reforms have expanded accountability systems for school districts, schools, and teachers. However, there is little evidence that the implementation of new teacher evaluation systems relying on measures of student learning and measures of teaching practice, with differentiated performance categories and…