Each state participates in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which prescribes certain types of activities and organizational structures for states to direct federal investments in workforce development. Participation in WIOA requires a state to create a workforce investment board with duties such as developing, implementing and…

Measures of student growth offer a richer understanding of student performance than a moment-in-time test score alone, but measures of student growth are not created equal. In their accountability plans for implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), some states are using a sophisticated analysis of multiple data points that evaluate the…

In 1994, Congress passed and President Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-322), which, among other things, made prisoners ineligible for Pell Grants. However, concerns about the financial and social costs of the growing prison population combined with concerns about the recidivism rate of released…

Youth apprenticeship programs can give students access to valuable work-based learning experiences that provide insights into how their interest can connect to education and the workforce. Although these programs are often beneficial for participants, there is little data to show the programmatic landscape and impact. There are many challenges…

Virtual learning is a rapidly growing space in education policy, driven by state leaders seeking to maximize potential for instructional innovation, prepare students for life in the digital age and meet students' unique needs. Virtual learning takes a variety of forms, including full-time virtual schools, supplemental course offerings and blended…

HB5 of 2013 eliminated many end of course exams and lowered the course-taking requirements for many high school students. What were the main consequences? College readiness as measured by high school exams dropped precipitously. However high-school course-taking patterns were largely unchanged. The goal of the research project presented in this…

In 2015, the United States Congress replaced the "No Child Left Behind Elementary and Secondary Act" with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (P.L. 114-95), which identifies health and physical education as key components of a well-rounded education (Cooper, Greenberg, Castelli, Barton, Martin & Morrow, 2016). This followed a…

As the free college debate continues to gain momentum in states across the country, advocates' and policymakers' growing success in reframing access to college as a guaranteed benefit raises the question: Should federal or state governments do more to ensure that guarantee includes access to quality job training programs more generally, and if so,…

Almost 7 million children aged 3 to 21 received special education services under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in school year 2016-17. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review parents' use of the Individuals with IDEA dispute resolution options. This report examines (1) how often IDEA…

Research has begun to investigate whether teachers and schools are as effective with certain student subgroups as they are with the overall student population. Most of this research has examined the issue by trying to produce causal estimates of school contributions to short-term student growth (usually using value-added models) and has emphasized…

Amidst political and educational challenges, LGBTQ+ educators in the Southern United States often conceal their identities. Through the lens of ecological systems theory, we propose that inconsistent pedagogical paradigms create a sense of liminality for these LGBTQ+ stakeholders. This study of four school personnel highlights the silencing of…

Health coverage rates among undergraduate and graduate students have increased since the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010, from an estimated 81 percent in 2010 to 92 percent in 2022, according to GAO's analysis of Census data. However, as of 2022, an estimated 1.6 million students still lacked coverage, including…

With the 2025 executive order, "Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling," the Trump administration reestablished the 1776 Commission, which produced "The 1776 Report." This article argues that this report, which is an unsubtle response to The 1619 Project, reveals how White Christian Nationalists wish to mandate that a…

Senate Bill 19-190 created the Teacher Mentor Grant Program within the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE). The purpose of this program is to provide funding to educator preparation programs (EPP) that partner with local education providers (LEP), including school districts, boards of cooperative services, and charter schools to provide…

In April 2022, HB22-1255, "Concerning Measures to Improve Postsecondary Education Outcomes for Students with Disabilities" was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis. This is the second statewide report to include data on students with disabilities (SWDs). This year would have been the first year for which additional student outcomes…