Federal and state policies increasingly call upon community and technical colleges to collaborate with industry and other outside stakeholders in order to improve career and technical education programs. We apply a framework from the public administration literature to understand how these collaborations are built. Using data from in-depth…

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many districts sought digital learning solutions to recover from learning loss, improve equity, and prepare for future interruptions. With this paper, we aim to provide information to policymakers and legislators regarding the value of resources needed to successfully implement comprehensive digital learning…

Several states, including Texas, have implemented an "excess semester credit hours (ESCH)" policy. State ESCH policies assess a fee to students at public institutions when they exceed a set number of lifetime cumulative credit hours (e.g. students with more than the 120 credit hours needed for a bachelor's degree). In this article, we…

Much attention has been focused on the importance of providing physical and mental health services to students in educational environments in recent years. Millions of students receive school-based health services, and for many students, schools are their first and only option to receive health care. State policymakers have a lot to consider in…

The education students deserve starts with great and diverse teachers. But while many states have made impressive progress on diversifying the teacher workforce, that progress could be at risk. This is because school districts commonly use seniority--"Last In, First Out," or LIFO--to determine which teachers to lay off. But LIFO is not…

We study the impact of a bonus policy implemented by Hawai'i Public Schools starting in fall 2020 that raised the salaries of all special education teachers in the state by $10,000. We estimate that the introduction of this policy reduced the proportion of vacant special education teaching positions by 32%, or 1.2 percentage points, and the…

To bridge the digital divide and fully leverage digital resources, this toolkit identifies four key policy areas for state leaders to focus on: (1) Access and infrastructure policies and best practices ensure states identify students' needs, effectively leverage funds and develop sustainable models for connectivity and device access; (2) As…

Over the past decade, states and school districts have acted on research findings that the use of out-of-school suspension has run counter to the goals of education equity and achievement. Legislatures, as well as state and local boards of education, worked hard to shift school discipline practices through statutory and regulatory mandates and…

This study reports on state-level data in Rhode Island on employment and non-work activities of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities receiving services between 2011 and 2017. The goal was to examine the complex patterns of change over time in individual-level employment outcomes and the potential short-term impacts of a consent…

The "50-State Comparison: State Policies on Postsecondary Tuition Setting, Capping and Freezing" details the highest level of policy, by state, that addresses the authority to set tuition for the four-year and two-year public sectors. This resource shows whether a state law, rule or regulation requires a tuition cap or freeze for…

Following a high-quality early care and pre-K experience, the kindergarten-through-third-grade years set the foundation upon which future learning builds; and strengthening this continuum creates opportunities for later success. Key components of a quality experience in K-3 include school readiness and transitions, kindergarten requirements,…

Following a high-quality early care and pre-K experience, the kindergarten-through-third-grade years set the foundation upon which future learning builds; and strengthening this continuum creates opportunities for later success. Key components of a quality experience in K-3 include school readiness and transitions, kindergarten requirements,…

In most states kindergarten entry assessments (KEA) are employed primarily to inform parents and teachers. KEAs can serve as a key indicator of child development at formal school entry to inform education, but also could serve as a baseline for assessing progress in the early grades. However, their usefulness for this purpose is limited because…

This interactive resource provides a comprehensive summary of the various entities that make up postsecondary governance ecosystems in each state and the District of Columbia. It also: (1) Focuses on and provides in-depth information about statewide coordinating boards/agencies and governing boards. If statewide boards do not exist, then…

In spite of all its realized and potential benefits, the rapid and extensive expansion of distance education requires renewed and strengthened attention to student consumer protection. Ensuring quality in distance education requires the careful and deliberate collaboration of many, including states, the federal government, accreditors, higher…