The world of student loans and debt forgiveness for teachers is a patchwork of overlapping programs, contradictory regulations, and expensive subsidies that date back to Dwight D. Eisenhower's signing of the National Defense Education Act of 1958. The 60-year experiment in using federal loan dollars to encourage students to become teachers could…

Context: Sexual harassment is a growing concern in higher education. Athletic training students should feel safe in their programs, whether in the didactic or clinical setting. Though the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education creates standards to keep the students safe, there are none regarding sexual harassment training for…

For middle schools to fully achieve their goals, it is important for them to be staffed with teachers who understand the unique developmental needs of young adolescents and are specifically prepared to meet those needs. Middle school leaders have long been advocates of specialized teacher preparation and licensure; however, the current terrain of…

Policymakers and practitioners often must balance distributing resources equitably and efficiently while being accountable for high student achievement. This paper focuses on these concepts as they relate to English learners and examines equity and efficiency in Minnesota's educational funding from 2003 through 2011, the years spanning…

It is the position of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) that to optimize student health, safety, and learning, a professional registered school nurse (hereinafter referred to as school nurse) be present all day, every day. The American Academy of Pediatrics' Council on School Health (2016) highlights the important role school nurses…

In 2013, North Carolina's political power balances shifted with the election of a Republican governor, Pat McCrory, and a Republican super-majority in the General Assembly. This shift in political power allowed for more conservative legislation to be introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly. Some of the newly proposed legislation,…

Effective in 2011, The Department of Justice implemented a change to the direct threat standard, which is part of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This change removed the threat of harm to self from the direct threat standard and potentially limits the actions that colleges can take when working with and responding to students who…

This resource was prepared in response to a request from a Race to the Top -- Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) State for a high-level summary of the March 2016 research brief, "Coordinated Monitoring Systems for Early Care and Education" (see ED583970), prepared by Child Trends for the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation…

With the federal government's expanding role in K-12 public education, this study examines how the government's role led to the passage of the Illinois Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA). PERA made changes to Article 24A of the School Code, specifically the section that deals with teacher performance evaluation. PERA created a public school…

Competency-based education is a next generation learning model that focuses on all students achieving mastery, preparing them for success in college, careers and civic life. State leaders can support policy for K-12 competency-based education to help all students succeed. This iNACOL Issue Brief provides an overview of competency-based education,…

Across the country, states are working to develop the plans required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the latest reauthorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. One area of ESSA--Part A of Title II--is specifically focused on "preparing, training, and recruiting high-quality teachers, principals, or…

Guided pathways are emerging as a strategy to help students complete a credential in a timely manner by encouraging or requiring them to select a program, and develop a degree plan or map, on a specified timeline. At a minimum, institutions may ask students to identify a meta-major, which is a broad area of academic programs with related courses…

The United States democratic system includes characteristics of capitalism as well as socialism. Perhaps the most socialistic endeavor of the US is its K-12 public school system; in fact, US public schools are necessary for democracy to thrive and to create an educated and well-informed populace. However, capitalism and socialism are strange…

Open-enrollment policies allow students to transfer from one public school to another of their choice. While open-enrollment policies involve students transferring to another school or district, the specifics of these policies vary significantly across states. States' open-enrollment policies may allow for voluntary or mandatory participation at…

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) added four new data elements related to the local education agency (LEA) Maintenance of Effort (MOE) provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the MOE Reduction and Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) data collection. This resource, produced by The IDEA Data…