The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015 offers several opportunities to support rural education by providing states and local districts more flexibility while preserving the critical role of the federal government. ESSA maintains Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP), which represents a dedicated stream of exible federal formula funding…

As the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015 moves forward, the overuse of exclusionary discipline practices in schools, and the role such practices play in perpetuating the school-to-prison pipeline, deservedly continue to garner national attention. Under these harsh practices, children are suspended and expelled from…

On December 10, 2015, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, legislation to rewrite the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). ESSA replaces the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the previous version of ESEA, and also supersedes the ESEA waivers created by the U.S. Department of Education to provide states…

More Latino students are attending college than ever before, bringing urgency to remove financial barriers that stand in the way of their academic goals and the promise of the American Dream. As the fastest-growing group within the national and postsecondary population, Latinos are vital to our nation's prosperity and progress. Seal of…

This brief examines how California is aligning education and training opportunities for people who are currently or formerly incarcerated. It is the first report in our series "Reconnecting Justice in the States," which will explore coordinated justice, education, and workforce policy and practice at the state level. It is part of…

Challenges confront lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and transgender public school teachers or those who are perceived as such or who desire to be open about their sexual orientations or gender identities or expression. Teachers who do not conform to gender and sexual orientation norms currently are and historically have been the subject of…

Clinicians uniformly recommend accommodations for college students with learning disabilities; however, we know very little about which accommodations they select and the validity of their recommendations. We examined the assessment documentation of a large sample of community college students receiving academic accommodations for learning…

A recently filed lawsuit in Compton, California ("Peter P. et al. v. Compton Unified School District," 2015) has been making national news. The lawsuit highlights the prevalence of trauma exposure, particularly among underserved youth, as well as the need for school-wide, trauma-informed practices to enhance resiliency among students and…

In the past, universities did not offer equal opportunities for students with disabilities. Therefore, the principle of transitioning to higher education for students with disabilities was inscribed in legislation. This paper analyzes some legal provisions governing students with disabilities. The present study is essential for recognizing the…

Academic freedom is a universal right in the work and lives of citizens. Academic freedom at institutions of higher education not only refers to the freedoms enjoyed by university faculty members and scholars in teaching, research, and publishing of their views and findings, but furthermore encompasses the freedom to learn enjoyed by students. The…

This article discusses the current contradictory policies surrounding the push for phonics instruction in Texas schools. Focusing on this current iteration of the reading wars, this article seeks to help teachers develop a historical context for reading instruction, review existing research on learning to read, and turn that knowledge into…

Simulation pedagogies, while offering powerful potential benefits to students, often have difficulty in combining two desirable outcomes: experiencing the consequential stakes associated with true crisis situations, on the one hand, with the direct relatability associated with more "realistic" hands-on scenarios, on the other. In this…

After the partition of Ireland, the newly established parliament in Belfast was given control over education. The unionist government, mainly representing the majoritarian Protestant population, embarked on a reform of the pre-existing denominational education system and tried to persuade all the churches to transfer their schools to state control…

In this study, we argue that vocational education and training in Spain have increased their status and value over the past four decades at a steady and consistent pace. This pace has been perhaps too slow for the wishes of some but has been properly grounded on a wide consensus among all involved stakeholders (companies, union representatives and…

For the first time in the history of the State of the States, all 50 states will be represented with entries this year. A number of state legislatures are working to provide public education the necessary fiscal support to provide students with a high quality 21st century education, or restore funding levels for public education to pre-Great…