A small, but growing, number of states have legislation that protects the conscience of parents by allowing them to opt out of teaching practices and content. Most notably, HB 542 in New Hampshire allows parents to opt their children out of the teaching of any material or through any pedagogical style that they find "objectionable" to…

A modern form of abuse of children by parents and foster parents is to use the identity of children in their care for their own financial benefit, such as accessing their unused social security numbers to secure credit. This article reviews examples and implications of this identity theft.

This article explores the "afterward" for qualitative research in the ruins of NCLB and its failure to deliver. In the space opened up "after" the dominance of the gold standard bullying and "metric mania" of neo-positivism, I articulate a post-retirement project on the weight of sports in U.S. secondary schools out…

In this introduction we reflect on two key questions that initiated this special issue on qualitative inquiry: What can qualitative researchers do to regain their post-paradigm-wars cache? How do we avoid distracting "science wars" in the future? We suggest that the strong tendency to narrow the research methods accepted as…

Individualized Education Program (IEP) Facilitation is an optional process, not required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), that state educational agencies (SEA) or school districts may provide to parents and schools. The goal of a Facilitated IEP meeting is to develop an IEP that is supported by team members and benefits…

Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 USC §§11431-11435, 2001; hereafter referred to as "The McKinney-Vento Act"), reauthorized in 2001 by Title X, Part C of the No Child Left Behind Act, guarantees a child or youth identified as homeless the right to attend either the school of origin or the local attendance…

This paper examines how public school districts responded to Michigan's 2012 "right-to-work" law. It describes the key findings from reviews of more than 500 teacher collective bargaining agreements. It also raises several questions about the legality of some union contracts with regard to this new law. Approximately 75 percent of…

This brief is one in a series highlighting state policies, regulations, practices, laws, or other tools intended to create the necessary conditions for school and/or district turnaround. Each brief includes an overview of the relevant turnaround tool, its development process, its impact, and lessons learned that could assist other education…

The 18th edition of "The State of Preschool," the National Institute for Early Education Research's (NIEER) report on the annual survey of state preschool policies, includes information for every state on child enrollment, funding, staffing, and quality standards. It also includes information about where children are served, preschool…

In the report, "Addressing Education Inequality with a Next Generation of Community Schools: A Blueprint for Mayors, States, and the Federal Government" (ED614128) the Brookings Institution's Task Force on Next Generation Community Schools recommends the transformation of U.S. schools into community schools. This executive summary of the…

Early presidents of the American Educational Research Association were leaders in the testing movement. Their intentions were to improve education by means of testing, which included both IQ and achievement tests. Early measurement experts acknowledged in scholarly articles that IQ tests could not measure inherited ability of groups with vastly…

For the past 30 years, the dropout rate for students with emotional disturbance has hovered around 50%, a rate substantially higher than the dropout rate for students with other disabilities and the general population. This systematic review evaluated the literature published between 1990 and 2013 on the effectiveness of dropout prevention and…

Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) early intervention services utilizes a family-based model of support for families of infants and toddlers with disabilities. Family-based services stem from the research of parent-child interactions as the primary means for developmental growth. This article will advocate strategies…

From 2006 to 2012, Florida Statute §1003.4156 required middle school students to complete electronic personal education planners (ePEPs) before promotion to ninth grade. The ePEP helped them identify programs of study and required high school coursework to accomplish their postsecondary education and career goals. During the same period Florida…

High-stakes testing accountability has wreaked havoc on America's public schools. Since the passage of NCLB in 2001, virtually every public school student has experienced the pressures of preparing for, practicing, and taking standardized state exams, the results of which have had significant consequences for their schools, teachers, and…