In 2009 President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Dragoset, et al., 2017). The Recovery Act served as the financial umbrella which helped to allocate $3 billion to fund School Improvement Grants to support states and school districts in championing original, innovative programs as well as to hire staff to…

In its 2019 report, "Beyond the Border: Family Separation in the Trump Era," UnidosUS demonstrates how the current trajectory of the nation's immigration policies is threatening the future of an entire generation of American children. This issue brief on Illinois is part of a series that builds on this analysis by exploring the stakes at…

In 1995, California officially adopted standards-based reforms for public education when the Governor signed the Leroy Greene California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act into law. The legislation called for a new state system of standards-based tests and created the Academic Standards Commission to develop content and performance standards…

The existence of persistent postconcussion symptoms (PPCS) is controversial, and there is ongoing debate as to whether the etiology of PPCS is psychogenic or physiogenic. In addition, there is a lack of agreement on diagnostic definitions of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and concussion and the terms are used interchangeably in the research…

Typically, child characteristics such as IQ and severity of autism symptoms are thought to determine educational placement. The present study examines external factors, including state of residence and state funding formulas, to determine their potential influence on placement outcomes. Findings reveal that considerable variations exist among…

The Federal Pell Grant program has made education possible for many Americans. It has also helped establish the norm of public responsibility for widespread access to higher education. This essay reviews the growth of the Pell Grant program over time and its current characteristics. It then details some innovations with the potential to increase…

The educational reform movement in the United States has resulted in a variety of states moving toward a system of value-added modeling (VAM) to measure a teacher's contribution to student achievement. Recently, many states have begun using VAM scores as part of a larger system to evaluate teacher performance. In the past decade, only "core…

This qualitative case study examines the challenges facing rural secondary schools in transitioning youth from high school to post-secondary education and careers, and whether the interventions, strategies and support built into the Early College High School could offer a solution to this long-standing challenge to better meet the needs of special…

Fifty years after the U.S. Congress passed the 1964 Civil Rights Act (CRA), Native Americans continue to fight for the right "to remain an Indian" (Lomawaima & McCarty, 2006) against a backdrop of test-driven language policies that threaten to destabilize proven bilingual programs and violate hard-fought language rights protections…

This article provides an overview of research carried out with early school-leavers in four Youthreach centres in the West of Ireland. It offers progressive perspectives on links between early school leaving and mental health related issues. In particular the participants' stories reveal that their mainstream schooling experiences had a damaging…

Summer learning loss creates a permanent drag on the US education system. With the generous support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) developed "Moving Summer Learning Forward: A Strategic Roadmap for Funding in Tough Times" to provide out-of-school time programs, school districts,…

Guardianship is a complicated legal concept, which is further complicated by differences from state to state in the framing and implementation of distinctly different forms. Few professionals explain the long-term consequences of obtaining guardianship or provide the range of alternatives available to support an adult with disabilities. This study…

Since its initial passage in 1975, parent involvement had been a cornerstone of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). However, parents face many barriers in voicing their concerns to professionals. One way for parents to share their insights and create systemic change is during an IDEA reauthorization. Yet, although the public is…

Despite the almost universal adoption of Response to Intervention (RTI) in school districts across the United States, recent research report feelings of inadequacy on the part of general education (GE) teachers. In this study, the authors conducted a systematic review of the literature to examine research focusing on the teaching, learning,…

This article provides a multipart analysis of the public schools' responsibility for students with concussions. The first part provides the prevailing diagnostic definitions of concussions and postconcussive syndrome. The second and central part provides (a) the legal framework of the two overlapping federal laws--the Individuals with Disabilities…