California's education data, at least as they currently are collected, managed, and made available, are not sufficient for understanding and addressing the needs of California's students. That's the conclusion of the first three reports in the series "California Education Policy, Student Data, and the Quest to Improve Student Progress,"…

This essay discusses the contentious events leading to the decision by the University of California's Board of Regents to end affirmative action in admissions, hiring and contracting at the university in July 1995. This controversial decision provided momentum for California's passage of Proposition 209 the following year ending "racial…

In 2013, the Texas Legislature gave the state commissioner of education the broad statutory authority necessary to close poor performing public charter schools. Since then, the commissioner has vigorously exercised this new authority, preparing the way for the state to shift its resources away from enforcement and toward creation and support of…

It is the position of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) that school districts develop written medication administration policies and procedures that focus on safe and efficient medication administration at school by a registered professional school nurse (hereinafter referred to as school nurse). Policies should include prescription…

The purpose of this article is to offer a theory-to-practice-based approach to promoting equal status for all students in GPE classes by implementing disability sports in the GPE curriculum. Teaching disability sports is an appropriate means of promoting inclusion and establishing a more differentiated and comprehensive GPE curriculum. This…

Learning Forward's Data standard advocates using data from a variety of sources and types--including student, educator, and system data--to plan, assess, and evaluate professional learning. This presents several challenges, beginning with the emphasis on a variety of sources and types. The pressures of No Child Left Behind have focused American…

This article discusses the importance of politics in the lives of physical educators. Politics affects many decisions that are made about physical education programs (PEPs). In public schools, politics can affect the number of certified physical education teachers, available facilities, class sizes, and number of days per week that students go to…

Special education teachers have a professional obligation to advocate for students with disabilities to ensure students receive a meaningful, individualized education. However, there are potential risks teachers may face when attempting to advocate. Given that effective strategies for advocacy are not always included in special education…

The placement of English language learners (ELLs) in mainstream classrooms raises important questions about the preparation of mainstream teachers to work with ELLs. Grounded by the conviction that well-prepared teachers can make a difference in student learning, and informed by current views on teacher learning and by teacher preparation…

This report, based on a winter/spring 2013 survey of 40 Common Core State Standards-adopting states, examines state education agency (SEA) officials' views on the federal role in implementing the standards. The report finds that, although a direct federal role in implementing the Common Core State Standards has been controversial, a majority of…

Administration of post-secondary correctional education (PSCE) programs within state was vastly changed through legislation enacted in 2009. This study examined the transition of a PSCE system formerly facilitated by higher education to the current system administered by the State Department of Corrections (SDC). This qualitative case study…

The Race to the Top and the School Improvement Grant programs provide resources to States to implement significant interventions to turn around their persistently lowest achieving schools. Implementation of school turnaround is a complex effort; States, local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools often engage outside experts and providers of…

As educators move into a new era of educational reform, it becomes imperative that teachers use evidence-based instructional practices shown to be effective for students with disabilities. One area that plays a role in this process is secondary transition. The National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center has identified 63…

Remarks by the Minister for Education and Skills underscore the accountability that public institutions and the teaching profession carry for assuring the success of the nation's education enterprise. This article challenges assumptions about the nature of education that are critical to the accountability and testing regimens currently in favor…

This article reviews the political and empirical record within music education surrounding the Goals 2000: Educate America Act and reports a new study evaluating the effects of the law on music and arts education policies in U.S. high schools. School-level data (N = 670 schools) from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 and the…