In this article, the authors trace the course of school discipline over the past 20 years and examine the status of school discipline reform today. They begin with an examination of zero-tolerance, suspension, and expulsion policies, as well as their assumptions and effects. They discuss alternatives that have been proposed and the guidance that…

Ensuring that students graduate high school prepared for college and careers has become a national priority in the last decade. To support this goal, states have adopted rigorous college and career readiness (CCR) standards in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics. Additionally, states have begun to require students to pass assessments, in…

The United States has faced stagnant postsecondary education degree completion rates for over a decade. When coupled with improved educational outcomes in other nations, the one-time world leader in higher education attainment has precipitously declined in standing internationally. Coupling this reality with the need for a more educated workforce…

States increasingly need a more highly skilled workforce to meet the requirements of businesses, keep up with a rapidly changing economy and accelerate growth that leads to economic opportunity for workers and families. As a result, governors recognize that their role is to bring together education, workforce and economic development as talent…

Applying for financial aid can be a complicated, time-consuming endeavor for students and their families. Fortunately, many state aid programs have taken strides to align aid applications to the form used for federal aid programs, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), making state aid more readily accessible. New conversations…

At the federal level, leaders can promote policies that reduce burdens on states, encourage collaboration across agencies, and help build the capacity of stakeholders to use data while ensuring the privacy of student information. The annual "Data for Action" survey measures states' progress toward achieving the 10 State Actions to Ensure…

Regular attendance is essential to succeeding in school, and chronic absence--missing excessive amounts of school for any reason--can cause students to be off track academically. Developed in partnership with Attendance Works, this fact sheet analyzes data from the "Data for Action 2013" survey to discuss how states use data to monitor…

State education leaders are committed to providing leadership to ensure that all students have access to personalized, engaging learning experiences supported by digital instructional materials and resources. With the transformation to digital learning, more and more states are enacting policies and guidelines to support the implementation and…

Opportunities for youth participation in city and state elections, such as those occurring in Maryland and Illinois, are becoming a part of the policymaker's toolkit to create engaged citizens and lifelong voters. This report reviews new efforts by state and city leaders to encourage youth voting within their boundaries. Key takeaways in this…

Signed under the Obama administration, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) grants a working permit to those who entered the U.S. before age 16, allowing students to enroll at institutions of higher education and join the military. In June 2017, the head of the Department of Homeland Security, John Kelly said that the DACA program would…

As states continue to grapple with the most appropriate ways to hold schools accountable under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), there is a lack of consensus on how alternative settings should fit into accountability systems and whether those systems should be separate from or included in accountability systems for traditional schools. The…

Discussion of alternative education is growing across the country as states and districts look for ways to better serve students whose needs are not met in traditional high school settings. Alternative settings, however, vary greatly in how they operate, whom they aim to enroll, and the methods they use to educate students. The variation of…

The Maryland Higher Education Commission (the Commission) coordinates the overall growth and development of postsecondary education in Maryland. The Commission is charged with producing a State Plan for Higher Education (the Plan) every four years. (Annotated Code of Maryland, Education Article §11-105) The Plan shall identify: (1) The present and…

This report offers state leaders key areas for action to continue progress in implementing evaluation systems, even as federal policies on teacher evaluation relax state requirements. The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) offers its current best thinking for how state agencies can make the smartest use of funds, time and partners to refine…

In 2012, there were an estimated 11.2 million undocumented individuals living in the United States. The peak of unauthorized immigrant population occurred in 2007 with 12.2 million, a stark rise from original estimates of 3.5 million in 1990. Although down from its peak, a sizeable and stable population of unauthorized individuals resides in the…