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School leaders, specifically principals, play a pivotal role in shaping student learning outcomes. The benefits of strong leaders extend beyond academic achievement, such as reductions in absenteeism and exclusionary discipline. While quality principals are critical for creating and sustaining quality schools, the staffing pipeline is facing significant challenges. In the context of these challenges, and recognizing the critical influence of effective leadership on student success, many states have recently enacted policies to better recruit, support and retain principals and other school leaders. This Policy Snapshot reviews trends in recent state legislation from 2022 to 2024 and highlights examples of both proposed and enacted laws in four key areas: (1) Certification and preparation; (2) Professional development; (3) Evaluation; and (4) Financial incentives and compensation.

The significant decrease in student achievement levels following the pandemic has become a pressing national problem, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts showed some of the sharpest academic achievement declines in the country. To assist schools in recovering from the pandemic, the federal government allocated three waves of funding through its Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) package. Massachusetts received over $2.9 billion in ESSER funding that districts have largely allocated for academic remediation programs, such as high-dosage tutoring, summer learning programs, and after-school remedial instruction. This paper reviews these short-term learning loss recovery interventions. Evidence from this review indicates that while these popular learning loss interventions are underpinned by a strong research base, they are difficult to extend to all students and may be unsustainable after one-time federal relief funding is exhausted. To consider long-run policy responses, this paper examines differentiated teacher compensation, permanently extended instructional time, family engagement programs, and college, career, and technical education initiatives as potential strategies for sustaining student success in Massachusetts. Research suggests that if well-designed, these approaches hold promise for not only supporting learning loss recovery efforts but also creating a foundation for continued academic growth over the long run.

Our classrooms haven't kept pace with innovation. The Ford Model T represented breakthrough technology in its day--more than 100 years ago--but it wouldn't serve us well today. Likewise, our traditional classroom model from the same era doesn't work well for far too many students and teachers. In fact, as a result of this outdated model, it is more difficult for schools to find and keep great teachers, which ultimately hurts student learning. It's time to reimagine the teaching role. Here's a guide for how to do it.

Since the peak of the pandemic in 2020, enrollment in virtual schools has steadily increased, with virtual schools now accounting for approximately 1.4% of the nation's public school students. While the effects of the pandemic on student achievement and mental health have been extensively studied, research has yet to thoroughly examine the impact of the pandemic on state policies and local organizational practices related to virtual schooling. Although some believed the onset of the pandemic would fundamentally reshape virtual schooling options in K-12 education, others were more skeptical, believing expanded virtual learning options were merely a temporary fix. This study examines whether the pandemic shaped virtual schooling at both the local and state levels, and if the changes made are likely to last and/or improve equity. The authors interviewed state and local education leaders and advocates, analyzed policy documents, websites, and media, observed legislative proceedings, and examined organizational practices in a sample of schools between 2019 and 2022 in Oregon. This state had an extensive history of virtual schooling before the pandemic, and enrollment continues to grow. The findings offer important lessons for policymakers and leaders to consider as the availability of virtual schools remains widespread across the country.

Jobs for the Future (JFF) is developing this state policy framework to outline the steps states can take toward fully adopting each of the Big Blur's four key components and creating a more effective system for grades 11-14. The Big Blur argues for the need to erase the arbitrary boundaries between high school, college, and careers and create one new system for grades 11-14. The model opens the opportunity for all students to start earning a postsecondary credential and preparing for career success in 11th grade. The framework describes a continuum of four types of state policy environments that states currently have or will experience on the road toward a fully reimagined system of education-to-career pathways that work for all students. The four policy environments are: (1) fragmented; (2) coordinated; (3) integrated; and (4) transformed. In the framework, JFF provides examples of how each of the key components of the Big Blur (incentives, alignment, governance, and staffing) evolves from a fragmented to a fully transformed state policy environment.

The current U.S. secondary education, postsecondary education, and workforce training systems are failing to serve the needs of many of today's students. Securing a good job with a family-sustaining wage increasingly requires workers to possess industry certifications, degrees, and credentials, but U.S. education systems are not set up to help enough students secure them. In addition, there are significant economic disruptions on the horizon that are going to have big implications for the future of education and work. Jobs for the Future's Big Blur vision calls for entirely new educational institutions and systems to better prepare 16-to-20-year-olds for college and careers. This paper examines new structures for teaching and learning to help states create more effective grade 11-14 schools and systems, with examples of promising state-level instructor models. This paper outlines new types of instructor preparation, accountability systems, and learning management structures that are needed to effectively serve the developmental needs of young people in grades 11-14 and the unified system envisioned in the Big Blur.

The Mastery-Based Learning Collaborative (MBLC) is a demonstration project taking place in 47 schools across Washington to help decision makers understand what quality mastery-based (or competency-based) learning looks like, how long it takes to implement, and what resources are necessary. The schools receive funding, coaching, and professional learning as part of a statewide network. In its first three years, the initiative has led to deeper Mastery-Based Learning (MBL) implementation and has shown positive impacts on early outcomes such as school climate, cultural responsiveness, and student engagement. Almost all school leaders said they would recommend the MBLC to other school leaders. The Aurora Institute is conducting a six-year evaluation of the MBLC to identify policies, practices, and system changes that can support successful mastery-based and culturally responsive learning. The report shares findings from the first three years of the first cohort of MBLC schools, based on extensive surveys and interviews of educators, school leaders, students, state leaders, and professional learning providers. This evaluation report offers insights and strategies for anyone working to shift K-12 schools, districts, and states toward more student-centered, equitable, and culturally responsive approaches.

In 2022, Maryland implemented a new initiative focused on removing degree requirements from state positions. This initiative opened over 19,000 jobs to more than 1.3 million individuals Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs)--such as community college, workforce training, or on-the-job experience--rather than through a bachelor's degree in the State of Maryland. Skills-based/skills-first hiring has since branched across the U.S., with 22 states opening more than 467,000 jobs to STARs across the nation. Following Maryland's announcement to remove degree requirements from state positions, the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) launched the Skills-Based Hiring Initiative in 2023. The focus of ACCT's initiative is to facilitate a pilot program in Maryland dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of skills-based hiring. ACCT partnered with Opportunity@Work, the State of Maryland, and four Maryland Community Colleges (Carroll Community College, Community College of Baltimore County, Frederick Community College, and Howard Community College). This brief serves as a review of lessons learned and recommendations from the Maryland pilot program for institutions, organizations, and state/local government agencies looking to partner to create pathways for STARs. This brief outlines the initial scope of the project and how ACCT had to pivot, along with challenges that were encountered, lessons learned along the way, and it highlights the project that has resulted in improved collaboration with a community college and a state agency that has had significant vacancy rates. [Opportunity@Work partnered with the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) to produce this report.]

School improvement is an iterative process through which districts and schools develop their capacity, implement and refine new policies and practices, and respond to new developments and needs over time. School improvement policy can also be considered an iterative process, with policy implementors learning from previous rounds of a policy. Michigan developed the Partnership Model for School and District Turnaround to provide support and accountability for its lowest-performing schools (i.e., Comprehensive Support and Improvement schools, or CSI schools). In November 2022, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) identified the current round (Round 4) of Partnership schools and districts. By the spring of 2023, Partnership districts outlined new improvement goals and accountability measures, and by fall of 2023 they developed improvement plans to meet those goals. Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, they began to implement those improvement plans. This report describes the goals and planning activities for Round 4 of Partnership schools and districts and analyzes the targets that they set, the accountability measures they selected, and the specific activities they planned to implement as part of their improvement efforts.

California's K-12 funding and instructional policies for English learners (ELs) have changed significantly over the past 2 decades, including new requirements for instructional materials specific to ELs statewide and a new school funding system that funds ELs at a higher rate. These major policy shifts held the potential to change student learning outcome patterns for ELs. This brief summarizes those policy changes and, as a first step in identifying their impact, describes changes over time in the development of academic skills and English proficiency among ELs in California. We find that English learners' academic achievement by 3rd grade has improved over time, shrinking the achievement gaps between K-cohort ELs and other students in English language arts (ELA) and math. We also find that more-recent cohorts of kindergarten ELs are reaching English proficiency on the California English Language Development Test (CELDT) in earlier grades than previous cohorts did. For the less recent cohorts who had reached Grade 5 by 2018-19, we find almost no change in the overall share who were proficient in English by the end of elementary school. We also find only half of kindergarten ELs were reclassified as English proficient by the end of elementary school in 2018-19.

Almost two-thirds (64%) of students who are considering dropping out of college cited emotional stress or personal mental health challenges as the reason--more than twice the percentage of those who cite the cost of attendance. The mental health crisis disproportionately impacts students of color, and there is also a critical lack of diversity in the health provider workforce. Given the severity of the mental health crisis on college campuses, higher education and government leaders may feel unsure about how to make a positive impact. This brief contains seven recommendations for higher education institutions and state policymakers that can contribute to a long-term strategy of improving institutional capacity to meet the mental health needs of today's college students.

This research uses the implementation of a school suspension ban in Maryland to test whether a top-down state-initiated ban on suspensions in early primary grades can influence school behavior regarding school discipline. Beginning in the fall of 2017, the State of Maryland banned the use of out-of-school suspensions for grades PK-2, unless a student posed an "imminent threat" to staff or students. This research investigates (1) what was the effect of the ban on discipline outcomes for students in both treated grades and upper elementary grades not subject to the ban? (2) did schools bypass the ban by coding more events as threatening or increasing the use of in-school suspensions? and (3) were there differential effects for students in groups that are historically suspended more often? Using a comparative interrupted time series strategy, we find that the ban is associated with a substantial reduction in, but not a total elimination of, out-of-school suspensions for targeted grades without substitution of in-school suspensions. Disproportionalities by race and other characteristics remain after the ban. Grades not subject to the ban experienced few effects, suggesting the ban did not trigger a schoolwide response that reduced exclusionary discipline.

We use frame analysis to analyze the first iteration of the Texas District of Innovation policy, which allows districts to take exemption from state education requirements mandating the hiring of a state certified teacher. We analyzed 451 district policies and find the plans use very similar, and sometimes identical, language to frame both the problem of teacher shortage and their proposed solutions, even though the districts may be geographically and demographically different. The districts most often propose two solutions to the certified teacher shortage, 1) flexibility and 2) local control over teacher certification decisions, including hiring unlicensed teachers and locally certified teachers.

As school systems work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, states continue to grapple with persistent teacher shortages, a lack of teachers of color in the workforce, and high turnover rates undermining recruitment efforts. Teachers' effectiveness and their likelihood of staying in teaching are strongly influenced by the quality of preparation they receive, and well-designed teacher residencies have been found to support both of these outcomes. Research suggests that teacher candidates who receive their preparation through teacher residencies--which combine comprehensive, financially supported preparation with a post-program service requirement--tend to be retained in their districts longer than other candidates, on average, thereby lowering rates of new teacher attrition and reducing the need to hire more new teachers. This research is based on the initial designs for residencies that guided the federal legislation on residencies and several early state adoptions. States and the federal government are seeking policy strategies to better recruit, prepare, and retain a qualified teacher workforce. To understand the growing evidence and policy landscape, this report begins with an overview of research on the teacher residency model and then describes state and federal policy trends and opportunities supporting teacher residencies. This includes a look across recent efforts in 12 states to fund and grow high-quality, research-aligned residencies: Arizona, California, Delaware, Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia.

Unlike vouchers and tax credit scholarships that do not allow parents to customize their children's education, Education savings accounts (ESAs) provide funding to pay for part-time classes at public and private schools, tutoring, curricula, services for special needs, and more. As navigating the opportunities that come with ESAs can be difficult, there is a growing movement to include "choice navigators" as an eligible expense in ESA programs, which can inform parents what educational opportunities are available and help tailor an education program for their children. This paper examines several key elements, including determining the types of navigation services that parents need in the changing education landscape; identifying best practices that states can adopt to simplify ESA navigation; tapping into the experiences of current ESA users and traditional homeschoolers; and deciding whether there are policies that can encourage an adequate supply of navigators without creating counterproductive rules.

An ongoing debate in K-12 education policy has been between the "reform" agenda, including charter schools and school vouchers, and advocates of traditional public schools, led by educator unions. A similar split has emerged in higher education, particularly community colleges. Using California as an example, this paper: 1) summarizes the evolution of the current political divide between advocates of the "completion and success" agenda and faculty-led opponents, including the major reforms involved, 2) discusses the claims that leading organizations on each side have made, including their policy priorities, and 3) argues that the two sides share do share some areas of mutual agreement. The paper concludes by noting future policy considerations that could complicate reform efforts.

Simplification of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) entails significant changes to the FAFSA and the methodology for determining eligibility for federal financial aid for the 2024-25 academic year. The changes to the FAFSA form that were mandated by the Simplification Act delayed implementation and shifted the timeline for release of the 2024-25 FAFSA from October to December 2023. This shift has also led to delays in processing the FAFSA. Through a partnership with the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs (NASSGAP), SHEEO initially convened 12 states from across the country (now expanded to 17 states) in 2022 to participate in a learning community. The learning community provided states with opportunities to examine the impact of FAFSA simplification on state financial aid programs and to take advantage of the open policy window to reconsider state financial aid policies and processes. Feedback from state members has confirmed that, despite the challenges and uncertainties around the rollout of the new FAFSA, states were as prepared as possible to implement the new FAFSA due in part to their participation in the learning community. As the first phase of the learning community concludes, SHEEO staff have conducted case-study interviews with state members of the learning community and the larger SHEEO membership. While all states have worked diligently to help students complete the new FAFSA, the four states selected -- Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana, and Minnesota -- were chosen to represent states that implemented successful strategies for taking advantage of the policy window (Minnesota), employing FAFSA completion initiatives (Alabama, Illinois, and Louisiana), and preparing for the new FAFSA (all states).

State summative assessments play an important role in measuring student learning and guiding educational improvement efforts, despite their limitations. But there is growing momentum in individual states and nationally to rethink these assessments with an eye toward reducing time spent on testing and increasing the tests' instructional relevance. "Multiple Choices: Weighing Updates to State Summative Assessments" helps policymakers and advocates understand what they may gain and what they may lose when considering potential shifts in assessments. The report examines several of the most common proposed changes -- including reducing test length, matrix sampling, student sampling, grade-band testing, performance assessment, and through-year assessment -- and summarizes the potential gains, losses, and unknowns of each. The report also offers recommendations for state policymakers, federal policymakers, and advocates working to ensure that summative assessments better address the needs of educators, families, and students.

Attracting and retaining high-quality teachers is a pressing policy concern. Increasing teacher salaries and creating more attractive compensation packages are often proposed as a potential solution. Signed into law in March 2023, the LEARNS Act increased Arkansas's minimum teacher salary from $36,000 to $50,000, guaranteed all teachers a minimum raise of $2,000, and added flexibility allowing school districts to deviate from seniority-based traditional salary schedules. To study school districts' adjustments to the new legislation, we collected information about districts' teacher compensation policies one year before and the first year of implementation. We also integrated this data with teachers' administrative records to study patterns of teacher retention and mobility. Our results reveal a more equitable distribution of starting teacher salaries across districts, with minimal variation. The LEARNS Act notably increased funding for rural and high-poverty districts, mitigating the negative association between starting salaries and district poverty rates. However, the initial effects on teacher retention and mobility were modest. While some positive trends emerged, such as reduced probabilities of teachers transitioning to non-instructional roles and increased new teacher placement in geographic areas of shortage, broader impacts on retention and mobility were limited in the first year of implementation.

In January 2024, UNCF's Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute (FDPRI) published "Adult Learner Initiative External Report," which outlined key findings and recommendations from an evaluation of the Adult Learner Initiative. To supplement and extend that work, Ascendium Education Group collaborated with FDPRI and Lumina Foundation to fund this portion of the evaluation, which centers Black, rural learners. Black, rural learners and other institutional actors at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in North Carolina experience rurality in varied ways. Despite institutional characteristics and geospatial locations that contribute to the unique identities of HBCUs, actors offered nuanced considerations about rurality. Faculty, staff, and students understood rurality in the context of environmental, financial, and social factors in addition to services and programs tailored to rural students. This report engages rural data landscapes, scholarship on rural students, and empirical research about adult learners at HBCUs to explore rurality. Our overall approach is threefold: First, the authors use place-based data categories and nomenclature to situate HBCUs within rural discourses. Second, the authors position institutional and statewide strategic plans as critical documents that help contextualize researchers' and institutional actors' conceptions of rurality. Third, the authors frame HBCU actors' voices about place as essential contextual components for understanding institutional and community cultures and differentiating between HBCU environments.

The diversity of California's teaching force continues to lag behind its student population. While students of Color make up 78% of the state's K-12 population, Teachers of Color and Indigenous Teachers (TOCIT) comprise just 34% of the teaching workforce (California Department of Education, 2018), a statistic that has dominated the teacher shortage narrative. Although there is promise in the fact that teacher education program (TEP) enrollment is more diverse than the state's current educator workforce, it's still 27% less diverse than the state's K-12 students. As demand for greater representation increases, so have the initiatives to recruit and retain more racially diverse teachers. In the past few years, California has spent billions in an effort to diversify its teacher workforce, including Assembly Bill 520, which allocated $15 million to be distributed to school districts to develop and implement programs that diversify teaching staffs, and Assembly Bill 130, which appropriated $350 million over the next five years to create or expand Teacher Residency Programs, a pathway that has been shown to recruit and retain higher numbers of TOCIT (California Legislative Information, 2023). This study sets out to (1) explore how current policies, structures, practices, attitudes, and ideologies across the pipeline and profession impede the recruitment and retention of TOCIT, and (2) better understand the racialized experiences and perspectives of pre-service and in-service Teachers of Color and Indigenous Teachers. The following paper is based on a mix of qualitative and quantitative data collected from system leaders in teacher preparation, pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and former teachers over the course of approximately one year: spring 2021 to summer 2022.

At their best, K-12 public school systems can be engines of social and economic mobility. Unfortunately, schools in lower-income districts -- whose students have the greatest academic needs -- often receive less funding than their counterparts in more affluent districts. Discussions about closing these funding gaps usually zoom all the way out to the state level or all the way down to the district level. But a big part of the problem lies in how funding is distributed across districts in the same metro area -- and in state policies that allow wealthy communities to raise and keep large amounts of local revenue exclusively for their own schools. "Leveling the Landscape: An Analysis of K-12 Funding Inequities Within Metro Areas" takes a closer look at the scale and sources of education funding within 123 large metro areas in 38 states, focusing on funding disparities among districts serving the same region. Key takeaways include: (1) a majority of public school students (62%) live in large metro areas with more than five districts -- a level of fragmentation that makes funding disparities more likely; (2) within fragmented metro areas, wealthy districts often generate much more local funding per student than less affluent districts; (3) state policies, despite their progressive tilt, rarely bridge this gap -- and often don't even come close; (4) in 49 of the 123 large metro areas we examined, school districts in affluent areas receive the most funding per pupil; (5) closing the state and local funding gap between districts within the metro areas we examined would cost $26 billion in additional state funding per year; and (6) more ambitious policies can greatly reduce or even eliminate funding disparities. The report also explores policy tools state leaders can use to ensure all districts within the same metro area at the very least receive similar funding per student and ideally, set the stage for even greater levels of per-pupil funding to flow to higher-needs districts.

In this paper, the authors draw on evolutionary theories of change and qualitative data from 2019-2022, to explore the impact of the pandemic on K-12 virtual education in a state with a long history of virtual schooling by asking: "How has the ongoing COVID pandemic influenced virtual schooling in Oregon?" A virtual school in this study is a public charter school -- affiliated with either a nonprofit or for-profit education management organization, or a non-profit or district board and approved by the district, state or governing body -- or a district-run school, that offers instruction only via technology, in which students and teachers are physically separated, and interact synchronously or asynchronously (Barbour & Reeves, 2009; Keaton, 2021; Nowicki, 2022). In particular, the authors examine how the health crisis affected state-level virtual schooling policies and local organizational practices, whether there is evidence of deep and lasting changes, why, and the implications for equity.

While the United States leads the world in Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovation, schools lag behind in preparing teachers and students for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. To help accelerate action in U.S. public education and develop a short-term roadmap for districts and other education leaders, the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) brought together over 60 state and federal policymakers, edtech innovators, school system leaders, and advocates in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in April 2024 to participate in the Think Forward: Learning with AI forum. The setting for the Think Forward AI learning forum emphasized the importance of collective decision-making--and the consequences of getting those decisions wrong. This report reflects key learnings and conversations that emerged from CRPE's Think Forward convening, including: (1) how AI can enable needed changes in our schools; (2) how current conditions in the edtech market act as barriers to closing equity gaps; and (3) how policy and practice must adapt for lasting system change. It concludes with a short-term action plan developed by forum participants that provides an immediate path forward and outlines the roles wide-ranging stakeholders must play to address our shared challenges and opportunities.

More states are thinking about their data systems and how to give decision-makers the information they need. As states work to create successful education and career pathways, they need transparent, well-structured and well-governed data systems. To learn more, our team conducted a 50-State Comparison on state longitudinal data systems to collect relevant policies and practices in use and understand where states are in the process of creating effective data systems. Informed by the data from the 50-State Comparison, this Policy Guide pulls together recent reports, tools and surveys from the field and demonstrates an emerging consensus about the key elements of an effective state longitudinal data system that responds to diverse audiences' needs. State policymakers can use this resource to assess their own data system against emerging best practices highlighted in this Policy Guide.

The describes the nation's progress in (1) providing a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for children with disabilities under IDEA, Part B, and early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families under IDEA, Part C; (2) ensuring that the rights of these children with disabilities and their parents are protected; (3) assisting States and localities in providing IDEA services to all children with disabilities; and (4) assessing the effectiveness of efforts to provide IDEA services to children with disabilities. The report focuses on children with disabilities being served under IDEA, Part B and Part C, nationally and at the State level. Part B of IDEA provides funds to States to assist them in making FAPE available to eligible children with disabilities, ages 3 through 21, who are in need of special education and related services, whereas Part C of IDEA provides funds to States to assist them in developing and implementing statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary interagency systems to make early intervention services available to all eligible children with disabilities, from birth through age 2, and their families.

Licensure tests should be an efficient and comprehensive way for policymakers to ensure that all teachers possess the basic knowledge and skills they need to effectively teach students to read. Yet more than half of states use a weak licensure test that fails to adequately measure elementary teachers' knowledge of scientifically-based reading instruction. This shortcoming means that annually, nearly 100,000 elementary teachers across the country enter classrooms with false assurances that they are ready to teach reading, and the districts that hire them have false assurances that those teachers are adequately prepared. The National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ) new analysis of the quality of reading licensure tests required for elementary teachers reveals not only some bright spots and strong test options used in some states, but also systematic weaknesses in the tests many states use to vet new teachers. While this analysis focuses on tests required for general elementary teachers' certification, every teacher of elementary-age students, including those certified in special education or teaching English learners, should demonstrate their knowledge of reading instruction. For this analysis, NCTQ examined two key questions: (1) What is the quality of the licensure tests? and (2) Which states use acceptable tests? Findings reveal: (1) Less than half of elementary teacher reading licensure tests adequately assess the core components of scientifically based reading instruction; and (2) Fewer than half of states use tests that signal whether teachers have the knowledge they need to teach students to read.

This brief examines how specific college affordability policies and practices at the federal, state, and institutional levels can be strengthened to close racial equity gaps in college affordability and completion and to support widespread diversity and representation in higher education. By increasing access to financial aid and shifting the way colleges and universities equitably award and disburse funds, we can leverage financial aid as a marketing, recruitment, enrollment, and retainment tool for both low-income and minoritized students, and to counteract the chilling effect of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decision curtailing the use of race-conscious admissions in higher education. Socio-economic status is not a perfect proxy for race, but affordability policies are a critical lever for equity, given that Latinx, Black, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPI), and American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) students receive multiple forms of grant aid at higher percentages than their white counterparts. The recommendations made in this paper will help close racial/ethnic and economic equity gaps in higher education without violating the SCOTUS decision. [Eileen and Harold Brown provided additional funding for this series of briefs.]

High-quality career and technical education (CTE) and work-based learning opportunities can support students along a pathway to credential attainment, employment and upward economic mobility through intentional skill development and experiential learning. CTE concentration in high school can increase graduation rates while helping students build employability skills that can support positive outcomes in the workforce. When CTE concentration is paired with opportunities for postsecondary credit or a quality work-based learning experience, students are more likely to attain postsecondary and workforce credentials, successfully enter the workforce and earn higher wages. The Education Commission of the States staff members interviewed state leaders and policymakers, including state education agency staff, state workforce development agency staff, higher education agency staff and district leaders in Delaware, Iowa, Maryland, North Dakota, South Carolina and Washington to better understand how they align CTE and work-based learning policies and programs with workforce needs. This Policy Brief highlights key findings from the interviews, including insight into obstacles and promising practices in increasing student access, program quality and stakeholder engagement.

Multiple measures assessment (MMA) is an alternative placement system that involves the consideration of alternative measures of students' performance--such as high school grades or GPA--in addition to or in place of standardized test scores to better place students. While the evidence for MMA is strong, placement reform has yet to spread to many colleges and states. Moreover, despite growing support for MMA, many colleges may not be implementing the most promising MMA systems, and some may shift back to standardized testing in the post-pandemic environment. CAPR has sought to assist colleges and states nationwide with the adoption and implementation of MMA practices that place more students--and allow more students to be successful--in college-level courses. As part of these efforts, CAPR worked with colleges in Arkansas and Texas to adopt and expand MMA. The findings in this report are derived from interviews with personnel from 12 two- and four-year public colleges in those states that went through considerable effort to improve their placement systems and to make them sustainable on a large scale. The study focused on three questions: What was the design of the MMA system at each college? How were colleges adopting MMA practices and what were key facilitators and hindrances? And what was the average cost of implementation? The authors found that adoption of MMA at each study college required collaboration among institutional leaders, administrators, faculty members, and advisors. The report highlights the roles of key actors in the adoption of MMA and the important role that state context and policies played in implementation. It also describes challenges that colleges had to overcome during implementation, such as obtaining staff buy-in, managing student data, and ensuring sufficient staffing.

Determining whether a state's young people are on track for a life of opportunity is a difficult task for governors and state leaders. States can be both awash in data and unable to easily access and use that data to inform policy. State longitudinal data systems that meaningfully connect workforce, higher education, K-12, and early childhood outcome data from multiple state agencies over time are foundational to strong decision-making by state leaders. State leaders are charged with determining how to advance educational and workforce opportunities, particularly for historically underserved populations, including rural students, students living in poverty, English-language learners, and students of color. Policymakers need reliable, relevant, and transparent data from PK-12 to the workforce to inform decisions and allocate resources. Researchers need access to data to assess current conditions and to identify possible solutions. Finally, the public -- including parents -- needs easily accessible, user-friendly information about readiness and opportunity for young people in the state. Well-governed and well-structured state longitudinal data systems can help. Today, most states have disparate data systems that are functionally siloed off by education level, like early childhood or K-12 or higher education. Meaningfully connected and well-governed data systems make it easier to see the relationships between metrics like early-grade reading scores, high school graduation, and wage data. Disaggregated outcome data about the youngest learners up to young adults provide invaluable insights to policymakers, researchers, and parents. This report examines how state leaders should prioritize state longitudinal data systems in legislation and policymaking.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands Public School System, requested information about alternative assessment evaluation, including detail on performance and competency-based assessment. In response, this high-level scan from the Region 19 Comprehensive Center identifies example tools and measures along with key resources and references. Also included is a review of state policies and relevant publications that provide information on how some states are implementing proficiency/competency-based learning and assessment either through intensive framework options, or flexible graduation and credit-awarding options.

Over the year, Advance CTE and the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) tracked state activity, cataloged final state policy actions, and categorized trends based on the policy areas of focus. "State Policies Impacting CTE: 2023 Year in Review" provides an analysis that spans 47 states that enacted 115 policies, which marks the second-highest number of states in the past decade, surpassed only by the landmark year of 2017 when all 50 states implemented CTE-related policies. The policy areas that states focused on in 2023 were similar to previous years with industry partnerships and work-based learning as the top policy area for the second consecutive year.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's (GLSEN) research has demonstrated that LGBTQ students who attend schools with instruction that is inclusive of LGBTQ people, history, and events experience a better school climate and improved academic outcomes. We also know from the experiences of students, educators and advocates (as well as what is being attacked and undermined) that learning outside of the classroom also has a tremendous impact on LGBTQ+ youth experiences in schools. This resource focuses on "inclusive learning," which encompasses and extends beyond GLSEN's historic focus on classroom instruction. We synthesize over 20 years of research conducted by GLSEN and others in the field and contribute original and new analyses of our National School Climate Survey (NSCS) 2021 data on the impact of inclusive learning on LGBTQ+ youth experiences and outcomes in k-12 schools in the US. We also clarify how state policies and curricular standards, locally adopted curriculum, and the practices of individual educators can shape whether or not students receive inclusive instruction. For the first time, NSCS data is used to evaluate the impacts of LGTBQI+ inclusive school libraries, instructional materials, and school internet access and to specifically assess the impacts of LGBTQI+ inclusive sex education.

The 2024-2025 Indiana Assessments Policy Manual communicates established guidelines regarding appropriate test administration in Indiana for key stakeholders including educators and Test Coordinators. This document contains policy guidance and appendices that delineate specific aspects of test implementation, including test security protocol, reporting, and monitoring. The Indiana Assessments Policy Manual applies to all statewide assessments, including ILEARN, I AM, Digital SAT School Day, IREAD-3, NAEP, WIDA, ISPROUT, and IKRA unless otherwise noted. In addition, "corporation" includes traditional public schools, public charter schools, accredited non-public schools, and Choice schools, unless otherwise noted. All documents should be reviewed thoroughly to facilitate prompt access to information during test administration. The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) publishes the 2024-2025 Accessibility and Accommodations Information for Statewide Assessments document to further outline policy regarding specific universal and designated features, accommodations, and protocol for students receiving non-standard testing. General information is included in this manual, but specific guidance related to student needs is thoroughly addressed in the supplemental appendices and supporting documents.

The potential of artificial intelligence (AI) is not yet known, but the technology is expected to impact most aspects of our lives and work in the next 20 years. AI will be able to help solve complex problems, help with investment and business development, support medical and health care, and substantially impact the field of education. State education agencies (SEAs) that move quickly to provide guidance on how to adopt and implement AI effectively may be better positioned to improve academic outcomes for students as well as better prepare students for a future certain to include and be impacted by AI. Recent guidance from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology states "It is imperative to address AI in education now to realize key opportunities, prevent and mitigate emergent risks, and tackle unintended consequences." This checklist, the second of a three-part series to support SEAs in preparing for AI in the field of education, provides considerations for beginning to address AI and develop policies and guidance. The checklist is meant as a starting point--it does not address all possible scenarios.

The potential of artificial intelligence (AI) is not yet known, but is expected to impact most aspects of our lives and work in the next 20 years. AI will be able to help solve complex problems, help with investment and business development, support medical and health care, and substantially impact the field of education. State education agencies (SEAs) are initiating work to provide guidance on the use of AI in schools, but there is still much to be done. SEAs that move more quickly to provide guidance on how to adopt and implement AI effectively may be better positioned to improve efficiencies and innovate. They may also positively impact students' academic outcomes and better prepare students for a future certain to contain and be impacted by this technology. This overview of considerations for SEAs in facilitating adoption and policy development for AI is the first of a three-component series. This first component will provide an overview for SEAs to understand and disseminate knowledge and information related to AI, provide a brief introduction to AI in education, and offer examples of current AI-related educational policy. The second and third components will provide concreate action steps to guide policy development.

Each year, more than a million high school students nationally take college dual enrollment courses, which have been shown to increase college access and success among participants. Yet racial/ethnic and other equity gaps in dual enrollment participation are widespread. To broaden the benefits of dual enrollment, the state of Ohio passed legislation in 2017 establishing the Innovative Programs (IP) policy, allowing waivers to test-based eligibility requirements--a frequently identified barrier to equitable access--for specific high school-college partnerships providing expanded outreach and support for students underrepresented in the state's dual enrollment program. This paper describes a multiple methods study of IP we conducted to examine how these partnerships were implemented to address the needs of underrepresented students and to evaluate whether the partnerships were successful in broadening access to and success in dual enrollment, as measured by course participation, pass rates, and college matriculation after high school. We find that the IP increased participation in dual enrollment among Black and Hispanic students. And while the implementation of the policy broadened access without changing course outcomes, the impacts on college enrollment after high school were mixed. Our results underscore the importance of pairing increased access to dual enrollment with adequate financial, advising, and academic resources to promote student success in and beyond dual enrollment courses.

The Aurora Institute has released state policy recommendations to enable our education system to transition from an industrial age "one-size-fits-all" model, to a future-focused model that supports education innovation, student agency, builds knowledge, and prioritizes mastery of skills and knowledge over seat time. The six identified policy shifts must occur to transform education for all learners--especially those who have been underserved by the current system. The priorities include: (1) establish a vision by developing a Profile of a Graduate; (2) create the conditions for equitable learner-centered, competency-based education systems; (3) transform systems of assessments; (4) align accountability and data system; (5) support educators to thrive in a competency-based system; and (6) redesign learning experiences.

For states to succeed in their efforts to improve reading instruction, they must ensure teachers are prepared to implement and sustain scientifically based reading instruction. The states most successful in leveraging policy to improve reading outcomes for students have taken a cohesive and comprehensive approach focused on improving teachers' capacity to deliver great reading instruction. This action guide outlines five key actions states should take to strengthen implementation of reading policies. Each policy action in isolation can make a difference for students. But when done in concert, these policy actions build upon and bolster the others, leading to state policies that are greater than the sum of their parts in their ability to boost reading outcomes for students. This action guide also shares stories of states that have leveraged these policy actions to support greater teacher effectiveness in reading. Each section explores how state leaders invested in teacher prep programs and teachers, the pitfalls they faced, and how they overcame them.