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This document discusses the educational aide program in the state of Ohio. Section I discusses the paid educational aide. The goal of the paid teacher aide program is to improve instruction; the objectives of the program are: (1) teachers will spend more time directly involved in significant high-level teaching and learning functions; (2) teachers will spend more time designing effective teaching strategies; (3) teachers will be more personally involved with pupils; (4) the basic skills program will improve; and (5) teachers will have more energy to devote to teaching. Guidelines are recommended for the selection, training, supervision, and continuous progress evaluation of educational aides and auxiliary personnel. A selection of questions and answers concerns the content and intent of the Educational Aide Statute of the Ohio Revised Code. The permanent regulations for issuance of the educational aide permit are listed. Ethical conduct is briefly discussed. The second section deals with the volunteer educational aide. It is stressed that understanding the volunteer is important to the development of effective utilization of the aide. Suggested steps for initiation of a volunteer aide program include: (1) recruitment of volunteers; (2) selection and placement; (3) criteria for volunteers; (4) orientation and training; (5) utilization of volunteers; (6) supervision and program coordination; (7) motivation and recognition; and (8) evaluation. The appendix includes: (1) The Revised Code of Ohio Educational Aide Statute; (2) Opinion No. 69-145; (3) a chart showing the organization and development of a volunteer program; (4) sample forms and questionnaires; and (5) a reading list. (MM)

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.]

Facing the persistent challenge of educator turnover in U.S. public school systems, the Kansas Teacher Retention Initiative (KTRI) has been relaunched to delve into the current state of the Kansas educator experience. Building on insights from the inaugural 2021 KTRI study launched in the summer of 2021 in response to a growing teacher shortage, the 2023 KTRI offers a renewed perspective, aiming to amplify educators' voices and examine trends longitudinally. The Kansas Teacher Retention Survey--a comprehensive tool meticulously crafted through extensive research and which aims to explore the critical drivers of teacher engagement and retention--was deployed and administered to all teachers in Kansas. For the 2023 KTRI, a notable surge in participation occurred, with over 24,000 Kansas educators contributing their perspectives, resulting in an overall response rate of 60%. This encompassed 50% of school districts achieving a response rate surpassing 50%, and 61% of districts qualifying for the standard report. The provided insights offer data-driven analysis along with strategic and actionable recommendations for school district leaders. [This report was produced by the Educator Perceptions and Insights Center (EPIC) in partnership with the United School Administrators of Kansas (USA-KS).]

This report explores the higher education financial aid workforce, including pay and pay equity, staffing, representation, and retention. Taken together, the results in this report suggest the need for colleges and universities to implement strategies to better retain people of color within the financial aid employee pipeline and to ensure equitable pay for people of color and women. Further, to encourage retention, institutions of higher education should consider increasing pay and opportunities for remote and flexible work. Institutions should use these findings to consider whether they have sufficient employees (or combination of employees and outsourcing) to handle the workload required of the financial aid office.

There has been a paradigm shift from accommodations to the identification of levels of accessibility (e.g., universal features, designated features, and accommodations). A consequence of this shift is that many students with disabilities who previously were assigned accommodations now access many of them as universal or designated features. This Brief highlights what states and Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams can do to avoid possible unintended consequences of the paradigm shift.

The data presented in this report provide facts about the extent to which local, state, and national governments commit resources to public education. The level of commitment to education varies on a state-by-state basis. National Education Association (NEA) Research offers this report to its state and local affiliates as well as to researchers, policymakers, and the public as a tool to examine public education programs and services. Part I of this report -- Rankings 2023 -- provides state-level data on an array of topics relevant to the complex enterprise of public education. Part II of this report -- Estimates 2024 -- is in its 80th year of production. Estimates provides data tables projecting public school enrollment, employment and compensation of personnel, and finances, as reported by individual state departments of education. Part III of this report -- National Trends 2015-24 -- presents summary data of national trends in student enrollment and attendance, staff salaries, sources of school funding, and levels of educational expenditures in the previous 10 years. [For "Rankings of the States 2022 and Estimates of School Statistics 2023. NEA Research," see ED628838.]