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The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) entitles students with disabilities to a free appropriate public education. Students with disabilities often require additional support to enable them to achieve academic and functional goals relative to their nondisabled peers. These legally protected supports and services all add up to a need for additional school funding to support the education of children with disabilities. This brief examines how states and the federal government allocate funding to support the educational needs of students with disabilities and identifies questions that state advocates and policymakers can pose to better understand and improve their state's system for funding special education services.

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 2021, approximately five million young people in the United States were not in school or working. This group of young people transitioning to adulthood, roughly ages 16 to 24, are often referred to as "opportunity youth" and sometimes "disconnected youth." Young people from low-income families and from communities of color--such as Native Americans, Blacks, and Latinos--experience higher rates of disconnection, as they face significant obstacles related to poverty and racial inequality. Research shows that disconnection from school and work during these transformative years can have negative, long-term consequences on a range of outcomes--from earnings to incarceration to homeownership to physical and mental well-being--that result in significant costs for these individuals, their communities, and society at large. For most young people, disconnection from school or work is not a steady state. Some people find ways to reconnect as they age, while others remain persistently disconnected over early adulthood. Those who are disconnected for long periods and those who become less connected as they get older are also those who face more barriers to success, including poverty, limited education, and involvement with the criminal legal system. Community-based programs are an important source of support for young people to reconnect to school and work. They may help young people work toward a high school credential, connect to postsecondary education or training, earn an occupational credential, gain employability skills and work experience, and advance in the labor market. But these programs often tend to reach people who are more active in their efforts to reengage in school, training, or employment, whether on their own or with a push from family or friends. Those who are reluctant to seek help--due to past negative experiences in their lives, difficulties in navigating systems, or the hurdles of the program requirements--often fall through the cracks. Dalio Education's Connecticut Opportunity Project (CTOP) partnered with MDRC to conduct an evidence-focused scan of the landscape of programs and practices that are relevant to this specific subset of young people who are furthest from opportunities in their communities: (1) young people who are disconnected from education, training, or employment and are reluctant to actively seek help in reconnecting; and (2) young people reconnecting to education and employment after incarceration and past or current disconnection from education, training, or employment. [This landscape scan was funded by Dalio Education's Connecticut Opportunity Project.]

Culturally Responsive Education (CRE) refers to a comprehensive ecosystem of "pedagogy, curriculum, theories, attitudes, practices and instructional materials that center students' culture, identities and contexts throughout education systems" (Peoples, 2019). In the context of these simultaneous and complementary efforts, culturally responsive measures help ensure that what students are taught and assessed on align to learning outcomes in step with their local contexts and daily experiences, and which treat these experiences as valid and powerful sources of knowledge. This brief from the Region 19 Comprehensive Center provides an overview of CRE and provides examples of culturally responsive measures.

Home visiting connects expectant parents, new caregivers, and their young children with a support person, called a home visitor. The home visitor meets regularly with the family, develops a relationship with them, and supports them to achieve their goals and meet their needs. To reach the thousands of additional families who could benefit from home visiting, we must increase support for culturally relevant and family-centered models. A new report -- "Community-Based Home Visiting: Fidelity to Families, Commitment to Outcomes" -- delves into the unique strengths and challenges of community-based home visiting models, whose design and measures of success intentionally center the perspectives of the families and communities they serve. These models are often developed by those with experience with the unique cultures, strengths, and solutions of he community they live in and aim to serve. This report summarizes themes from listening sessions with 30+ community-based home visiting models from across the country. It offers policy and funding recommendations that would improve support for these models and therefore families' access to home visiting that best meets their goals. [Additional support was provided by the National Home Visiting Coalition Steering Committee.]

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, home visiting programs were faced with an unprecedented challenge: How do you deliver home visiting services without visiting homes? One home visiting model--Child First--quickly pivoted to telehealth, offering caregivers the option to receive services virtually. Child First has since resumed delivering services primarily in person, but some pandemic-driven implementation changes remain. To understand the impact of the pandemic on the Child First model, the study team conducted surveys and interviews with Child First staff members, and interviews with caregivers who received Child First services, to answer the following research questions: (1) To what extent did the implementation of Child First services change since the start of the pandemic?; (2) How did Child First staff members report implementing core components of the model since the pandemic began?; and (3) How did Child First caregivers report on Child First services that they received since the pandemic began? Overall, the study team found that the implementation of the Child First model following the first three years of the pandemic remains largely consistent with pre-pandemic implementation, despite the unique challenges to home visiting posed by the pandemic.

Property taxes are the most common mechanism to generate local revenue for public school systems but are also a long-standing source of inequity. Policymakers and advocates should be aware of the challenges created by local funding mechanisms in their states and consider potential policy solutions to produce more equitable education funding. This brief covers: (1) How Property Taxes Fund Schools; (2) How Property Taxes Produce Education Finance Inequities; and (3) Making Local School Funding More Equitable.

Emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges make it difficult for many children and adolescents to engage and succeed at school. Research indicates that at least 20% of all children and adolescents have been diagnosed with one more mental health disorders. Behavioral problems, anxiety, and depression are the most diagnosed mental health issues, and they often co-occur. Moreover, these conditions are being diagnosed at increasingly younger ages. In the past several years there has been a rise in the number of adolescents and young adults with serious mental health issues such as major depression and suicidal ideation, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental health problems for children and adolescents. Schools offer promise for providing intensive clinical support to the most at-risk students, and schools are necessary environment to explore the implementation of multi-modal youth mental health services. This paper provides an analysis of an intensive, in-school mental health services model developed and implemented by Effective School Solutions (ESS), a New Jersey based provider of high acuity school based mental health services for K-12 students. We analyze this multi-modal model for its effectiveness in improving educational outcomes for over 3,000 students identified as requiring intensive clinical mental health support across the 2021-22 school year. This analysis reveals that those students receiving High- versus Low-fidelity programming (i.e., multiple sessions per week for at least half of the school year versus for less than half of the school year) had better educational outcomes. Students receiving High-fidelity programming had greater improvements in grade point average (GPA) and greater reductions in absences across the school year. A higher number of in-school clinical sessions per week significantly predicted a greater increase in GPA and a greater reduction in total disciplinary incidents (including out of school suspensions) across the school year. This report provides initial promising evidence that in-school intensive mental health clinical services yield positive effects on students' educational outcomes. Though future research is needed to validate and extend these findings, schools may consider implementing such services onsite to meet students where they are and to optimize students' mental, behavioral, and educational well-being. [This white paper report was published by the Yale Child Study Center."]

While COVID-19 caused unimaginable disruptions to public education, we saw remarkable examples of innovation and commitment to supporting high school student success. In our New England landscape of learning research, we learned that the boundaries of what it means to "reinvent" high school stretched, and in some systems, the momentum for change accelerated. Students and teachers learned to work in new ways and reached new understandings about each other. Now, building off these lessons and in partnership with the Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL), we are engaged in an in-depth look at the American Rescue Plan (ARP), post-pandemic recovery in New England high schools. Our research is designed to reveal whether and how federal dollars are being directed toward supporting a better adolescent experience, how high schools are innovating and adapting to advance equity, and what kinds of choices students are making about their futures after high school. The results from this investigation will equip school and system leaders, state policymakers, and advocates--in New England and beyond--to better understand and support pandemic-era innovations that connect to what students and families need and want from high school.

There are nearly 1 million credentials in the United States that students and workers can take advantage of, but how information about these credentials is collected and communicated is oftentimes inconsistent and hard to access. In February, we invited a group of postsecondary and workforce development experts to consider how policymakers can leverage credential transparency to further state workforce and attainment goals. Inspired by those conversations, this Policy Brief highlights data capacity, governance and funding as key policy areas and provides considerations that states, systems and practitioners can use to develop credential transparency. [This brief was produced with Credential Engine.]

Innovation in education is vital for responding to emerging challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and for building progress on longstanding challenges in schools. The infusion of substantial, highly flexible pots of federal relief dollars created an opportunity to pilot new programs and initiatives. Many states and districts opted to invest resources in traditional K-12 expenses, such as increasing staff capacity or updating facilities. However, states are also using the funds to spark new initiatives that otherwise may not have been possible and can be replicated across the country. This Policy Guide presents six strategies along with state examples to assist in planning, designing, implementing, and sustaining innovative services and programs. In addition to these strategies, other researchers have developed models for change that put forward other unique approaches, such as allowing for locally driven variation, providing human capital support for ongoing technical assistance and tolerating small-scale risk. The end goal of using these approaches is to design innovative policies that endure and improve long-term student outcomes.

Data governance is a core obligation for leaders and staff across any agency that collects, stores or uses individuals' data. It ensures that individuals' personal information is protected, and can support the continuous improvement of data quality and use, particularly when it includes well-defined processes, structure and responsibilities. Effective data governance can promote trust among those who administer the data systems, those who use them and those whose private information the data systems collect. This Policy Brief stems from a Thinkers Meeting hosted by Education Commission of the States that gathered experts in data governance to discuss how state leaders can avoid common pitfalls that undermine data governance policies. The group developed six principles that can aid any state leader in establishing effective governance of data systems.

New research finds that increased spending on public education improves student achievement, thereby debunking the notion that "money doesn't matter" and making the case for greater investment in preschool-12 public education. How money is spent matters, but funding must also be adequate, equitable, and stable from year to year so that districts can be strategic in their spending and not have to cut one school resource to target funding towards another. This was the focus of discussion during a November 30 webinar co-sponsored by Education Law Center, ETS, and the Learning Policy Institute (LPI), featuring leading school finance experts Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (LPI), Dr. Rucker Johnson (University of California, Berkeley) and Dr. Jesse Rothstein (University of California, Berkeley), with a welcome address by ETS President and CEO Amit Sevak and moderated by ELC's Executive Director David Sciarra. The research distilled within this report was discussed during the webinar and provides policymakers, stakeholders, and advocates with clear and tangible evidence to argue for greater investments in the public schools in their states.

State postsecondary education data systems are vital assets for policymakers, researchers, and the public. The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association's (SHEEO) Communities of Practice project builds upon SHEEO's efforts to measure the capacity and effective use of state postsecondary data systems and provides states with opportunities to develop solutions to common system issues. The seventh Community of Practice convening, "Improving Equity and Opportunity through Postsecondary Data," was held September 28-29, 2022, in Denver, Colorado. The two-day meeting included more than 80 representatives from 17 states: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai'i, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington, and the District of Columbia. Teams included representatives from SHEEO agency academic affairs, workforce, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and research and data offices and their partners at state agencies and two- and four-year postsecondary institutions. Given the recent impacts on higher education from the COVID-19 pandemic, social justice unrest, and economic pressures facing the country, a focus on equity and opportunity was timely for this Community of Practice. SHEEO agency staff communicated a need to inform state attainment and economic goals through improved collection and use of postsecondary student unit record data. Within and across state teams, Community of Practice attendees were able to learn more about the nuances and impacts of equity-and opportunity-focused data collection, disaggregation, and visualization; to better understand how to effectively communicate and illustrate the need for and the contributions of equitable student success in their states; and to reflect on their capacity, partnerships, and resources available to effectively engage in this work. In this paper, SHEEO shares the presentations, resources, and team activities from the convening. This information can be used by SHEEO agencies to reflect on their current practices, plan and develop effective data policies, and better use data to improve postsecondary equity and opportunity outcomes in their states.

The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of function-based decisions made in consideration of scores from the Intervention Selection Profile (ISP)-Function, a tool founded upon direct behavior rating methodology. The ISP-Function is designed to be a brief measure, given the need for efficient and low resource assessments in schools. Data from a previous investigation were used to create data reports for each of 34 elementary students with a history of exhibiting disruptive behavior in the classroom. The first report summarized ISP-Function data that the student's classroom teacher collected. The second report was representative of more typical functional behavior assessment (FBA), summarizing data collected via a functional assessment interview with the teacher, as well as systematic direct observation data. Nine school psychologists conducted blind reviews of these reports and derived decisions regarding the function of each student's behavior (e.g., adult attention or escape/avoidance). Gwet's agreement coefficients were statistically significant and suggested Fair to Almost Perfect correspondence between ISP-Function and FBA reports. Limitations and implications for practice are discussed herein. [This paper was published in "School Psychology."]

Over the past few years, leaders and educators at East Hartford High School in East Hartford, Connecticut, have sought out and tested ways to ensure that each of their 1,700 students have opportunities to form meaningful relationships with adults, engage in rigorous instruction, and receive tailored support. They have prioritized initiatives aimed at closing persistent opportunity and achievement gaps along the lines of race and socioeconomic status. In 2020, after the state of Connecticut issued guidance that allowed districts to reform grading practices to better accommodate student needs during the pandemic and remote instruction, East Hartford closely examined its own grading policies. They found that their traditional approach, similar to what many schools across the country use, disproportionately favored students with greater access to resources, demotivated students who performed poorly on early-semester assignments, and was susceptible to bias. The high school launched "Grading for Equity," an initiative aimed at more accurately assessing students' knowledge while reducing bias and supporting student motivation. This case study describes the initiative's implementation, including educators' focus on maintaining high standards and ensuring students graduate career- and college-ready. It concludes with important questions for school leaders and design teams who seek to test out innovative approaches to grading.

Maloney High School, in Meriden, CT, has made significant strides in increasing underrepresented students' access to challenging courses, with content ranging from college preparation to career-oriented learning. Creative student-and-family-centered strategies, which incorporate quantitative data and individual counseling, have increased awareness of these courses and spurred dramatic enrollment increases among all learners, especially among Black and Latinx/Hispanic students and English Language Learners. Meriden district and school leaders know that equitable access to advanced courses does not always result in equitable outcomes from them. The team is now focused on ensuring that underrepresented students enrolling in these courses have the support to complete and excel in them. This case describes the school's current outreach and support strategies and concludes with important questions for school leaders and design teams seeking to address similar challenges. [For the corresponding Case Studies in High School Redesign, see ED626303 and ED626305.]

State education finance sets the stage for what is possible in schools. Too many state education finance systems today are inequitable, outdated, and inadequate, and there are often significant political barriers to change. Advocates for educational equity can and should play an essential role in shaping the allocation and structure of state funding for pre-K through grade 12 public schools. For this report, the authors interviewed advocacy leaders in six states -- California, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, and Nevada -- to learn more about the conditions that enabled and influenced big changes in their education finance systems. Leaders reflected on their policy wins and losses and offered advice to other advocates interested in pushing for funding reform. These conversations revealed five common conditions that emerged in different ways across states and paved the way for state policy changes. In order of frequency, they were: (1) Coalitions; (2) Champions; (3) Research; (4) Economics; and (5) Lawsuits. This playbook is about the contexts and conditions that facilitated those changes.

2022 turned out to be a dynamic year for charter schools, as many state lawmakers recognized the fact parents want more schooling options that fit their children's unique needs. In total, close to 50% of states with charter school laws gained at least one legislative win. Read for more details on how the charter school movement strengthened in the areas of funding equity, support for facilities, improved authorizing practices, and increased funding for students.

The first of three "bright spot" briefs dives deeper into examples of how states are leveraging ARP funds to improve SEL for all students. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act (2021) provides a $122 billion historic federal investment to help states and districts safely reopen schools while addressing students' academic, social, and emotional learning in response to COVID-19. CASEL has recommended three priority areas for social and emotional learning (SEL) investment that can assist states and districts in optimizing ARP for student success: (1) Promote SEL for students; (2) Support adult SEL competencies and capacity building; and (3) Align SEL efforts across schools, families, and communities. This "Bright Spots" brief highlights policy innovations around Priority Area 1 through state investments in evidence-based SEL to support academic recovery and social and emotional wellbeing, the need for which was made abundantly clear by COVID-19. It also spotlights state ARP spending plans in 12 states.

The recent turn toward core practices and practice-based teacher education has been accompanied by a growing literature on the definitions, pedagogies to teach, and assessments of core practices. Despite these developments, the field lacks core practices performance assessments designed to be used across course sections, courses, and subjects. This paper provides an existence proof of this type of assessment and investigates the affordances and constraints of the approach. The study describes three types of mixed-reality simulation-based performance tasks of three core practices. More than 400 novices in 64 teacher preparation programs in the United States reported that they were able to use the simulation environment and believed the tasks measure important teaching skills. Scores on the tasks were positively related to novices' prior academic and teacher education experiences. Implications for the formative use of such simulations are discussed.

Salaries are one of the most powerful policy levers states and school districts can use to attract qualified, effective, and diverse teachers. What role do states play in supporting strategic use of salaries? This report examines the state teacher compensation policies that influence districts' potential strategic use of teacher pay. It analyzes three types of state policies that aim to attain three purposes: (1) Differentiated pay: To attract teachers to traditionally hard-to-staff subjects or schools; (2) Performance pay: To reward high-performing teachers; and (3) Pay for prior work: To compensate teacher candidates for prior experience relevant to teaching. With the influx of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, some states have designed new or expanded already existing initiatives aimed to attract or retain teachers to hard-to-staff positions. The analysis in this report includes these state strategies, while acknowledging that they might only remain in place temporarily while ESSER funds remain available. [For the the second report in this three-part series, "State of the States 2021: Teacher Preparation Policy," see ED611532.]

COVID-19 changed the experiences of K-12 students and teachers in ways that are not yet well-documented. This report provides initial insights into teaching and learning during the pandemic from the perspectives of teachers and students at 31 public schools in three states. The analyses indicate that about two thirds of the teachers surveyed thought their students learned less than they had prior to the pandemic. In contrast, the majority of the students surveyed reported that they learned as much as or more than before the pandemic, except for students at one school. Additional analyses should provide valuable information for policymakers and educators on successes and challenges experienced by teachers and students in magnet schools during the pandemic. [Support for this report was provided by Capitol Region Education Council, LEARN Regional Educational Service Center, the School District of Lee County, Napa Valley Unified School District, New Haven Public Schools, and Pasadena Unified School District.]