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The 2024 Nebraska Higher Education Progress Report is the 18th annual progress report designed to provide the Nebraska Legislature with comparative statistics to monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving three key priorities for Nebraska's postsecondary education system. These priorities were developed by the 2003 LR 174 Higher Education Task Force and described in detail in a 2004 report published by the Coordinating Commission. They are: (1) Increase the number of students who enter postsecondary education in Nebraska; (2) Increase the percentage of students who enroll and successfully complete a degree; and (3) Reduce, eliminate and then reverse the net out-migration of Nebraskans with high levels of educational attainment. This report is a comparative analysis that measures and evaluates performance in respect to each priority. [For the "2023 Nebraska Higher Education Progress Report," see ED627820.]

In the 2023 report "Colorado's Longitudinal Data Landscape. Report to the Education Committees of the Colorado House of Representatives and the Colorado Senate. Statute: 23-1-141," the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) provided a detailed overview of Colorado's long history of efforts to support more connected, longitudinal data along with examples from other states and their efforts around longitudinal data. The report also provided national best practices related to state longitudinal data systems. This year's report provides updates on CDHE's work over the past year, elevates specific use cases that can benefit from a more robust longitudinal data infrastructure and provides concrete actions Colorado policymakers can take to strengthen work around longitudinal data.

State funding formulas shape how much money school districts have to spend, but districts usually have considerable discretion with how they distribute funds to schools. Because of this discretion, even if districts receive funds through a highly equitable state system, there is no guarantee that districts will distribute funding equitably to schools. This brief discusses district budgeting methods.

Mental health supports for students refers to a broad range of wraparound services and interventions provided by schools to support students' social, emotional, and mental well-being. Access to high-quality, culturally responsive mental health supports in schools is critical to students' long-term growth and development. This brief lays out the challenges and barriers that exist for students experiencing mental health issues, and offers steps that can be taken at both the national, state, and local level.

Quality non-degree credentials can lead to good jobs and family-sustaining wages. But not all non-degree credentials lead to good outcomes -- and when they don't, they entrench economic inequalities that impact people of color and women. National Skills Coalition's new report "The Non-Degree Credential Quality Imperative" encourages state policymakers to invest in quality NDCs; shares how we've worked with states to define, measure, and track quality; and offers takeaways for how to advance quality assurance so that policymakers feel confident in investing in non-degree credentials, students have confidence in their training programs, and employers know which programs effectively prepare people for careers.

There is a growing call to reconsider current approaches to national and state assessment system policies and practices. State and local education agency leaders, educators, community leaders, and advocates have voiced concerns that current state assessment systems--defined primarily by end-of-year multiple-choice tests--are unable to meet contemporary needs for information that supports teaching and learning. More than 20 states are involved in efforts to transform one or more aspects of their assessment systems; however, the process of securing federal assistance and approval to make transitions to substantially improved systems poses numerous challenges. This report synthesizes policy analyses and findings from legal and research analyses, as well as consultations with national, state, and local leaders, to (1) outline the history of federal testing guidance and state responses that have shaped the current context, (2) describe strategies states and districts are pursuing to evolve their assessment programs into high-quality systems that both signal and support better teaching and learning processes for all students, and (3) identify key ways that the federal government could support assessment reforms that enable thoughtful assessment of meaningful skills in ways that also better support teaching and learning. [This report was written in collaboration with Michael DiNapoli, Tara Kini, Tiffany Miller, and Julie Woods. For the Policy Brief, see ED630213.]

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) invited states to use multiple measures of "higher-order thinking skills and understanding," including "extended-performance tasks," to create state assessment systems that support teaching for deeper learning. However, few states have been able to navigate federal assessment requirements in ways that result in tests with these features that can support high-quality instruction. This brief describes three ways that federal executive action can help states realize their visions for more meaningful assessments: (1) Better align technical expectations for assessment quality with ESSA's intentions; (2) Enable ESSA's Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority to better support innovation; and (3) Create additional pathways to higher-quality assessments through existing or new funding mechanisms. [This report was written in collaboration with Michael DiNapoli, Tara Kini, Tiffany Miller, and Julie Woods. For the full report, see ED630214.]

In this paper the author compares the impact of two proposals: one in the Shapiro administration's budget plan and one by the PA Schools Work (PASW) campaign for a down payment on fair and full funding of K-12 schools regarding how far they go in reducing the state's inequitable and inadequate school funding for school districts on the basis of class, race, and Hispanic ethnicity. The author shows that the PASW proposal, by spending more money and distributing some of that money through the Level Up program, takes a larger step forward in pursuit of the goal of giving every child the "thorough and efficient" public education required not only by basic notions of fairness and equity but by the Pennsylvania Constitution.

The "2023 Nebraska Higher Education Progress Report" is the latest edition of the annual progress report designed to provide the Nebraska Legislature with comparative statistics to monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving three key priorities for Nebraska's postsecondary education system. They are: (1) Increase the number of students who enter postsecondary education in Nebraska; (2) Increase the percentage of students who persist and successfully complete a degree; and (3) Reduce, eliminate, and then reverse the net out-migration of Nebraskans with high levels of educational attainment. This report is a comparative analysis that measures and evaluates performance in respect to each priority. [For the "2022 Nebraska Higher Education Progress Report," see ED619079.]

Colorado has led the nation in supporting the success of all Coloradans, enacting bold policies, and continuing to build a Colorado for all. These efforts have all been informed by robust stakeholder engagement paired with data analysis. Various initiatives over the years have improved the state's ability to use data to inform these goals. With support from historic investments in revitalizing the state's workforce, Colorado has an opportunity to leverage data in well-governed, responsible ways to elevate evidence-based decision-making and support these goals to become reality. This report serves as a background on the Colorado longitudinal data landscape, with a special focus on Colorado's status and opportunities. The report will guide on-going conversations on data integration and Colorado's efforts toward a Longitudinal Data System (LDS). With a LDS, policymakers and other decisionmakers in other states have answered questions, such as: (1) How many high school graduates go directly to jobs?; (2) What is the workforce supply for industry jobs?; (3) How can we better predict our economic indicators at the local level?; and (4) What might be the impact of health care and service needs over time? The report provides a brief description of Longitudinal Data Systems (LDS), including what they are, what data lies within them, how they can be used, and their benefits. The report also highlights efforts in other states where more coordinated and aligned systems have been successful. The report also includes recommendations related to greater democratization of data, following national best practices, and more alignment of Colorado's current landscape.

Every year, State of the State addresses offer time for new and incumbent governors to outline policy priorities and celebrate state accomplishments. Since 2005, we've tracked, analyzed and identified education policy trends in governors' State of the State addresses to help you understand trending education issues across states. This year's Special Report includes 42 addresses that highlight a continued focus on expanding workforce development, increasing funding investments and building a strong teacher workforce. The full report highlights the top six trends we found across state education-related proposals and features state examples of each. The trends are: (1) Workforce development and career and technical education; (2) K-12 funding; (3) Teacher workforce; (4) Early care and education; (5) Academic achievement and literacy; and (6) Physical and mental health. Use our interactive map to find complete summaries of education policy priorities outlined in each governor's State of the State address. This report is a collaboration with the National Governors Association. We're grateful for this partnership.

An abundance of opportunities to innovate in public education have emerged post-pandemic and the rules for defining how schooling works are up for grabs like never before. Yet, school districts are struggling to keep teachers on the job and schools open, much less address the mental health and academic toll of the pandemic. How can school systems possibly find the bandwidth to act on new visions for public education when their leaders are constantly trapped in crisis mode? One particular mechanism might allow them to pull this off: statewide school districts. This report outlines several existing statewide oversight efforts that overcome barriers that traditionally constrain schools or traditional districts. The report also explains how statewide districts could promote creative new learning options, including the following: (1) Providing infrastructure and support to allow cities, community groups, or even individuals to form small learning communities; (2) Creating a statewide system to validate students' learning, and to provide credit for those efforts; (3) Allowing youth to access a variety of service providers and mentors; (4) Ensuring all families can access educational options; and (5) Conducting or commissioning research on K-12 education innovations. We can't afford to allow possibilities that came into view during the pandemic to vanish in a rush to return to normal school operations, nor can we afford to watch innovations flourish outside of public education but remain inaccessible to students who stand to benefit from them. We need to build public-education systems that encourage and support innovation--and we need new state policies to help encourage those actions. [This report was written with contributions from Travis Pillow and Emily Liebtag. Education Reimagined partnered with the Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) to co-author this paper.]

The report provides a landscape analysis of the workforce development environment in Texas. Many organizations are performing valuable roles in ensuring that the labor markets in Texas operate efficiently, supplying employers with skilled workers and providing workers with opportunities to continue their career advancement through reskilling. The goal is to outline the various populations, issues, and organization roles at play in the state. The report highlights key organizations and workforce landscapes by regions within Texas.

Students of color continue to experience disparities in enrollment, retention and completion of postsecondary education -- a reality that's been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of persistent and systemic inequities, policymakers are increasingly interested in exploring funding approaches that support greater access and attainment to postsecondary education for students of color. Following interviews with postsecondary leaders from four states, this Policy Brief provides an overview of policy mechanisms to fund postsecondary education and highlights perspectives of postsecondary leaders on how equity and funding intersect in policy and practice.

School finance reforms are not well defined and are likely more prevalent than the current literature has documented. Using a Bayesian changepoint estimator, we quantitatively identify the years when state education revenues abruptly increased for each state between 1960 and 2008 and then document the state-specific events that gave rise to these changes. We find 108 instances of abrupt increases in state education revenues across 43 states; about one-quarter of these changes had been undocumented. Half of the abrupt increases that occurred post-1990 were preceded by litigation-prompted legislative activity, and Democrat-party control of a state increases the probability of a changepoint occurring by 8 percentage points.

June 23, 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX. This federal civil rights law has been credited with profoundly changing education in the United States by barring sex discrimination in the nation's schools. Title IX, along with other equity laws, helped to unlock access to educational and athletic opportunities, paving the way for inroads into historically male-dominated professions. The work of five decades of Title IX's impact is writ large in every sector of American society. This report is grounded in the rich history of Title IX and takes a multi-dimensional look at its impact. The report is based on a rigorous literature review and original research using publicly available data sets. The focus is primarily on the enforcement of Title IX in athletics and the three major areas that should be reviewed in ongoing and regular Title IX audits: athletic participation opportunities, allocation of athletic scholarship funding, and allocation of resources in operational areas. The report examines Title IX through the lens of intersectionality, explores emerging issues, and looks ahead to what is needed to accelerate the pace of change for the next 50 years.

The Agricultural Act of 2014 authorized $200 million for the development, implementation, and evaluation of pilot projects to test innovative strategies to reduce dependency on and increase employment among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants. California, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Mississippi, Vermont, Virginia and Washington received grants in March 2015 and began implementing their pilots between January and April 2016. All grantees concluded pilot services by April 2019. The final summary report presents employment, earnings, SNAP participation, and other outcome findings that cover a 36-month period for individuals enrolled in the pilots by December 2017. It also presents findings from the implementation evaluation and cost-benefit analysis. The report summarizes findings from the 10 pilot-specific final reports. Key findings include: (1) Earnings increased in three pilots and employment increased in five pilots for the treatment group compared to the control group; (2) An increase in employment did not mean that earnings increased; (3) Pilots generally did not decrease SNAP participation or improve food security; and (4) The cost of pilot services outweighed benefits in most pilots. [Cover title varies: "Expanding Opportunities & Reducing Barriers to Work: Final Summary Report. (Evaluation of USDA, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training Pilots)." Staff from the following organizations assisted with this study: MDRC; Insight Policy Research; Decision Information Resources; and Food and Nutrition Service's Office of Employment and Training (OET). For the summary of the Final Summary Report, see ED620373. For the Final Report Technical Supplement, see ED620381. For the Interim Summary Report, see ED620376.]

The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins Act) is the primary federal law aimed at developing and supporting career and technical education (CTE) programs for secondary and postsecondary students. In the 109th Congress, the Perkins Act was reauthorized by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 (Perkins IV; P.L. 109-270). The Perkins Act was most recently amended in the 115th Congress by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V; P.L. 115-224). Perkins V was signed into law by President Trump in July 2018 and went into effect on July 1, 2019. The purpose of the act is to develop more fully the academic knowledge and technical and employability skills of secondary and postsecondary students who elect to enroll in CTE programs. This report provides an overview of Perkins V, including its design, implementation, and funding as described in statute. After a brief introduction to CTE, the report is divided into sections that focus on a detailed description of the Basic State Grants (BSG), discuss National Activities and other programs under Title I, and summarize additional provisions under Title II. A final section summarizes Perkins V authorizations and appropriations. The appendices provide a brief history of federal involvement in CTE as well as formulas and allocations for the BSG.

When Congress reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act in 2015, it intended to send a strong signal: any further encroachment of federal authority on the nation's K-12 schools needed to end. Compared to its more prescriptive predecessor in 2000, known as No Child Left Behind, the new law, dubbed "ESSA" for the Every Student Succeeds Act, established a set of goals states should strive to meet, only one of which is the subject of this analysis: Ensuring that all students have equal access to qualified and effective teachers. Before the law's signing in 2015, there was momentum around this issue with the federal government requiring states to submit "equity plans" and offering significant guidance to states on how to do so. This report examines the status of the ESSA provision six years after it was signed into law, analyzing how states responded to the law's requirement that they must collect and report the necessary data documenting the equitable distribution of their teacher talent among their schools.

Nearly half of U.S. schools are facing COVID-related staff shortages that threaten the efforts to shape programming and invest in resources to solve students' unfinished learning. Without enough teachers and support staff, students won't receive rigorous instruction, won't have access to targeted intensive tutoring to address their unfinished learning, and won't receive mental health supports and experience the positive school environments they need to thrive. High turnover also creates instability that disrupts relationships between adults and students and makes it difficult for schools to create coherent instruction and implement new initiatives. This report provides some short- and long-term actions that state and district leaders can take to address these shortages and support the most underserved students and teachers to prevent deeper, persistent inequities.

This report summarizes the findings of MA DESE's 2020 review of the Boston Public Schools, highlighting key findings around the teaching and learning, operational, financial, and enrollment challenges the state identified. It also describes why, according to the report, BPS persistently struggles in these areas and how its struggles negatively impact students. Finally, the paper describes several options the district and the state have for rectifying the problems and helping BPS meet its constitutional and moral obligations to the students and families it serves. Ultimately, it recommends that the state place BPS in receivership, a controversial model that may be the district's best hope for recovery.

The purpose of this report is to share with the U.S. Department of Education (Department) observations made by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) regarding States' Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund initial 45-day reports and annual reports. The objectives of the review were to review States' initial 45-day GEER Fund reports to determine how States plan to allocate funds to entities within the three authorized categories: local educational agencies (LEA), institutions of higher education (IHE), and education-related entities, and the criteria upon which these decisions were based; and review GEER Fund annual reports to identify changes to and progress made from the initial plans in the 45-day reports. To accomplish the objective, OIG reviewed plans submitted by each of the 50 States, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, to determine how they planned to allocate funds to entities within the three authorized categories and the criteria upon which these decisions were based. OIG also reviewed the annual reports submitted by each State to determine if there were any notable changes from what was reported in their initial plans and to compile reported expenditure data.

Individual Career and Academic Plans (ICAPs) are a key piece of connected career advising that align learners' career and life goals with academic, postsecondary and career pathway options. ICAPs have different names in different states, including Individual Learning Plans (ILPs) and Individual Graduation Plans (IGPs). They refer to both the process of engaging in individualized academic and career development activities as well as the product: a living, usually online, portfolio that is created by each learner and regularly updated as they advance through school and transition into the workforce. This brief highlights promising practices for ICAP implementation at the state and local levels in Colorado, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin and provides recommendations for further state and local work to scale ICAPs. It was developed through JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s "New Skills ready network," a partnership of Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group.