This past month, thirty policy analysts published reports about what occurred in the following states: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
ESSA Implementation
Colorado: Stevi Quate shared Colorado Teachers Invited to Shape Policy.
Ohio: Robin Holland wrote Ohio’s ESSA Plan—Submission Delayed in Response to Public Feedback.
Vermont: Susanmarie Harrington shared Vermont Responds to the Every Child Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Readers may want to visit ESSA Implementation in the States to see what your state is doing.
Higher Education
Massachusetts: Mya Poe shares UMass President Criticizes Federal Travel Ban in First State of the University Address.
Missouri: Jane Greer describes Missouri’s push to graduate college students on time in 15 to Finish in Missouri.
North Carolina: In NC College Students Have More Options, Terry McLean writes about dual enrollment, Reverse Transfer Options, High Achieving Tuition Scholarships, and NC Promise.
Ohio: Michelle Rankins describes recently passed legislation in Ohio Concealed Carry Law and College Campuses.
Tennessee: Melanie Hundley analyzes Tennessee and the edTPA.
Texas: In Texas Immigration Bill, Michael Gos describes the impact of the anti-sanctuary bill passed by the Texas Senate on state and local governments and campuses.
Funding and Budget
Connecticut: Stephen Ferruci discusses What Happens to Low-Income Students in CT?
Massachusetts: Mya Poe shares that Massachusetts college students ask for more funding and free tuition for a year.
Mississippi: Kerri Jordan describes the Funding Shortfalls in Mississippi.
Montana: Karen Henderson notes the possible closing of college campuses in Funding Proposals 2017 Legislature.
Nebraska: Deborah Minter writes Budget Shortfall Threatens Public College, Community College and University Budgets.
Oregon: In her Focus on Oregon: Budget and Free Community College, Cornelia Paraskevas describes Oregon’s budget shortfall and the ramifications of Oregon Promise assisting wealthier families more than those with lower incomes.
Pennsylvania: Due to declining budgets and enrollments, D. Alexis Hart writes about the Possible Reorganization of Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE).
Rhode Island: Michael Geary describes Rhode Island’s Promise: Free Tuition.
Utah: SLCC Promise Offers “Free” Community College, according to Christie Toth.
Wisconsin: Donna Pasternak writes Governor Walker Proposes Closer Monitoring of Faculty Workloads While Allowing Students to Opt Out of Fees in 2017–2019 Budget Proposal That Will Increase Funding at WI IHEs.
PreK–12
Arkansas: Donna Wake delineates various Legislative Actions in Arkansas, including a ban of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, options for education savings accounts, expansion of charter schools, and a requirement that all K-6 and special education licensure candidates take a stand-alone test in skills related to the “science of reading.”
Idaho: In Change Is in the Air, Darlene Dyer describes the legislature’s funding proposals.
Kentucky: Emily Zuccaro analyzes KY HB 250: Charter Schools.
Maine: Susan Stires reports Rural Public Schools See Choice as a Detriment to Their Communities.
Massachusetts: Mya Poe filed a number of reports: Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Approves Three New Charter Schools, Massachusetts’ Four-Year Graduation Rate Improves for 10th Consecutive Year, Massachusetts Leads Nation in Advanced Placement Success, Massachusetts FY2018 Budget Released, and Massachusetts Introduces Public Website to Search Teacher and Administrator Licensure.
Minnesota: Ezra Hyland writes about the Minnesota Senate E-12 Education Budget.
New York: Derek Kulnis posted about Renewal Schools and the Community Schools Model, New York State Eliminates ALST Test, and the increase in New York Graduation Rates.
Pennsylvania: Aileen Hower shares Wolf Administration Reacts to Proposed Cuts, Calls on US Secretary of Education to Support Investments in Public Education.
Vermont: Susanmarie Harrington suggests NCTE members in Vermont might find the Agency of Education’s weekly field memo a useful resource.
Virginia: Mabel Khawaja files A Brief Report on Charter Schools in Virginia.
Wisconsin: Donna Pasternak discusses the implications for English language arts and NCTE in State of Wisconsin Proposing New Teacher Licensure Regulations to Curtail Teacher Shortage. [Readers may want to read Peg Grafwallner’s reponse to Donna’s report titled “Of Teacher Shortages and Licensure Regulations,” posted April 14 on Literacy & NCTE.]
PreK–12 and Higher Education
Delaware: In Remediating the Need for Remediation, Christine Cucciarre describes a pilot course, Foundations of College English, to prepare high school students for college-level writing and avoid the need for remediation.
Florida: In Developmental Education and 2016/17 State Bills, Alison Reynolds provides a snapshot of various policies and legislation, including a policy that allows students to opt out of developmental courses, a focus on four-year graduation from college, a pilot program for competency-based education, and expansion of school choice.
Oklahoma: Michele Eodice and Anastasia Wickham delineate a number of aspects of the Oklahoma Budget Crisis.
South Carolina: In Reading, Writing, and Roadwork in South Carolina, Matthew Nelson shares that the South Carolina House of Representatives would divert funds from education to roads.
Federal
Minnesota: Ezra Hyland listed education cuts in FY 18 Federal Budget. In U.S. Supreme Court Rules in 2 Special Education Cases, Ezra noted the Supreme Court’s ruling that IDEA law requires that the term “educational benefit” of a special education IEP means more than minimal progress, and the remanding back to the district court of a case involving a student with severe cerebral palsy bringing her service dog to class.