During December, eleven policy analysts published reports about what occurred in California, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Virginia.
PreK–12
California: Laurie Stowell described how districts in California are deeming themselves “safe havens” rather than “sanctuary districts” in order to remain eligible for federal funding.
Colorado: Stevi Quate outlined Colorado’s strategic action plan to address teacher shortages, including shortages of English and social studies teachers in rural areas.
Delaware: Zoi Philippakos noted that the Delaware Department of Education requested a waiver for the alternate assessment from the US Department of Education in its ESSA plan.
Idaho: Darlene Dyer reported that Idaho educators were guilty of altering data on state reports.
New Hampshire: Kathy Collins shared that in January, the New Hampshire House will be voting on SB 193, establishing education freedom savings accounts for children 5–20 years of age.
New York: Derek Kulnis noted that New York increased the number of schools participating in the Diversity in Admissions program in order to increase diversity across the city’s schools.
Ohio: Robin Holland highlighted the strengths of Ohio’s ESSA plan, as indicated by two independent evaluations, including that of NCTE Emeritus member Elizabeth Primas.
Oklahoma: Claudia Swisher writes that in the wake of ESSA, Oklahoma changed its course on educator evaluations by adding a professional learning focus, including designing “reflection worksheets for educators to use.”
Virginia: Leila Christenbury posted that Governor Terry McAuliffe requested that the Board of Education reinstate undergraduate teaching majors to address teacher shortages.
Higher Education
North Dakota: Karen P. Peirce shared that Governor Doug Burgum named the members of the newly formed higher education task force, expected to present its findings to the legislature in 2019.
P12/Higher Education
Kentucky: Kim Creech analyzed the 505-page Kentucky Pension Bill 102717, describing the impact on current and future teachers.