Policy: State

This report, sponsored by the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), provides examples of education technology programs being funded by national, state, district, and local governments. The authors collected data on educational technology programs funded to state educational agencies (SEAs) through the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) grant program.

This Alliance for Excellent Education policy brief, targeted toward federal and state policymakers, argues that remedial college courses are economically inefficient. Costs associated with remedial courses include the cost of the course which is often federally funded through grants, and, because students who enroll in remedial courses are much less likely to graduate, loss of lifetime earnings. The brief argues that reforming high school curriculum and teaching and ensuring vertical alignment through college- and career-readiness are essential and much more cost effective.

This policy brief by the National Education Policy Center discusses the characteristics, benefits, and challenges of Linked Learning, a school framework in which academic content is integrated with career and technical education (CTE), and the two content areas are contextualized in real-world situations.

This policy brief, sponsored by ARISE Coalition, documents the results of the review of about 200 individualized education plans (IEPs) for students with disabilities demonstrating noncompliance. The author provides recommendations that include identifying the diploma type sought in the transition plan, disseminating information about transition and post-secondary programs to students with disabilities and their families; and teaching self-advocacy skills. This resource may be especially relevant to policy makers and special educators.

This report from the Center for Postsecondary and Economic Success at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) includes brief profiles of Minnesota’s FastTRAC initiative, Washington’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program, and Illinois’s bridge programs as examples of promising state policy strategies to address the problem of low-skilled students in the workforce. The authors provide suggestions for how to shape state policy in order to improve the success of low-skilled people in a postsecondary education life.

This issue brief from the Alliance for Excellent Education addresses the need to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to help improve the college and career readiness of all high school students, especially those at the lowest-performing high schools.

This report sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) explores state statutes and policies related to dual enrollment. The authors present a state-by-state snapshot of policies and programs based on several programmatic features. This is an update to the 2004 report.

In this report from Jobs for the Future, the authors discuss examples of states that developed policies and strategies to support schools integrating high school and postsecondary education. The report looks at case studies from four states--Ohio and Utah that implemented fiscal policies, and Georgia and Texas that focused on alignment issues across high school and college--and provides lessons for educators and policymakers looking to support and sustain early college high schools in their states.

This brief from Jobs for the Future provides an overview of Early College High School (ECHS) models, and the state policies that support this educational model. The authors describe why these are a beneficial yet underutilized resource and provide recommendations for state legislation and collaboration that will help to increase access to ECHS and maximize the benefits and rewards to students who choose to attend them.