Date Published: 4/1/2013

Description: More students than ever before are taking online courses, giving new options to both parents and students.  Currently online learning is available to at least some students in all 50 states, but availability varies greatly.

Date Published: 3/1/2013

Description: As states continue to study and enact private school choice laws, students with disabilities are increasingly on their radar. Balancing state policies with federal laws and regulations can be challenging for lawmakers as they consider offering more choices to these students.

Date Published: 1/28/2013

Description: In this era of tight state budgets, legislators are more concerned than ever about how to get the best return on the state's higher education investment. Strategies legislators are considering include funding reform, improving college completion rates, and bolstering higher education productivity.

Date Published: 12/1/2012

Description: The idea that competition among schools will lead to increased student achievement and decreased education costs has gained traction in many states over the past two decades.  States can offer private school choices in several ways, the most notable of which are school vouchers.

Date Published: 11/1/2012

Description: Research indicates that strong state school nutrition standards positively affect both students’ dietary consumption and the nutritional quality of school foods.  States’ experiences with school nutrition policies present a number of innovative examples that may help guide other states.

Date Published: 8/1/2012

Description: Economists are projecting that a growing proportion of jobs will require a college certificate or degree and, as a result, states are considering policies to increase college completion. One of these policies relates to how higher education is funded by the state.

Date Published: 3/1/2012

Description: Comprehensive databases that collect large amounts of information about early childhood programs could help educators and policymakers focus on programs proven the most successful.  Many states have proposed legislation to address early childhood data collection and use.

Date Published: 2/24/2012

Description: This archived recording is part of the Top 12 Issues of 2012 webinar series which explores some of the most pressing issues facing state legislatures.  This webinar discusses how states are mitigating recent cuts to education by reallocating K-12 resources to programs proven most effective at improving student achievement and by giving colleges and universities more flexibility in how they may use their limited funding from the states.

Date Published: 2/22/2013

Description: This webinar features an overview of education issues, including resource reallocation strategies, efforts to improve educator effectiveness, implementation of Common Core State Standards, improving school choice, and implementing new digital learning.

Date Published: 5/1/2012

Description: NCLB has governed federal education policy for the past decade.  It prescribes school, district and state interventions, consequences for failing to meet proficiency targets, and teacher qualifications.  Although NCLB was supposed to be reauthorized in 2007, no compromise has yet been reached.