From the ECS State Policy Database - Highlighted Policies

This database is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States (ECS). Most entries are legislative, although rules/regulations and executive orders that make substantive changes are included. Every effort is made to collect the latest available version of policies; in some instances, recent changes might not be reflected. For expediency purposes minimal attention has been paid to style (capitalization, punctuation) and format. To view the documents, click on the blue triangle next to the topic. Please cite use of the database as: Education Commission of the States (ECS) State Policy Database, retrieved [date]. Status/Date State Level Summary 21st Century Skills Accountability Accountability--Accreditation Accountability--Measures/Indicators Accountability--Reporting Results Accountability--Rewards Accountability--Sanctions/Interventions Accountability--Sanctions/Interventions--Takeovers Accountability--School Improvement Adult Basic Education Assessment Assessment--Accommodations Assessment--College Entrance Exams Assessment--Computer Based Assessment--End-of-Course Assessment--Formative/Interim Assessment--Performance Based/Portfolio Assessment--Value Added At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention) At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention)--Alternative Education At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention)--Drugs/Alcohol Attendance Attendance--Compulsory Attendance--Statutory Ages (Upper and Lower) Attendance--Truancy Background Checks Bilingual/ESL Business Involvement Career/Technical Education Career/Technical Education--Career Academies/Apprenticeship Cheating Choice of Schools--Charter Schools Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Finance Choice of Schools--Choice/Open Enrollment Choice of Schools--Innovation Schools Choice of Schools--Tax Credits Choice of Schools--Vouchers Civic Education Civic Education--Character Education Class Size Counseling/Guidance Curriculum Curriculum--Arts Education Curriculum--Drivers Education Curriculum--Excusal Curriculum--Financial Literacy/Economics Ed. Curriculum--Foreign Language/Sign Language Curriculum--Geography Education Curriculum--Health/Nutrition Education Curriculum--International Education Curriculum--Language Arts--Writing/Spelling Curriculum--Mathematics Curriculum--Physical Education Curriculum--Science Data-Driven Improvement Desegregation Economic/Workforce Development Education Research Equity Federal Finance Finance--Adequacy/Core Cost Finance--District Finance--Equity Finance--Facilities Finance--Federal Finance--Funding Formulas Finance--Performance Funding Finance--Resource Efficiency Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures Finance--Taxes/Revenues Finance--Taxes/Revenues--Alternative Revenues Governance Governance--Deregulation/Waivers/Home Rule Governance--Regional Entities Governance--School Boards Governance--School Boards--Training Governance--Site-Based Management Governance--State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies Health Health--Child Abuse Health--Mental Health Health--Nutrition Health--School Based Clinics or School Nurses Health--Suicide Prevention High School High School--Advanced Placement High School--College Readiness High School--Dropout Rates/Graduation Rates High School--Dual/Concurrent Enrollment High School--Early Colleges/Middle Colleges High School--Exit Exams High School--GED (General Education Development) High School--Graduation Requirements Instructional Approaches--Constructivism Instructional Approaches--Grading Practices Instructional Approaches--Homeschooling Instructional Approaches--Single-Sex Education Integrated Services/Full-Service Schools International Baccalaureate Leadership Leadership--District Superintendent Leadership--Principal/School Leadership Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Certification and Licensure Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Compensation and Diversified Pay Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Evaluation and Effectiveness Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Preparation Signed into law 07/2009 IL P-12 Mentoring for New Superintendents S.B. 1276 Requires any individual, with exceptions, who begins serving as a first-time superintendent in the state on or after July 1, 2009 to participate in a mentoring program for his or her first 2 school years as a superintendent. Specifies that superintendent mento... More... Signed into law 07/2009 OH P-12 Financial Reporting and Minimum Standards H.B. 1 - Section 3301.07 Partially from the DOE summary of H.B. 1:Modifies the current requirement for the state board to develop a standard for reporting financial information to the public. Requires districts and educational service center boards to report revenues and expenditures ... More... Signed into law 05/2009 AL P-12 Superintendent Professional Development and Induction S.B. 262 Directs the School Superintendents of Alabama to administer a professional development program for school superintendents of education. Requires the program to draw guidance from the National Staff Development Council definition of "professional development." ... More... Signed into law 03/2009 KY P-12 Improving Writing S.B. 1 Section 17 Provides that whereas the quality of writing instruction is directly related to how well teachers are prepared in their teacher preparation programs and how confident they are in the writing process; and whereas some teachers have expressed tentativeness and d... More... Adopted 10/2007 IL P-12 Mentoring Program for New Principals 23 IAC 35.10 thru .70 Creates new sections establishing rules for program created in statute to pair first-year principals with experienced principals in a year-long mentorship. Pages 589-599 of 671: http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/index/register/register_volume31_iss... More... Signed into law 07/2006 IL P-12 Principal Certification, Mentoring and Evaluation S.B. 860 Requires the state board to establish a new principal mentoring program to allow experienced principals to serve as mentors to new principals during their first year as a principal. Requires the principal, in collaboration with the mentor, to identify areas fo... More... Signed into law 05/2006 CO P-12 Principal Evaluations and Development H.B. 1001 Concerns principals in public schools; requires the state board of education to direct the department of education annually to survey school district superintendents who employ new principals; requires school districts to provide observations and written evalu... More... Signed into law 05/2006 FL P-12 School Leader Professional Development H.B. 7087 (Section 63) There is established the William Cecil Golden Professional Development Program for school leaders to provide high standards and sustained support for principals as instructional leaders. The program will consist of a collaborative network of state and national... More... Signed into law 04/2006 KY P-12 Redesigning Leadership Preparation and Professional Development Programs H.J.R. 14 Directs the executive director of the Education Professional Standards Board with the cooperation of the commissioner of education and the president of the Council on Postsecondary Education to establish an interagency task force to collaborate with public and... More... Signed into law 03/2005 KY P-12 Instructional Leadership H.B. 301 Effective July 2006, requires an instructional leader to complete an intensive annual training program of a minimum of 21 hours a year and approved by the state board of education. Mandates that state board include a provision to allow an instructional leader ... More... Signed into law 09/2004 CA P-12 Principal Training Program A.B. 164 Authorizes training plans for high school principals to include professional development activities that include coaching, mentorship, assistance and intensive support customized to meet the individual needs of high school administrators. http://www.leginfo.ca... More... Signed into law 04/2004 MI P-12 Teacher Fees S.B. 1016 Amends the School Code to expand uses of teacher certification fees to include the teacher and administrator professional development and other quality-related activities. http://www.michiganlegislature.org/documents/2003-2004/publicact/pdf/2004-PA-0076.pdf... More... Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Recruitment and Retention Mentoring/Tutoring Middle School Minority/Diversity Issues--African American Minority/Diversity Issues--American Indian / Alaska Native / Native Hawaiian No Child Left Behind No Child Left Behind--Adequate Yearly Progress No Child Left Behind--Assessment No Child Left Behind--Choice/Transfer No Child Left Behind--Consequences for Schools No Child Left Behind--Finance No Child Left Behind--Parent Involvement No Child Left Behind--Reauthorization Issues/Waivers No Child Left Behind--Report Cards No Child Left Behind--School Support No Child Left Behind--Supplemental Services Online Learning--Digital/Blended Learning Online Learning--Virtual Schools/Courses P-16 or P-20 P-3 P-3 Child Care P-3 Content Standards and Assessment P-3 Early Intervention (0-3) P-3 Ensuring Quality P-3 Evaluation/Economic Benefits P-3 Family Involvement P-3 Finance P-3 Governance P-3 Grades 1-3 P-3 Kindergarten--Full-Day Kindergarten P-3 Preschool Parent/Family Partnerships--University/School Postsecondary Postsecondary Accountability Postsecondary Accountability--Accreditation Postsecondary Accountability--Diploma Mills Postsecondary Affordability Postsecondary Affordability--Financial Aid Postsecondary Affordability--Textbooks Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees--Undocumented Immigrants Postsecondary Faculty Postsecondary Faculty--Compensation Postsecondary Faculty--Intellectual Property Postsecondary Faculty--Teaching Assistants Postsecondary Faculty--Tenure Postsecondary Finance Postsecondary Finance--Efficiency/Performance-Based Funding Postsecondary Governance and Structures Postsecondary Institutions--Community/Technical Colleges Postsecondary Institutions--Private/Independent Postsecondary Online Instruction Postsecondary Participation--Access Postsecondary Participation--Admissions Requirements Postsecondary Participation--Outreach Postsecondary Students--Foster Youth Postsecondary Students--Graduate/Professional Postsecondary Students--Low-Income Postsecondary Students--Minority Postsecondary Success Postsecondary Success--Completion Postsecondary Success--Developmental/Remediation Postsecondary Success--Retention/Persistence Postsecondary Success--Transfer/Articulation Proficiency-Based Approaches Promising Practices Promotion/Retention Public Involvement Reading/Literacy Remediation (K-12) Scheduling/School Calendar Scheduling/School Calendar--Day/Class Length Scheduling/School Calendar--Extended Day Programs Scheduling/School Calendar--Summer School Scheduling/School Calendar--Year School Safety School Safety--Bullying Prevention/Conflict Resolution School Safety--Disaster/Emergency Preparedness School Safety--Sexual Harassment and Assault School/District Structure/Operations School/District Structure/Operations--District Consolidation/Deconsolidation School/District Structure/Operations--Facilities School/District Structure/Operations--Food Service School/District Structure/Operations--Libraries School/District Structure/Operations--Personnel (Non-Teaching) School/District Structure/Operations--School Size School/District Structure/Operations--Shared Services School/District Structure/Operations--Transportation Social/Emotional Learning and Non-Cognitive Skills Special Education Special Education--Finance Special Education--Inclusion (Mainstreaming) Special Education--Transition Special Populations--Corrections Education Special Populations--Foster Care Special Populations--Gifted and Talented Special Populations--Homeless Education Standards Standards--Common Core State Standards State Longitudinal Data Systems State Policymaking State Policymaking--Task Forces/Commissions STEM Student Achievement Student Achievement--Closing the Achievement Gap Students Students--Athletics/Extracurricular Activities Students--Mobility Students--Records/Rights Teaching Quality Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Alternative Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Assignment Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Highly Qualified Teachers Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Natl. Bd. for Prof. Teach. Stds. Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Special Education Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay--Pay-for-Performance Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay--Retirement/Benefits Teaching Quality--Evaluation and Effectiveness Teaching Quality--Induction Programs and Mentoring Teaching Quality--Preparation Teaching Quality--Professional Development Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention--At-Risk Schools Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention--High-Needs Subjects Teaching Quality--Reduction in Force Teaching Quality--Teacher Attitudes Teaching Quality--Tenure or Continuing Contract Teaching Quality--Unions/Collective Bargaining Technology Technology--Devices/Software/Hardware Technology--Funding Issues Technology--Teacher/Faculty Training Textbooks and Open Source Urban