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 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 Vetoed 10/2009 CA P-12 Preschool Enrollment for Children of Juvenile Court Wards A.B. 769 States findings and declarations regarding children of youth who are in custody, or on probation or in the foster care system. Requires priority for participation in state preschool programs to be given to children who have a biological custodial parent who is... More... Vetoed 10/2009 CA P-12 Early Childhood Nutrition and Physical Activity Pilot Program A.B. 627 Provides legislative findings and declarations on nutrition and health in children's early years. Requires the superintendent of public instruction to establish a minimum 12-month pilot program in which selected child care centers and day care homes participat... More... Signed into law 08/2009 IL P-12 MOUs Between State and Head Start Programs S.B. 79 Requires grantees under the Preschool for All Children program to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the appropriate local Head Start agency within three months of the awarding of the grantee's grant. Requires collaboration between the grantee... More... Signed into law 07/2009 OH P-12 Early Childhood Advisory Council and Early Childhood Financing Workgroup H.B. 1 - Section 3301.90 and 265.70.20 Section 3301.90:Creates the Early Childhood Advisory Council to serve as the federally mandated state advisory council for early childhood education and care, and to advise the state regarding the creation and duties of the Center for Early Childhood Developme... More... Signed into law 06/2009 TX P-12 Council on Children and Families S.B. 1646 Creates the Council on Children and Families to coordinate the state's health, education and human services systems to ensure that children and families have access to needed services, and improve efficiency in the provision of services. Establishes council me... More... Issued 12/2008 KY P-12 Commission on Philanthropy E.O. 2008-1273 Establishes the state Commission on Philanthropy to explore new opportunities for creative solutions to the state's systemic challenges. Provides for an initial focus on early childhood education and child health.... More... Signed into law 08/2008 IL P-12 Commission on the Elimination of Poverty H.B. 4369 Creates the Commission on the Elimination of Poverty to develop a poverty elimination strategic plan to reduce extreme poverty in Illinois by 50% or more by 2015. In developing the overall strategic plan, and in working toward the goal of reducing extreme pove... More... Signed into law 04/2008 KY P-12 Family Resource and Youth Services Centers S.B. 192 Provides that family resource and youth services centers must provide services to enhance a student's ability to succeed in school. Provides that the most economically disadvantaged students and families must receive priority status for receiving services. Pro... More... Signed into law 03/2008 UT P-12 UPSTART Program S.B. 2 - Sections 3-9 Establishes UPSTART, a pilot project that uses a home-based educational technology program to develop the school readiness skills of children age 4-5 who have not entered kindergarten. Provides that UPSTART is created to evaluate the effectiveness of giving pr... More... Became law without governor's signature 07/2007 HI P-12 Hawaii 3-5 Transition Task Force H.B. 531 Establishes a "Hawaii 3-5 transition" task force to study the feasibility of expanding Hawaii's early intervention section to continue services for children ages 3-5. Directs the task force, in completing the feasibility study, to:      (1)  Identify the pote... More... Signed into law 07/2007 LA P-12 School Readiness Tax Credits S.B. 361 Grants school readiness tax credits to individuals for child care expenses of children five and under, to child care providers, to child care directors and staff, and to businesses providing assistance for child care. Provides the amount of the child care ex... More... Signed into law 05/2007 CO P-12 Statewide Early Childhood Councils H.B. 1062 Concerns the creation of a statewide system of early childhood councils to improve and sustain availability, accessibility, capacity and quality of services. The councils will be governed by the department of human services in collaboration with departments of... More... Signed into law 05/2007 KS P-12 Early Childhood System H.B. 2310 (Section 1) Directs the legislative educational planning committee, in collaboration with the 2010 commission, to: (1) Develop a coordinated, comprehensive system for the delivery of early childhood education services (2) Identify priorities for early childhood educatio... More... Signed into law 04/2007 WA P-12 Addresses Authority Issues S.B. 5952 From final House Bill report: The Department of Early Learning (DEL) was established in 2006 as an executive branch agency whose primary duties are to implement early learning policy and to coordinate, consolidate, and integrate child care and early learning p... More... Vetoed 05/2006 CO P-12 Statewide Early Childhood Councils H.B. 1397 Concerns the creation and duties of a statewide system of integrated early childhood councils. Repeals the pilot program for community consolidated child care services; incorporates the pilot program into a new integrated statewide system of early childhood co... More... Signed into law 04/2006 NE P-12 Early Childhood L.B. 1256 From the fiscal note: LB 1256 establishes an endowment fund to provide early childhood education grants to programs for at-risk children from birth to age three. Upon the effective date of an endowment agreement, administration of the Early Childhood Education... More... Signed into law 03/2006 WA P-12 Department of Early Learning H.B. 2964 Finds that the early years of a child's life are critical to the child's healthy brain development and that the quality of caregiving during the early years can significantly impact the child's intellectual, social, and emotional development. Declares that the... More... Signed into law 05/2005 OK P-12 Student Records S.B. 569 Adds a new section of law. Beginning with the 2007-2008 school year, upon initial enrollment in a public school district, schools are required to request the parent or guardian to provide information to the school district regarding participation in the follow... More... Signed into law 04/2005 WA P-12 Washington Early Learning Council H.B. 1152 From the fiscal note: The bill establishes the Washington early learning council within the Governor's Office. The purpose of the council is to provide vision, leadership, and direction to the improvement, realignment, and expansion of early learning programs ... More... 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