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Education Governance Dashboard

State education governance relates to the roles, responsibilities and relationships of individuals and entities that are charged with developing, implementing and overseeing policies and programs, as well as the processes and structures that guide their work.

While there are common models for education governance structures, each state has a unique system that is rooted in and has evolved based on its goals, political context, culture and history. One approach to analyzing common models is to identify the primary characteristics that differentiate states’ governance structures.

Under early learning governance structures, states have created single agencies to oversee several core programs and services, consolidated multiple programs within an agency or coordinated the programs across agencies. A primary distinction in K-12 governance systems is whether state board of education members and chief state school officers are appointed, and by whom, or are elected by voters. For postsecondary governance, one distinguishing characteristic is the type of boards and agencies that exist at the state and major system levels, including coordinating, governing and administrative.

Regardless of the different models, effective governance often depends on the collaboration of individuals and entities across the P-20 continuum and different structures to create, evaluate and reform education policies to meet state goals. 

This dashboard provides an overview of early learning, K-12 and postsecondary governance structures and models across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The information on this page reflects statute, regulations and executive orders as of Nov. 12, 2020. For the most up-to-date information on early care and education governance changes, please see ECS’ Early Care and Education Governance Policy Outline. See the links at the bottom of the page for more information about state education governance systems.

To sort and filter by values in the table below click here.

Early Care and Education Governance Models

K-12 Governance Models

Postsecondary Governance Models

Early Care and Education Governance Models:

Created: The state has created an early care and education lead agency with responsibility for multiple programs and functions.
Consolidated: The state has consolidated multiple early care and education agencies and functions into a single agency that also has broader responsibilities.
Coordinated: The state coordinates early care and education functions across two or more state agencies.

K-12 Governance Models:

Model I/Appointed Board, Appointed Chief: Voters elect the governor, who then appoints both the members of the state board of education and the chief state school officer.
Model II/Governor Appoints Board, Board Appoints Chief: Voters elect the governor, who then appoints either all or most of the members of the state board of education. The state board, in turn, appoints the chief state school officer.
Model III/Appointed Board, Elected Chief: Voters elect both the governor and the chief state school officer. The governor then appoints the state board of education.
Model IV/Elected Board, Board Appoints Chief: Voters elect both the governor and the state board of education. The state board then appoints the chief state school officer.
Other: These states function using various components of the other models.

Postsecondary Governance Models:

Single, Statewide Coordinating Board/Agency: It is responsible for key aspects of the state’s role with public postsecondary institutions and, in some cases, with independent colleges.
Single, Statewide Governing Board: It manages and oversees most functions of the public higher education system and typically has broad authority over institutions.
One or More Major, Systemwide Coordinating or Governing Board: They oversee institutions within a major, postsecondary system within states that do not have a single, statewide coordinating or governing board. Note, some of the states with this model also have an administrative or service agency as part of the governance system. See the table below for more.
Administrative/Service Agency: It oversees a variety of programs and services for institutions across the state. These states also have system-level coordinating or governing boards and/or governing boards for individual institutions.

State	Early Care and Education Governance	K-12 Governance	Postsecondary Governance
Alabama	Created	Model IV: Elected Board, Board Appoints Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
Alaska	Coordinated	Model II: Governor Appoints Board, Board Appoints Chief	Single, statewide governing board
Arizona	Coordinated	Model III: Governor-Appointed Board, Elected Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board and Administrative/service agency
Arkansas	Consolidated	Model II: Governor Appoints Board, Board Appoints Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
California	Coordinated	Model III: Governor-Appointed Board, Elected Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board
Colorado	Coordinated	Model IV: Elected Board, Board Appoints Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
Connecticut	Created	Model II: Governor Appoints Board, Board Appoints Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board and Administrative/service agency
Delaware	Consolidated	Model I: Governor-Appointed Board, Governor-Appointed Chief	Administrative/service agency
District of Columbia	Consolidated	Other: Elected Board; Mayor-Appointed Chief	Administrative/service agency
Florida	Consolidated	Model II: Governor Appoints Board, Board Appoints Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board and Administrative/service agency
Georgia	Created	Model III: Governor-Appointed Board, Elected Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board
Hawaii	Coordinated	Model II: Governor Appoints Board, Board Appoints Chief	Single, statewide governing board
Idaho	Coordinated	Model III: Governor-Appointed Board, Elected Chief	Single, statewide governing board
Illinois	Coordinated	Model II: Governor Appoints Board, Board Appoints Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
Indiana	Consolidated	Other: Jointly appointed Board, Governor-Appointed Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
Iowa	Coordinated	Model I: Governor-Appointed Board, Governor-Appointed Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board and Administrative/service agency
Kansas	Coordinated	Model IV: Elected Board, Board Appoints Chief	Single, statewide governing board
Kentucky	Coordinated	Model II: Governor Appoints Board, Board Appoints Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
Louisiana	Consolidated	Other: Governor-Appointed and Elected State Board; Board-Appointed Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
Maine	Coordinated	Model I: Governor-Appointed Board, Governor-Appointed Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board
Maryland	Consolidated	Model II: Governor Appoints Board, Board Appoints Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
Massachusetts	Created	Model II: Governor Appoints Board, Board Appoints Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
Michigan	Consolidated	Model IV: Elected Board, Board Appoints Chief	Not applicable. Michigan does not have a statewide postsecondary board or agency or a major, systemwide board, and therefore does not fall under any of the governance models.
Minnesota	Coordinated	Other: No State Board; Governor-Appointed Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board and Administrative/service agency
Mississippi	Coordinated	Other: Jointly Appointed State Board; Board-Appointed Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board
Missouri	Coordinated	Model II: Governor Appoints Board, Board Appoints Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
Montana	Coordinated	Model III: Governor-Appointed Board, Elected Chief	Single, statewide governing board
Nebraska	Coordinated	Model IV: Elected Board, Board Appoints Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
Nevada	Consolidated	Other: Governor-Appointed and Elected State Board; Governor-Appointed Chief	Single, statewide governing board
New Hampshire	Coordinated	Model I: Governor-Appointed Board, Governor-Appointed Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board and Administrative/service agency
New Jersey	Coordinated	Model I: Governor-Appointed Board, Governor-Appointed Chief	Administrative/service agency
New Mexico	Created	Other: Advisory Only; Governor-Appointed Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
New York	Coordinated	Other: Legislatively Appointed State Board; Board-Appointed Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board and Administrative/service agency
North Carolina	Consolidated	Model III: Governor-Appointed Board, Elected Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board
North Dakota	Coordinated	Model III: Governor-Appointed Board, Elected Chief	Single, statewide governing board
Ohio	Coordinated	Other: Governor-Appointed and Elected State Board; Board-Appointed Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
Oklahoma	Coordinated	Model III: Governor-Appointed Board, Elected Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
Oregon	Consolidated	Other: Governor-Appointed State Board, Governor as Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
Pennsylvania	Consolidated	Model I: Governor-Appointed Board, Governor-Appointed Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board and Administrative/service agency
Rhode Island	Coordinated	Model II: Governor Appoints Board, Board Appoints Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board
South Carolina	Coordinated	Other: Legislatively Appointed State Board; Elected Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
South Dakota	Coordinated	Model I: Governor-Appointed Board, Governor-Appointed Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board
Tennessee	Coordinated	Model I: Governor-Appointed Board, Governor-Appointed Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
Texas	Coordinated	Other: Elected Board; Governor-Appointed Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
Utah	Coordinated	Model IV: Elected Board, Board Appoints Chief	Single, statewide governing board
Vermont	Consolidated	Model I: Governor-Appointed Board, Governor-Appointed Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board
Virginia	Coordinated	Model I: Governor-Appointed Board, Governor-Appointed Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
Washington	Created	Other: Governor-Appointed and Elected State Board; Elected Chief	Single, statewide coordinating board/agency
West Virginia	Coordinated	Model II: Governor Appoints Board, Board Appoints Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board
Wisconsin	Coordinated	Other: No State Board; Elected Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board
Wyoming	Coordinated	Model III: Governor-Appointed Board, Elected Chief	One or more major, systemwide coordinating or governing board