Students & Families

Recently Published Resources

A subheading that provides more information or a call to action.

Featured

Topic

Policy Levers to Advance Credential Transparency

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur. Elit et cursus pharetra neque eu. Netus praesent scelerisque sit quis elit amet tincidunt ultrices.

Policy Brief

Special Education Funding | State Information Request

Updated Sept. 24, 2025 A state policymaker asked our policy team for information on how states fund special education services and equitable funding approaches for these services. Our response provides an […]

Governors' State of the State Addresses: Education-Related Proposals

Education Commission of the States tracks education-related proposals from governors’ annual State of the State addresses. Click on a state in the map below to view annual state-specific proposals. (Purple […]

Lessons in Data Governance for State Education Leaders

This Policy Brief stems from a Thinkers Meeting hosted by Education Commission of the States that gathered experts in data governance to discuss how state leaders can avoid common pitfalls that undermine data governance policies.

Ed Note Blog Posts

A subheading that provides more information or a call to action.

High School K-12

Cell Phone Restrictions in Schools and Student Wellbeing

Mental health is complex, and, by various metrics, kids have not been alright. Some factors of youth mental health declines cited by policymakers are screen time, cell phone use and […]

Early Education (P-3)High School K-12

A Framework for State Leaders to Advance Summer Learning

2021 was a turning point for summer learning in this country. Catalyzed by pandemic-related interrupted instruction, a broad movement to return to in-person learning and $1.2 billion in ESSER funds […]

K-12

Indigenous Students Count: Challenges and Promising Practices

A recent report from the Indigenous Student Identification Project (ISI) found that K-12 Indigenous students may be undercounted by as much as 70% across the United States. This has […]

Early Education (P-3)

Six pre-K students sit on around their teacher on a colorful foam mat in their classroom.

How Can State Policymakers Foster Integrated Early Learning Environments?

Integrated learning environments can lead to academic and social benefits for children, however, most early care and education (ECE) programs are largely segregated as a function of both neighborhood segregation […]

High School Postsecondary Workforce

A close-up view of an interviewer and interviewee at a wooden table. The interviewer holds a resume in their hands.

Normalizing Opportunity: Barriers and Supports for Successful Reentry From Incarceration 

As someone who works closely with people reentering society, and as someone who is looking ahead to his own approaching release from incarceration, I’ve seen firsthand the need to ensure […]

K-12

How Can States Support Immigrant Students’ Education?

Conversations about immigrant and refugee students often obscure the fact that federal laws — bolstered by court decisions throughout the past few decades — provide newcomer students with the right […]

K-12

North Carolina's Promising Approach to Learning Recovery

As the education landscape continues to be impacted by school closures, quarantines and staffing uncertainties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, states have been working hard to reduce the long-term effects […]

K-12

Nevada Teen Partners With Policymakers to Champion Mental Health

When Robert Barsel, a 17-year-old high school senior living in Nevada, began leading peer support groups, he could not have imagined the impact it would have on him. Reflecting back […]

High School

New Rhode Island Graduation Requirements Driven by Community Feedback

The Rhode Island Department of Education began the process of changing the state graduation requirements as a result of the analysis of the Rhode Island high school student experience provided […]

Postsecondary

Bridging Computer Science Pathways From K-12 to Postsecondary

Several states are ramping up to expand students’ access to computer science courses and career pathways, and 50 governors signed the Governors’ Compact for Computer Science. Comparably, in the postsecondary […]

1 2 3 … 8 Next »