Ed Note

Our blog features education research and policy trends, promising practices from states and partners, and anecdotes from our work with state leaders across the country.

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July 28, 2016

States Improving Pre-K Education Quality and Access, But What Happens Next?

This is a guest blog post by Matt Weyer, a policy specialist in NCSL’s Education Program. With state pre-k investments increasing to nearly $7 billion dollars nationally (and up 12 percent […]

K-12

July 27, 2016

Do We Spend Too Much on Special Education?

I was recently asked this question while presenting at Education Commission of the States’ National Forum in Washington, D.C., and my response surprised most of the meeting attendees. I said […]

K-12

July 21, 2016

Stakeholder Engagement in Montana: How one SEA does it

This is a guest blog post by Deborah Halliday, Senior Policy Advisor at the Montana Office of Public Instruction. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) ups the ante on stakeholder input into […]

K-12

July 20, 2016

Promising Practices in Arts Education

The Arts Education Partnership (AEP), the newest center at Education Commission of the States, continues to be showcasing the promising practices of partner organizations and other practitioners across the country. This […]

Postsecondary

July 13, 2016

State Laws May Create Challenges for Local Broadband Expansion

Inadequate access to industry-standard broadband speeds confronts many households and individuals across the states as indicated in a recent Education Commission of the States report. Certain communities simply do not […]

K-12

July 12, 2016

Medical Marijuana in Schools: State legislation and policy considerations

If you're looking for more up-to-date information, please see our most recent post on this topic, "When Medical Marijuana Meets School Drug Policy, What Can States Do?" published January 2019. […]

July 7, 2016

NobleCause Grant to Fund Innovative Service-Learning Model

This is a guest blog post by Dolly Duplantier that originally appeared on NobleHour. Imagine the impact 75,000 students could make if each one participated in just one community focused service-learning […]

K-12 Postsecondary

July 1, 2016

Final Day of the 2016 National Forum on Education Policy

The final day of our annual convening was full of great highlights. Shanna Peeples, the 2015 National Teacher of the Year, opened the day with a story about her childhood […]

K-12 Postsecondary

June 30, 2016

Day Two of #ECSNF16

Here’s an update on the action-packed day two of the National Forum on Education Policy. Brandon Busteed, Executive Director of Education and Workforce Development at Gallup, opened up the day […]

K-12

June 29, 2016

Day One at the 2016 National Forum on Education Policy

The first day of Education Commission of the States’ National Forum was a tremendous success! More than 580 education policy leaders including governors, legislators, chief state school officers and teachers […]

K-12

June 28, 2016

2016 STEM Legislative Activity

STEM continues to be the focus of significant legislative activity. Dozens of 2016 enactments – both statutory provisions and appropriations bills – create, amend or fund provisions for K-12 through […]

K-12

June 23, 2016

Education Innovation in Idaho Program

This blog is a guest post by Sen. Steven Thayn. Idaho’s Advanced Opportunities program reduces the cost of college to students, their families and the taxpayers of the state. The […]