Charter Schools, School Finance and Funding

Source: University of Arkansas

Date: 8/9/2023

Charter School Funding: Little Progress Towards Equity in the City

Despite robust research that shows that teachers of color increase positive academic, social-emotional, and behavioral outcomes for all students, particularly students of color, new data and analysis from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) suggest a variety of ways state education leaders and policymakers could do more to increase teacher diversity. The new NCTQ report, State of the States 2023: Policies to Increase Teacher Diversity, shows the extent to which states are prioritizing teacher diversity in policy and funding across four key areas: (1) building a stronger pipeline of future teachers of color; (2) offering incentives to attract candidates of color; (3) supporting, retaining, and developing teachers of color; and (4) using data to set goals and track progress.

Gender Issues

Source: Heritage Foundation

Date: 8/9/2023

Once More with Feeling: Department of Education Releases Second Title IX Rule-and Fails Again

When agencies enact transformative regulations, they must respect the manifest intent of Congress, the procedural restraints imposed by the Administrative Procedure Act, and the delicate balance of state–federal power. The Department of Education has failed to do all of these things in its proposed Title IX rule, which would expand Title IX's sex discrimination to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. To open women's scholastic sports to biological males will destroy educational athletic opportunities and guarantee unfair outcomes. The department's Title IX athletics rule violates the principles of fundamental fairness and equal opportunity on which Title IX was founded. Those principles must prevail over arguments for the inclusion of biological men in women's sports if women's sports are to exist at all.

Politics, Policy, and School Practices / International and Comparative Ed

Source: Broookings Institute

Date: 8/4/2023

Government decisionmaking on education in low- and middle-income countries

Only a few innovations ever successfully scale throughout education systems. Previous research highlights two reasons for this scarcity of success stories: either the innovations are badly designed, or the environment is not conducive to accepting and absorbing the education innovations. Our research, however, finds that these two reasons cannot be separated and in fact are about a single concept: the fit among innovation, scaling strategy, and broader environment.

School Finance and Funding

Source: Broookings Institute

Date: 8/9/2023

State funding methods influence schools' spending decisions

When it comes to school finance, researchers have mainly focused on questions about how much money schools and districts receive. But what about the mechanics of how those amounts are determined-does that matter? Does it change school district behavior? In this piece, I attempt to unpack these questions by comparing school district staffing levels in two states, California and Washington, which have very similar funding levels but very different funding mechanisms. California uses a student-based formula that funds school districts based on the number and types of students they serve. In contrast, Washington's formula is known as a “resource-based” model. It derives a total funding amount for districts based on assumptions around how many teachers and other staff a district might need, and how much money those staff should earn, given the number and type of students they serve.

Teacher Employment and Retention, Diversity

Source: NCTQ

Date: 8/8/2023

STATE OF THE STATES 2023: Policies to Increase Teacher Diversity

Despite robust research that shows that teachers of color increase positive academic, social-emotional, and behavioral outcomes for all students, particularly students of color, new data and analysis from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) suggest a variety of ways state education leaders and policymakers could do more to increase teacher diversity. The new NCTQ report, State of the States 2023: Policies to Increase Teacher Diversity, shows the extent to which states are prioritizing teacher diversity in policy and funding across four key areas: (1) building a stronger pipeline of future teachers of color; (2) offering incentives to attract candidates of color; (3) supporting, retaining, and developing teachers of color; and (4) using data to set goals and track progress.

Think Again: Do Charter Schools Drain Resources From Traditional Public Schools?

Source: Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Reviewed by: Huriya Jabbar, University of Texas at Austin

The report references most of the relevant literature and fairly assesses the evidence. However, it makes claims and policy recommendations that are untested empirically and unwarranted based on the research. For example, it concludes that districts' higher expenditures in a charter environment are due to policies protecting traditional public schools from revenue fluctuations caused by charter competition. In doing so, it fails to consider other possible explanations, such as charters strategically enrolling relatively few students who are particularly costly to educate.

3 key best practices from the White House K-12 cybersecurity summit

By: Kara Arundel, K-12 Dive

School leaders must take prevention seriously and know who to call when an attack happens, government officials and educators said.

GreatLakesCenter.org