Student Achievement, Classroom Teaching and Learning

Source: Annenberg Exchange

Date: 10/25

The Impact of Cellphone Bans in Schools on Student Outcomes: Evidence from Florida

"Cellphone bans in schools have become a popular policy in recent years in the United States, yet very little is known about their effects on student outcomes. In this study, we try to fill this gap by examining the causal effects of bans on student test scores, suspensions, and absences using detailed student-level data from Florida. Several important findings emerge. First, we show that the enforcement of cellphone bans in schools led to a significant increase in student suspensions in the short-term, especially among Black students, but disciplinary actions began to dissipate after the first year, potentially suggesting a new steady state after an initial adjustment period. Second, we find significant improvements in student test scores in the second year of the ban after that initial adjustment period. Third, the findings suggest that cellphone bans in schools significantly reduce student unexcused absences, an effect that may explain a large fraction of the test score gains. The effects of cellphone bans are more pronounced in middle and high school settings where student smartphone ownership is more common."

Charter Schools

Source: Manhattan Institute

Date: 11/25/25

Accelerating Public Charter Schools Lessons from Idaho's Regulatory Reform

Idaho provides a useful case study to states on how to update charter school laws, balancing operational autonomy with accountability in a proper regulatory framework. This paper presents Idaho's approach to regulatory reform in a field that had evolved piecemeal over 25 years, which may offer useful lessons for a wide range of states.

 

Idaho provides a useful case study to states on how to update charter school laws, balancing operational autonomy with accountability in a proper regulatory framework. This paper presents Idaho's approach to regulatory reform in a field that had evolved piecemeal over 25 years, which may offer useful lessons for a wide range of states.

Education and the Workplace

Source: Bellwether

Date: 12/4/25

Scaling What Works: Creating Career-Connected Learning Ecosystems That Support Students

By 2031, 85% of jobs that provide a family sustaining wage in the U.S. will require education and training beyond high school. Yet today, just 44% of Americans hold a postsecondary credential. This disconnect will have real consequences for learners, communities, and states. For individual learners, entering the workforce with only a high school diploma can mean a nearly $5,000 difference 3 in median annual earnings compared to those with a high-quality credential and a $20,000 difference in median annual earnings, compared to those with an associate degree. For states, when credential attainment doesn't meet labor market need, it can decrease the state's tax base and weaken its economies.

 

States have a unique opportunity to close this gap between credential attainment and labor market expectations by expanding career-connected learning opportunities that start in high school. Evidence-based high school models - such as career academies, career and technical education (CTE) programs of study, CTE dual or concurrent enrollment, early college high schools (ECHS), pathways in technology early college high schools (P-TECHs), and youth apprenticeships - give students an early start on pursuing their postsecondary and career goals. These models blend secondary and postsecondary academic and technical learning with authentic work-based experiences, improving outcomes in academic achievement, college enrollment, persistence, employment, and earnings.

Teacher Education, Quality, and Professional Development / Diversity

Source: NCTQ

Date: 12/3/25

Driving Diversity: How Teacher Prep Can Accelerate Progress

A growing body of research shows that teachers of color improve outcomes for all students-boosting academic achievement, attendance, and social-emotional growth. For students of color, the impact is even greater. Yet four in ten teacher prep programs are actively making the teacher workforce less diverse.

 

A high-quality teacher workforce is well-prepared, effective, and racially diverse. By removing unnecessary obstacles to becoming a teacher, states and teacher prep programs can strengthen the teacher workforce and help more students succeed.

Tuition Tax Credit

Source: AEI

Date: 12/1/25

Making the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit a Success

Key Points

Regardless of the federal scholarship tax credit's risks and vulnerabilities, the program is set to launch in January 2027.

Fortunately, education reformers generally and conservatives in particular can do much to make sure this program succeeds.

The most pressing decisions fall within the Treasury Department's upcoming rulemaking. The Treasury should set rules that protect private schools from overregulation, clarify definitions, and streamline the process.

Review of ESA's in Arizona: Q3 2025 Report

Source: Common Sense Institute

Reviewed by: David Garcia, Arizona State University

A recent report from the Common Sense Institute (CSI) addresses two important policy questions about Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program: 1) how much the ESA program will cost in the upcoming year, and 2) what the demographic characteristics of ESA users are by household income and race/ethnicity.

David Garcia of Arizona State University reviewed ESA's in Arizona: Q3 2025 Report. He determined that, given the limited data available about the program's volatility, policymakers should not be lulled into thinking that the major financial hits to the state's budget are in the past.

The Education Department gave another agency power to distribute its money. It hasn't gone well.

By: Juan Perez Jr., Nick Niedzwiadek and Bianca Quilantan, Politico

"Critics say a combination of technical problems, communication lapses, bureaucratic hurdles and scant preparation related to new grant payment systems snarled the process of distributing money from a $1.4 billion program for career and technical education initiatives for schools and local governments."

What would education's omission as a 'professional degree' mean?

By: Anna Merod, K-12Dive

"A lowered cap on federal student loans available to certain graduate students was approved in the "One Big, Beautiful Bill," which established the term "professional degrees" to be used internally by the agency to distinguish programs that qualify for higher student loan limits, according to an Education Department fact sheet released Nov. 24. The law also directed the Education Department to identify "professional degree" programs that will be eligible for the higher federal lending limits."

ICE Sent 600 Immigrant Kids to Detention in Federal Shelters This Year. It's a New Record.

By: Mica Rosenberg, Mario Ariza, McKenzie Funk, Jeff Ernsthausen and Gabriel Sandoval, ProPublica

"A cracked windshield, a waiting officer, a forgotten document: The new family separations often start in the most mundane ways."

Judge: Hernando private school accepted state vouchers for students 130 miles away

By: Jay Waagmeester and Florida Phoenix, Tampa Bay Journalism Project

"The episode follows release of a state audit into a state budget strain caused by what lawmakers agree are lax accounting practices in the school choice program."

Michigan districts have more time to agree to controversial waiver to get safety funding

By: Lori Higgins, Chalkbeat

"The state budget Michigan lawmakers approved in October requires school districts to agree that if there is a mass casualty event in their schools, they will disclose information that would otherwise be legally protected in deadly emergencies such as school shootings. Districts must also agree to comprehensive state investigations."

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