Federal Education Policy

This article discusses federal educational policy and provisions, briefly in the nineteenth century and more fully in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It details federal educational activity in the interests of equity and equality, such as desegregation and Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. It concentrates on the negative political reaction that has plagued federal educational activity, especially from conservatives suspicious of federal dominance. It also discusses ways around opposition to federal educational involvement, such as federal sponsorship and encouragement of educational endeavors in para-states and nonfederal institutions such as universities. The discussion also highlights federal educational efforts in various twentieth-century administrations, particularly the Truman, Johnson, Carter, and George W. Bush administrations, but also focuses on congressional legislation during those administrations.

How Responsive Is a Teacher’s Classroom Practice to Intervention? A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Field Studies

While teacher effectiveness has been a particular focus of federal education policy, and districts allocate significant resources toward professional development for teachers, these efforts are guided by an unexplored assumption that classroom practice can be improved through intervention. Yet even assuming classroom practice is responsive, little information is available to inform stakeholder expectations about how much classroom practice may change through intervention, or whether particular aspects of classroom practice are more amenable to improvement. Moreover, a growing body of rigorous research evaluating programs with a focus on improving classroom practice provides a new opportunity to explore factors associated with changes in classroom practice, such as intervention, study sample, or contextual features. This study examines the question of responsiveness by conducting a meta-analysis of randomized experiments of interventions directed at classroom practice. Our empirical findings indicate that multiple dimensions of classroom practice improve meaningfully through classroom practice-directed intervention, on average, but also find substantial heterogeneity in the effects. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

All Means All: Connecting Federal Education Policy and Local Implementation Practice Through Evidence and Equity

This article discusses equity-based inclusive education and federal policy drivers that can be used to make positive sustainable change in state, district, and local practice to improve the academic, social, and behavioral outcomes for all students including students with extensive support needs and those with labels of intellectual and developmental disabilities. Educational policies addressed include the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA), Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and civil rights legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The policy domain feature of the Schoolwide Integrated Framework for Transformation (SWIFT) model is examined regarding how it was implemented in districts and schools, working toward the goal of providing an equity-based inclusive education for all students. Translating federal education policy into state, district, and local practice requires leadership and political courage to align federal, state, and district policy with the vision and values of equity-based, inclusive education.

Sense-making of Federal Education Policy: Social Network Analysis of Social Media Discourse around the Every Student Succeeds Act

Grounded in the sense-making literature, this study explores the discourse around and sentiment toward the newly passed Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) as discussed on the social media platform Twitter. The study explores the characteristics of and connections between users, the content of posts, and the sentiment toward ESSA. Data consisted of 12,544 tweets posted by 8,063 users analyzed through discourse analysis and social network analysis. Findings suggest that the discourse appears generally nonnegative with a clear pattern of clustering around sentiment. This suggests that users are in discourse with other users who share their view of the law. Discussion of policy issues such as local implementation and equity were common as were discussions of teacher preparation and comparisons to NCLB. Implications for the ongoing implementation of ESSA are discussed.

Are School Districts Allocating Resources Equitably? The Every Student Succeeds Act, Teacher Experience Gaps, and Equitable Resource Allocation

Ongoing federal efforts support equalizing access to experienced educators for low-income students and students of color, thereby narrowing the “teacher experience gap.” I show that while high-poverty and high-minority schools have larger class sizes and receive less funding nationally, school districts allocate resource equitably, on average, across schools. However, the least experienced teachers are still concentrated in high-poverty and high-minority schools, both across and within districts. I then show that additional state and local funding is associated with more equitable district resource allocation. The study offers recommendations for state and federal education policy related to the Every Student Succeeds Act.