The public has an opportunity to tell the federal Education Department (ED) whether its proposal to change a grant application requirement will have a meaningful impact on the equity of grant programs. On Thursday, August 4, 2022, ED published a Federal Register notice asking for public comment on a revised GEPA form that all grantees […]
Category: blog
How to prevent school shootings (hint: it’s not educators’ problem to fix)
The epidemic of school shootings like the one that happened Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas, cannot be solved by educators. America’s gun violence epidemic has systemic causes that only systemic solutions can begin to fix. Political and media reactions to the massacre of 21 little children and their teachers at Robb Elementary School have sounded a […]
Learning from COVID Disruption: Expanding flexibility, equity, and innovation in Pennsylvania schools
What lessons can be learned from the challenges of COVID to improve flexibility, equity, and innovation in the K-12 system? A recent report from the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute of Politics (IOP) Education Policy Committee, Learning from Crisis: Policies and practices that support flexibility in providing equitable learning opportunities for all students, seeks to answer […]
ESSER Funding: Requirements and Opportunities for States and Districts for COVID-19 Relief
Due to the pandemic, states and districts are getting a large influx of money from the federal government- known as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, or ESSER. On June 8th, the Education Policy Club on Clubhouse held a workshop on ESSER funding. Moderators covered the main facts about ESSER, how states and […]
States Rethinking Instructional Time and Attendance Policies in the COVID-19 Era
Education Policy Strategies’ Maria Worthen contributed to the report, which highlights state-level innovation around seat time policies.
The Virtual Networking App That’s Creating A Vibrant Ecosystem of Ideas in Education and Beyond
I thrive on the give-and-take of an in-person conversation, and Clubhouse has been a delightful addition to my social media diet. As I reach a year on COVID-19 lockdown, this relatively new app is a pleasant surprise for extroverts and aural learners alike. Educators in particular are thriving on Clubhouse. At any given time of […]
New Directions for State K-12 Education Accountability Systems in the COVID Era and Beyond
Today, the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) published State Accountability Systems in the COVID Era and Beyond, which I co-authored with Robin Lake and an impressive roster of contributing experts on education policy. In the following excerpt, I share my thoughts about how states should be thinking about accountability this year. The bottom line: […]
Navigating Federal Policy and Advocacy in the Biden-Harris Administration and the 117th Congress
A new presidential administration and new Congress– especially one with a shift in majorities– presents many exciting new opportunities for education advocates. If you are new to federal advocacy, or if your skills have grown rusty over the last few years, I’m pleased to share a helpful resource. Last fall, I recorded a training module, […]
The 2020 Presidential Election, Waivers, and ESSA Reauthorization
If you’d asked me, “Which education issues are most at stake in the 2020 presidential election?” a year ago, I would have said with great certainty, higher education funding and school safety. The cost of higher education was the education issue on every candidate’s lips during the Democratic primary season. Keeping kids safe from guns and over-policing at […]
The Future of K-12 Accountability in the COVID-19 Era
Six months into the United States’ COVID-19 pandemic, my feed is full of new blogs and reports on the future of accountability in K-12 education policy. Understandably so, when so much about our education systems feel up in the air. Having spent a good deal of time thinking about the future of K-12 accountability and […]
