27 Mar2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The new “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
On Thursday, lawmakers in the Florida state Legislature sent Governor Ron DeSantis a landmark education bill, FL HB1 (23R), that guarantees vouchers to any family regardless of income. The legislation comes as Republican lawmakers in Florida and the nation more broadly have led an effort to expand parental rights in education. Democrats argue that the bill is essentially a giveaway to millionaires and billionaires across the state who send their children to choice options. Currently, the vouchers are available to students whose families earn no more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $120,000 for a family of four.
21 Mar2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The new “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
This week, the nation’s largest school district, Los Angeles Unified, will cancel classes for its nearly 422,000 students as nearly 65,000 school district employees begin a three day strike. The dispute involves Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents people who work for Los Angeles Unified in a variety of nonteaching positions — bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and paraprofessionals among others. The union represents 30,000 employees who are seeking a 30% pay raise — citing the increasing costs of living in Southern California. For context, the average Local 99 SEIU employee makes only $25,000 per year. The Los Angeles teachers’ union has asked its 35,000 members to join the walk out in solidarity and to avoid crossing the support workers’ picket lines. The joint walkout of marks the first of its kind for the district and is limited to three days.
14 Mar2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The new “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
On Monday, lawmakers on the Florida state House Postsecondary Education and Workforce Subcommittee passed FL HB999 (23R) — a wide ranging legislation that would introduce a number of new policies for the state university system across Florida. These policies include but are not limited to eliminating majors or minors that touch on subjects such as critical race theory and “radical” feminist or gender theories. The proposal would also prohibit universities and colleges from spending or accepting funds — from the state, feds, or elsewhere — on programs linked to diversity, equity and inclusion and critical race theory.
07 Mar2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
Last week, a massive education bill started to move its way through the Arkansas state legislature. It is likely that the bill will pass through the state Senate this week before heading to Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders desk for signature. The robust legislative package, SB294, otherwise known as Arkansas LEARNS has been touted by the governor as addressing a vast array of education issues ranging from school choice to increasing the starting salary for teachers across the state. While many school choice advocates are supporting the bill, going so far as to provide the financial backing for an extensive public relations campaign that includes television and Facebook ads, the legislation does not come without criticism. Arkansas minority whip, Democrat Rep. Vivian Flowers expressed her concern, saying:
21 Feb2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The new “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Rules State Education Funding System is Unconstitutional
Nearly a decade after a lawsuit was first introduced by advocacy groups, several parents, and six school districts, a Commonwealth Court judge ruled that Pennsylvania schools do not have the resources to adequately educate all students, and the gaps between the high poverty schools and well-resourced schools render the system unconstitutional. The 786-page ruling issued by Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer directs lawmakers and the Governor’s office to ensure that Pennsylvania schools provide all students with an education that meets constitutional standards. How the state will respond remains unclear.
07 Feb2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The new “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
SHEEO Releases Top Policy Priorities
Last month, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) released a report detailing the top policy priorities for state higher education leaders across the country. Economic and workforce development, along with the K-12 teacher workforce, tied for the top two state policy priorities of SHEEOs. Rounding out the top five priorities are (3) state funding for financial aid programs, (4) state operating support for public colleges and universities, and (5) higher education’s value proposition. Other issues include declining enrollment and college affordability, tied for sixth, (8) public perception of higher education, (9) addressing equity gaps, and (10) college completion/student success. Rising issues outlined in the report include a focus on student health and safety and student basic needs, like food, housing, and childcare.
24 Jan2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The new “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
On Thursday, Republican leaders in the Florida state House unveiled new legislation that would significantly expand eligibility for the state’s programs offering students vouchers to attend private schools. The proposed changes to the voucher program would allow any student to be eligible for state-funded tuition at a private school of their choice regardless of income. It would also pay parents who homeschool children. The legislation would also expand the voucher’s usages, allowing families to use the funds for private tutoring and specialized testing such as Advanced Placement exams, among other expenses.
09 Jan2023
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The new “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
In a recent survey of school superintendents across the state of Indiana, 95% of respondents say they are contending with a shortage of qualified candidates to fill vacant teaching positions. School district leadership identified the greatest shortage areas continue to be special education, science, math, English, foreign language, and elementary education. The survey was sent to all 291 traditional public school superintendents in Indiana, which resulted in 176 responses, or a 60.5% response rate.
20 Dec2022
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The new “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
OCR Enters Resolution Agreement with Virginia’s Southeastern Cooperative Educational Programs (SECEP) Regarding the use of Restraint and Seclusion
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that the Southeastern Cooperative Educational Programs (SECEP) in Virginia entered into a resolution agreement regarding the use of restraint and seclusion and the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities. OCR identified concerns that SECEP may have denied FAPE to students with disabilities when it did not reevaluate students after multiple incidents of restraint and seclusion and when students missed significant instructional time.
20 Dec2022
By Jacqueline Rodriguez
As we review the accomplishments of 2022 and look toward a New Year, AACTE is honored to have been one of the national organizations to have contributed to the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact (ITMC), recently finalized and ready for enactment by states.
Especially in the era of extraordinary teacher shortages, the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact (ITMC) creates the opportunity for classrooms across our country to have a profession-ready teacher guiding and supporting student’s academic growth.
13 Dec2022
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The new “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
OCR Enters Resolution Agreement with (California) Davis Joint Unified School District
This week, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that the Davis Joint Unified School District in California has entered into a resolution agreement to ensure that its restraint and seclusion policies and practices do not deny students with disabilities a free appropriate public education (FAPE).
21 Nov2022
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The new “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
Florida Judge Blocks “Stop-WOKE” Act for Colleges
A federal judge on Thursday halted a key piece of the “Stop-WOKE” Act, blocking state officials from enforcing what U.S Chief District Judge Mark Walker called a “positively dystopian” policy that restricts how lessons on race and gender can be taught in colleges and universities.
21 Nov2022
By Michael Rose
With the 2022 election results continuing to trickle in, we are learning who will serve as the states’ chief executive officer next year.
On November 8, Americans in 36 states cast ballots to elect their state governor, with approximately a quarter of them winning their first term. As the Education Commission of the States noted, “Governors play an important role in shaping education policy in states through their power to appoint members of their state boards of education, department of education heads and other key roles. Governors also use their authority and budget proposals to advocate for specific education policies and funding.”
15 Nov2022
By Kaitlyn Brennan
This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.
On Tuesday, voters across the nation headed to the polls to cast their ballot in the highly anticipated 2022 mid-term elections; with millions more participating in early voting or vote by mail. We will not have final results in the Senate until at least December 6t and House results continue to trickle in, but please take a read below for an analysis on where things stand today and what this could mean for education policy.
15 Nov2022
By Kaitlyn Brennan
The new “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.
A recent Enquirer analysis of state data found educator resignations in Ohio nearly quadruped from 2019 to 2021, in addition to there being five times as many retirements. State and local education leaders met to address the teacher shortage crisis late last month during a series of solutions-centered meetings.
The first event, hosted by Miami University, took place at the Voice of America Learning Center in West Chester Township. University leaders and officials from the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Higher Education were in attendance along with 100 additional stakeholders in education, business, and government.
