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House Education Committee Chairman Rep. Brooks Coleman addresses a question to Georgia Partnership president, Dr. Steve Dolinger, and Dr. Dana Rickman, Georgia Partnership vice president, during a joint House and Senate Education Committee meeting. Dolinger and Rickman were invited to brief the lawmakers on key issues found in the latest Top Ten Issues to Watch report.

This page offers a look at education policy from a variety of sources and perspectives – new reports, articles, government guidance.  Inclusion here does not indicate Georgia Partnership endorsement.  Entries go back to 2016.  Report broken links here.

Check these other education policy organizations
Education Commission of the States (ECS)EducationNextExcelinEdCenter on Education PolicyCenter on Reinventing Public EducationConsortium for Policy Research in EducationEconomic Policy InstituteEducation FirstEducational Policy InstituteFoundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd)Georgia Budget & Policy InstituteGeorgia Public Policy FoundationLearning Policy InstituteNational Education Policy CenterNew AmericaSouthern Regional Education BoardU.S. Department of Education

2018

Challenge to Lead 2020 – Refreshed 2016
Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)

This report offers six critical goals. They were designed to help SREB state leaders connect measures of student achievement to essential state policies. Each goal includes background information and the steps states need to take to meet each goal in the years ahead. (July 9)

Helping students navigate financial aid forms offers big return for Georgia
Georgia Budget and Policy Institute

Georgia’s rate of FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid) completion is low, leaving millions of dollars of federal student aid on the table each year. (May 1)

Shifting public funds to public schools: High costs, poor track record
Georgia Budget and Policy Institute

Georgia lawmakers created multiple pathways to shift public funds to private schools in recent years. These schemes risk reducing money available to invest in public schools and critical state services. (April 27)

Valuable progress, more work ahead for Georgia public school funding
Georgia Budget and Policy Institute

Georgia lawmakers reached a critical milestone during the 2018 legislative session: They ended 16 years of shortchanging the state’s formula for funding K-12 schools.  (April 19)

2017

Show Me the Data 2017
Data Quality Campaign

States can – and must – create report cards that meet the needs of parents, communities, and taxpayers.  Getting people the information they need is essential. Introduction 1 and Introduction 2. (December 6)

Our Education Efforts are Evolving
Bill Gates (Co-founder Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)

These are the remarks delivered at the Council of Great City Schools conference October 19. Related information. (November 9)

Policy Snapshot – Attainment Goals and Plans – What Is the Issue and Why Does It Matter?
Education Commission of the States

Nearly every state has or is considering a post-secondary educational attainment rate goal above 55 percent, and current averages fall as low as low 33 percent. Introduction. (October 31)

A “Flexible” Third Way Option: Partnership Schools On the Rise
Center on Reinventing Public Education

What are partnership schools? This series of reports answers that and looks at pros, cons and options. More:  District Schools? Charters? In Indianapolis, Partnership Schools Offer a Third Option and Partnership Schools: New Governance Model for Creating Quality School Options in Districts. (October 19)

Assessments 101:  A Policymaker’s Guide to K-12 Assessments
Education Commission of the States

Assessments come in many forms in part because they serve many purposes and those purposes vary by the stakeholders they serve. (October 3)

The 2017 EdNext Poll on School Reform
EducationNext

This survey conducted earlier this year, offers an opportunity to look at how the power-swing over the past 18 months, including the impact of the new president, is effecting education policy on a variety of subjects. Related story. (August 16)

Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems – What is the Issue and Why Does It Matter?
Education Commission of the States (ECS)

As states tackle complex policy issues spanning the pre-school through workforce pipeline, the importance of using data to inform education policy continues to increase. (August 2)

Alignment of Instructional Materials to State Readiness Standards – Trends, Best Practices and Actions Across States in the SREB Region
Southern Regional Education Board

How have schools managed the massive shift of aligning classroom instructional materials to their states’ college- and career-readiness standards? This report details how states approached the challenge and recommends strategies to focus on as the work continues. Introduction. (July 26)

Time To Act – Put Data in the Hands of People
Data Quality Campaign

This summarizes states’ efforts to act on the Data Quality Campaign’s previously released Four Policy Priorities and provides a clear set of actions that must be taken to fully realize the power of data to support all students. Introduction. (July 13)

Informing Progress – Insights on Personalized Learning Implementation and Effects
Rand Corporation

The basic concept of personalized learning (PL) – instruction that is focused on meeting students’ individual learning needs while incorporating their interests and preferences – has been a long standing tradition in U.S. and U.K. schools.  This study finds “modest gains, big challenges.” (July 11)

Measuring What Matters Most
Education First – Advancing Higher Quality States Assessments

The resources provided here offer state and local policy makers materials to help advocate for higher quality assessments. (June 26)

What the Common Core Saga Tells Us About the Education Policy Environment
Education Commission of the States (ECS)

When Donald Trump used Twitter as a key part of his political campaign, education policymakers must have wondered what role social media would play in the new political environment. Some important clues can be found in an analysis of the Common Core debate on Twitter. (April 6)

Georgia’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for Education: Review of Trends and Policy Implications
Georgia State University, Andrew Young Center for State & Local Finance

Georgia enacted the special purpose local option sales tax for education (ESPLOST) in 1996, giving school districts the opportunity, with voter approval, to adopt a 1 cent sales tax with revenue earmarked for capital outlay. The ESPLOST has proven to be very popular with voters. (March 9)

2016

K-3 Policymakers’ Guide to Action: Making the Early Years Count
Education Commission of the States

The preschool through third-grade years are foundational in a child’s journey towards lifelong learning. Developmentally, these early elementary years are when children best acquire the academic and non-academic skills on which long-lasting educational success depends. Introduction. (December 2)

ESSA, Equity and Exploring Specific Student Populations
Education Commission of the States (November 3)

To assist state education leaders in the policymaking process, ECS is releasing five reports focused on a variety of student populations. (November 3)

SREB Insights – Compare and Understand State Policy and Practice
Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)

What policies have states adopted to help students reach college and career-readiness standards, and how are they implementing them?  Explore actions across 16 states. Introduction. (October 17)

Surveying State Legislators – Views on K-12 Education, Choice-Based Policies, and the Profession
Ed Choice

State legislators oversee billions of dollars in spending, in many cases more than half of it for K-12 education. But how do legislators set their agendas? What sources of information do they rely on? And what do they think about K-12 education? Related story. (October 4)

Educational Technology Policy Brief – Data Privacy and Security
SREB

Educators and policymakers often struggle to find the right balance between keeping data private and secure – and making educational technology systems highly available for the latest innovations in teaching and learning. This reviews recent legislation related to data privacy and security and reports on security breaches at various organizations. Related story.  Introduction. (September 13)

Program on Education Policy and Governance – Survey 2016
Education Next
U.S. Education Ratings Show Record Political Polarization
Gallup

As a new school year gets underway, the Common Core remains a partisan flashpoint, while Americans overall have serious concerns about the direction of our public education system. That’s according to these two new polls. Introduction. Related story. (August 23)

No More Free Lunch for Education Policy Makers and Researchers
Brookings

This report says Free and Reduced Lunch data cannot serve as a proxy for poverty because more and more schools now offer free lunch to all their students. Related story. (July 5)