State Policy

Read more about state laws, regulations, and programs that impact education
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Curriculum Inside the Effort to Shed Light on Districts' Curriculum Choices
Few states make the information easily searchable.
Sarah Schwartz, November 26, 2024
4 min read
An empty classroom is shown at A.G. Hilliard Elementary School on Sept. 2, 2017, in Houston.
An empty classroom is shown at A.G. Hilliard Elementary School on Sept. 2, 2017, in Houston. Texas's state school board has approved a curriculum with Bible-infused lessons, the latest of a wave of state policies challenging the church-state divide in schools.
David J. Phillip/AP
States More States Are Testing the Limits Around Religion in Public Schools
A wave of state policies mixing public education and religion are challenging the church-state divide in public schools.
Brooke Schultz, November 25, 2024
4 min read
A Texas flag is displayed in an elementary school in Murphy, Texas, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020.
A Texas flag is displayed in an elementary school in Murphy, Texas, in 2020.
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Curriculum Texas Students May Soon Be Reading Bible Stories in English Classes
The state has advanced a controversial curriculum that includes Christian teachings in K-5 lessons.
Sarah Schwartz, November 19, 2024
5 min read
Illustration of two cliffs with a woman on one side and a man on the other. Both of them are holding a half of a cog wheel and bringing the two pieces together to bridge the gap between them.
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Teacher Preparation Q&A How This Teacher-Prep Program and District Aligned on the Science of Reading
In Tennessee, a small network of schools and universities are aligning future teachers' coursework with evidence-based literacy practices.
Sarah Schwartz, November 18, 2024
8 min read
Close up of student holding a pencil and filling in answer sheet on a bubble test.
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Assessment Why the Pioneers of High School Exit Exams Are Rolling Them Back
Massachusetts is doing away with a decades-old graduation requirement. What will take its place?
Sarah Schwartz, November 11, 2024
7 min read
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Budget & Finance Don't Forget About Money for Schools: How Public Education Fared at the Polls
Voters approved billions for school construction bonds in California—but rejected more than $4 billion in bond spending in Houston.
Mark Lieberman, November 6, 2024
5 min read
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School Choice & Charters Voters Rejected Private School Choice. A Trump Administration May Push It Anyway
Pro-school choice initiatives failed in Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska.
Mark Lieberman, November 6, 2024
6 min read
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States The Number of States That Require Schools to Teach Cursive Is Growing
Here are the states that require schools to teach cursive handwriting.
Brooke Schultz, November 6, 2024
1 min read
Pencil drawing a checkmark in a box. U.S.A. ballot measures voting in elections.
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States 5 Ways You Didn't Know the Election Will Affect K-12 Schools
Voters will weigh ballot items that affect funding for electric school buses, tax revenue for state education budgets, and more.
Mark Lieberman, October 31, 2024
8 min read
Two teen girls, one is a person of color and the other is white, building something in a science robotics class.
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Science One Change That Can Get More Girls, Students of Color Taking Computer Science
Making computer science classes a graduation requirement can be a powerful strategy.
Alyson Klein, October 22, 2024
5 min read
Image of a young boy pulling the bible off of a bookshelf.
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Law & Courts This State Requires Schools to Teach the Bible. Parents and Teachers Are Suing
Opponents of an Oklahoma directive that compels schools to teach the Bible are suing the state’s superintendent of public instruction.
Brooke Schultz, October 18, 2024
4 min read
Ryan Walters, then-Republican candidate for Oklahoma State Superintendent, speaks at a rally, Nov. 1, 2022, in Oklahoma City.
Ryan Walters speaks at a rally on Nov. 1, 2022, in Oklahoma City as a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction. He won the race and has built a national profile for governing in the MAGA mold.
Sue Ogrocki/AP
Federal Q&A Oklahoma State Chief Ryan Walters: 'Trump's Won the Argument on Education'
The state schools chief's name comes up as Republicans discuss who could become education secretary in a second Trump administration.
Alyson Klein, October 18, 2024
8 min read
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School Choice & Charters States Are Spending Billions on Private School Choice. But Is It Truly Universal?
More than half a million students in eight states last school year took advantage of private school choice open to all students.
Mark Lieberman, October 8, 2024
7 min read
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School Choice & Charters Explainer How States Use Tax Credits to Fund Private School Choice: An Explainer
Twenty-one states have programs that give tax credits for donations to organizations that grant private-school scholarships.
Mark Lieberman, October 4, 2024
12 min read