Category Education Policy
The Unintended Consequences of School Takeovers: A Study of Jackson Public School District
Travis Reginal, MPA, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives There is only one step standing between the Jackson Public School District existing as an independent district and being taken over by the Mississippi Department of Education. Jackson Public Schools (JPS), the second-largest school district in Mississippi, is facing a potential state intervention due to several complaints from […]
Behavioral Insights for Policy Design: Education in the Developing World
Shiva Chakravarti Sharma, MPP, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives During the 2010 meeting on the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations asserted that education is a major catalyst for human development. Delegates argued that rapid advances in education can help achieve other millennium goals, like reducing child mortality and eradicating extreme poverty. Education budgets form an […]
Diversity in Schools: The Real Solution to DC’s Achievement Gap?
Kerry Belodoff, MPP, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives There is increasing evidence that school diversity has important cognitive and social benefits for all students. Beyond academic outcomes, diverse schools better prepare students to positively contribute in an increasingly diverse nation. In the wake of recent events that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement, we need […]
Spanish Dual Language Programs Could be the Answer for DC English Language Learners
Ashlynn Profit, MPA, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives Although K-12 student test scores are on the rise in the District of Columbia across subgroups (e.g. racial ethnic groups, homeless students, students enrolled in special education), achievement gaps still exist throughout the nation’s capital. One group that’s falling behind is English Language Learners (ELLs). In 2014, […]
ESSA Moves Education Forward, but NCLB Shouldn’t be Completely Left Behind
Kerry Belodoff, MPP, Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives In a bipartisan effort that President Obama called a “Christmas miracle,” the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed in mid-December after eight years of delay, replacing the much–maligned No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. ESSA marks a considerable shift in authority over education, providing states and […]
Zero-Tolerance for Black Girls
Ashlynn Profit, MPA, Staff Writer Brief Policy Perspectives The video of a school police officer brutally assaulting a black girl drew the world’s attention to the harsh reality of zero-tolerance school discipline. Presumably most students are not subjected to this type of abuse, but the incident should call our attention to how our students, particularly black […]
New Financial Aid Rule A ‘Big Win’ For Students
Ashlynn Profit, MPA, Staff Writer Brief Policy Perspectives While the Obama administration’s adoption of “prior-prior-year” will simplify the federal financial aid application process for students, it could create more barriers if states and institutions don’t follow. As the federal government prepares to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, many proposals for simplifying the headache-inducing process of […]
