News: Department of Education Policies

Political Doublespeak, Students with Disabilities, and Common Sense: A Legal Case Study on Students’ Rights and Standards-based IEPs

How Departments of Education Use Language, Fear, and Ignorance to Get their WayDear Colleagues,I now do a lot of Expert Witness work around the country- - usually helping parents and legal advocacy fi...

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Rethinking School Improvement and Success, Staff Development and Accountability, and Students' Academic and Behavioral Proficiency

Using ESEA/ESSA’s New Flexibility to Replace the U.S. Department of Education’s Ineffective NCLB InitiativesDear Colleagues,In my last Blog post (July 9, 2016), I discussed:Why Students Don't Behave:...

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How to Improve your Chronically Absent Students’ Attendance… During the Summer Break

Why Now is the Best Time to Analyze, Understand, Plan, and Implement Strategic Interventions for your Most-Absent StudentsDear Colleagues,Earlier this year, on March 20th, I asserted that (grade) Rete...

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Student Engagement (Down), Teacher Job Satisfaction (Down), School Safety and Academic Expectations (Down)

Helping to Raise our Students and Schools UpDear Colleague,In today’s message, I am actually going to start with the “punch lines” and work backwards.In working backwards, I am going to weave together...

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School Resource Officers: Helping or Hurting Students and School Discipline?

Integrating Hiring, Training, and Deployment Criteria for School Resource Officers, School-based Police, and Security Guards into States’ ESEA-Required Bullying, Restraint, and Suspension PlansDear Co...

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Grade Retention is NOT an Intervention: How WE Fail Students when THEY are Failing in School

Improving Grade Retention Policy, Practice, and ResultsDear Colleagues,Last week, I was sitting in on a series of meetings between the multidisciplinary Student Assistance Team (involving the Principa...

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