News: Department of Education Policies

Closing Academic Gaps in Middle and High Schools: When Students Enroll without Mastering Elementary Prerequisites (Part I)

The MTSS Dilemma—Differentiate at the Grade Level or Remediate at the Student Skill Level?Dear Colleagues,Introduction   I do a great deal of consulting in middle schools and high schools ac...

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Inequities in the Distribution of School Funds to Individual Students Revisited: Required Transparency, ESEA/IDEA Funding Flexibility, and Multi-Tiered Efficacy

Reminding Schools of their Responsibilities and PossibilitiesDear Colleagues,Introduction   Earlier this Spring, near the 65th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, I wrote two...

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An Open Letter to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Regarding Its Report, "Beyond Suspensions: Examining School Discipline Policies"

Begin with the End in Mind:  It’s about Root Causes and Intervention—Not About Policies or PositionsDear Colleagues,Introduction   Over the past year (at least), I have been writing som...

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Revisiting the School Seclusion and Restraint Epidemic: The Federal Government Says It's Worse than Thought

While the Numbers are Important, We Need to Focus on the Reasons and SolutionsDear Colleagues,Introduction   Back in March, we wrote a two-part Blog Series on the issues related to the number of seclu...

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The Journey toward Real School Equity: Students’ Needs Should Drive Student Services … and Funding (Part II)

The Beginning of the Next School Year Starts Now: The “Get-Go Process”Dear Colleagues,Introduction   Last week, on May 17th, the 65th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education...

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Solving Student Crises in the Context of School Inequity: The Case for “Core-Plus District Funding” (Part I)

When Schools Struggle with Struggling Students:  “We Didn’t Start the Fire”Dear Colleagues,Introduction   The last two weeks have been a blur.  Just over two weeks ago, I landed in Singapore to keynot...

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