NASBE Launches State Board Insight Database for Tracking Board Actions on ESSA

For Immediate Release: March 21, 2017

Contact: Renée Rybak Lang, renee.lang@nasbe.org, 703-740-4841

Alexandria, VA – Today the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) released its anticipated State Board Insight database, a platform for tracking trends in state boards’ agendas and actions each month. With timely analysis, detailed data, and spotlights on state strategies, State Board Insight is a resource for board members, researchers, journalists, and educators.

Designed to help state boards learn from best practices and identify partnership opportunities, State Board Insight tracks and supports state policy leadership and innovation. State Board Insight is a library of all information and action items drawn monthly from publicly reported state board meeting minutes and agendas. Users may filter the data by subtopic, state, and timeframe or quickly glance at the data dashboard to see which issues are rising to the fore across the country. State profiles provide information on state governance structures and demographics, and trend analyses highlight compelling state stories and the critical roles state boards play in policymaking.

In a recent analysis for State Board Insight, NASBE researcher Sarah-Jane Lorenzo found that all state boards considered ESSA topics in 2016. State boards strategized about how best to assist students most in need of support and how to engage stakeholders in the creation of ESSA plans. She highlights the example of the D.C. State Board of Education, where board members devoted multiple meetings to stakeholder panels and interactive discussions.

As states finalize their ESSA accountability plans, state boards are zeroing in on strategies to address chronic absenteeism, students’ mental health, and social-emotional growth. Spotlights on these issues and more will be featured regularly on State Board Insight.

“State Board Insight came about to meet an increasing demand to track and support state policy leadership and innovation,” says Kristen Amundson, NASBE’s president/CEO. “As greater authority devolves to the states under ESSA, this tool will help state boards members identify boards tackling similar issues to build partnerships for collaboration and learn from best-practice examples. It will help researchers and education journalists see trends on key education issues from across the country and find leads for sharing state success stories with a broader audience.”

Visit NASBE’s State Board Insight database at https://stateboardinsight.nasbe.org/.

The National Association of State Boards of Education represents America’s state and territorial boards of education. Our principal objectives are to strengthen state leadership in education policymaking, advocate equality of access to educational opportunity, promote excellence in the education of all students, and ensure responsible lay governance of education. Learn more at www.nasbe.org.

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