From the President’s Pen: The Starfish and the Ocean

Just as starfish need a healthy, robust aquatic ecosystem to thrive, so students need and deserve a healthy, safe, effective environment to learn and grow. It is not the role of the state board of education to focus on each individual student but rather to focus on the learning conditions of the schools in which they learn.

The Starfish and the Ocean

Featured Items

Diverse multiethnic kids students having break and using smartphones, sitting at desks in classroom, children playing games and checking social media at school

Curbing Cell Phone Use in Classrooms

State boards are well positioned to create guardrails to help school districts make informed decisions on cell phone policies.

The child hands drawing the American flag. Concept of independence day, July 4.

Civic-Ready Students

More and better civics will inspire students to become better citizens who will be equipped to participate, preserve, and defend America’s democracy and engage in reasoned, respectful discourse.

Colorful fabrics in the foreground of a field of wildflowers and mountains

The Educators Students Deserve: Four State Policy Approaches

State education leaders have long prioritized efforts to recruit and retain effective teachers. Yet persistent challenges, including high turnover rates and teacher shortages in key subject areas, continue to strain the educator workforce.

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From the States

States Face Challenges Building a School Mental Health Workforce

Challenges persist in attracting and retaining this school-based mental health professionals, but some states, including Virginia, Ohio, Colorado, Michigan, and others, are making progress.
States Address Access to Menstrual Products in Schools

States such as Georgia, New York, Utah, and others have increasingly opted to combat “period poverty" by expanding access to free menstrual products in schools.