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The urgency of immigration policy in the lives of immigrant students and families and educators is more evident than ever; however, education theories and educators’ practices are not keeping pace with this lived reality. We draw on scholarship that examines the lives and educational experiences of undocumented students and undocumented or mixed-status families; research on classroom, school, and district policy and practice for immigrant students; and critical sociocultural approaches and critical race theories to develop a conceptual framework for understanding the intersection of immigration policy and education in a nuanced way. We highlight conceptual insights—on people, policy, context, outcomes, and power—for making sense of this nexus. We conclude with implications for our work as researchers and educators and how we conceptualize citizenship.

School district central offices regularly engage with external partners in improvement efforts, but these partnerships are not always productive. Indeed, little is known about under what conditions partnerships are likely to lead to organizational learning outcomes. We conducted a longitudinal comparative case study of two departments in one urban school district central office, both working with the same external partner. Data included 131 interviews and 372 hours of observations as well as artifacts and social network data. While one department did not incorporate the partner's ideas into policies and routines, the other demonstrated greater integration. We argue this difference is due to organizational conditions that foster absorptive capacity and to the nature of department-partner interactions.

State takeover of school boards is a controversial policy choice aimed at reforming “underperforming” districts. It includes the limiting or complete removal of powers of an elected school board. However, this policy intervention is overwhelmingly implemented in school districts serving predominantly Black communities. Despite extensive nationwide use, very little is known about how to terminate this policy intervention. This article uses the theoretical heuristics of race-evasiveness to analyze interviews primarily with board members, district-level administrators, and other policy actors (n=18) in the three extant Missouri districts impacted by the policy. Specifically, we (1) interrogate policy actors’ perspectives for when and how two juxtaposing narratives—either race-evasive narratives or race-conscious narratives—emerge in their discussion of this policy; and (2) examine if and how policy actors’ reliance on these juxtaposing narratives changes how they approach appropriate policy termination strategies. We found that local policy actors demonstrate complex race-evasive or race-conscious understandings of the school board intervention policy and that their use of narratives changed how they discussed proper policy termination strategies. Policy actors who relied on race-conscious narratives questioned the legitimacy of the policy, contextualized the policy within Black political enfranchisement, and were also more likely to express confidence in the Black citizenry. Policy actors that understood the policy from a race-evasive perspective were more likely to recommend accountability metrics as the most important aspect of the policy termination process. Because of the centrality of democratic control of school boards in the civic vitality within the United States, this analysis suggests that policy actors should be encouraged to understand and interrogate a race-conscious lens in this policy.

As state‐level Seals of Biliteracy for high school graduates become more common, postsecondary language programs face questions about how to recognize this credential. While scholarship has examined the implementation of state Seals in secondary education, less attention has been paid to the role of postsecondary language programs in this new policy milieu. This study examined how receiving a Seal of Biliteracy might motivate students to study language(s) in college and the impact of awarding advanced placement and retroactive credit for the Seal. A survey of Seal of Biliteracy recipients (n = 61) in Nebraska and interviews with undergraduate students who received the award (n = 8) suggest that postsecondary language departments could leverage the Seal of Biliteracy to recruit students to language programs and likewise lend support to state implementation efforts. Findings point to the critical role academic credit policies play in making language study more attractive to Seal of Biliteracy recipients. Challenge statement State Seal of Biliteracy awards recognize the language skills of high school graduates, but do they incentivize further language study as claimed? Can colleges and universities leverage Seals of Biliteracy to recruit language majors and minors? Survey responses and interviews of award recipients point to promising policy directions.

Policy makers increasingly include provisions aimed at fostering professional community as part of reform initiatives. Yet little is known about the impact of policy on teachers' professional relations in schools. Drawing theoretically from social capital theory and methodologically from qualitative social network analysis, this article explores how district policies influence teachers' social networks in eight elementary schools in two districts involved in the scale-up of mathematics curriculum. It is argued that policy affects whom teachers seek out for discussion of mathematics instruction but that differences in policy provisions lead to variations in the nature and quality of interactions. Furthermore, school leaders mediate district policy, thereby influencing these patterns of interaction. By uncovering the dynamics by which policy influences teachers' social networks, this article contributes to understandings of the factors that foster the development of social capital. It also uncovers opportunities for intervention for those designing policy initiatives to support implementation of instructional innovations.

Despite data-driven decision making being a ubiquitous part of policy and school reform efforts, little is known about how teachers use data for instructional decision making. Drawing on data from a qualitative case study of four elementary schools, we examine the logic and patterns of teacher decision making about differentiation and ability grouping. We find that district and school policies conditioned teachers’ decision making through mandated time for instructional differentiation, curricular tools, and online program adoption. Educators used various strategies reflecting different logics, types of data used, and sources of decision making. Implications for theory and research are discussed.

When the school board refused to relent-even though the district provided similar state-mandated opt-outs for sex-ed instruction in health classes, including in high school-the parents sued, requesting an injunction forbidding the school district from implementing the policy while the case was being litigated. Justice Stephen Breyer predicted in his dissent that the majority's reasoning would eventually compel the court to require states to approve religious charter schools (an issue the court is also taking up this term in St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School v. Drummond) and even vouchers, asking if \"the State must pay parents for the religious equivalent of the secular benefit provided.\" In the lower courts, the school board had argued that if parents object to the curriculum they can send their children to private school.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has deep roots in the civil rights movement; however, the legislation, as currently applied, has done little to address racial inequities in services students with disabilities receive. Too often, schools, districts, and states focus on complying with the regulations, while failing to make necessary changes to improve student outcomes. Catherine Voulgarides describes how the confusing, cumbersome, and compliancedriven IDEA policy landscape interacts with the complex efforts to achieve equity. She shares examples of districts that were able to come into compliance with IDEA equity requirements in ways that contradicted what educators consider best practice and without examining the root causes of inequities. She concludes with recommendations for how to improve IDEA when it is next reauthorized.

Background:  Comprehensive school‐based physical activity programs consist of physical education and other physical activity opportunities including recess and other physical activity breaks, intramurals, interscholastic sports, and walk and bike to school initiatives. This article describes the characteristics of school physical education and physical activity policies and programs in the United States at the state, district, school, and classroom levels. Methods:  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducts the School Health Policies and Programs Study every 6 years. In 2006, computer‐assisted telephone interviews or self‐administered mail questionnaires were completed by state education agency personnel in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia and among a nationally representative sample of districts (n = 453). Computer‐assisted personal interviews were conducted with personnel in a nationally representative sample of elementary, middle, and high schools (n = 988) and with a nationally representative sample of teachers of required physical education classes and courses (n = 1194). Results:  Most states and districts had adopted a policy stating that schools will teach physical education; however, few schools provided daily physical education. Additionally, many states, districts, and schools allowed students to be exempt from participating in physical education. Most schools provided some opportunities for students to be physically active outside physical education. Staff development for physical education was offered by states and districts, but physical education teachers generally did not receive staff development on a variety of important topics. Conclusions:  To enhance physical education and physical activity in schools, a comprehensive approach at the state, district, school, and classroom levels is necessary. Policies, practices, and comprehensive staff development at the state and district levels might enable schools to improve opportunities for students to become physically active adults.

As resegregation occurs across the country, some school districts are pursuing voluntary integration. This qualitative case study uses critical policy analysis to explore the political and social contexts surrounding the early stages of developing a voluntary integration plan in Wake County Public School System, North Carolina. Through analysis of interviews with school board and community members as well as a range of documents, findings indicate that population growth and residential development, the proliferation of unregulated school choice, varied perspectives of community stakeholders, inequitable distribution of power and resources, and school board politics largely shape the process of developing a voluntary integration plan. Recommendations are provided for school district policies, cross-sector collaboration, and state-level policies that could strengthen the potential success of voluntary integration plans.