The only organization dedicated solely to helping state boards advance equity and excellence in public education.
Policy Updates
Responding to Opt Out Requests: The Opportunity for State Boards
As parents increasingly ask to opt their children out of standardized tests, state boards of education are sometimes unsure whether and how to respond. This Policy Update highlights successful policy strategies for addressing opt out requests and how state boards can use this opportunity to communicate the benefits of testing and improve the public’s understanding of test-based accountability.
Trends in State Legislation on Student Data Privacy
"Trends in State Legislation on Student Data Privacy" details the ways in which state legislatures across the country have enhanced protections for student data and expanded the role of state boards in protecting that data. It describes several key elements in legislation introduced or passed this year, and notes several exemplary states.
Will New Teacher Equity Plans Get Closer to the Mark?
According to the US Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection, nearly 96 percent of our nation’s public school teachers are licensed and certified. So why are over a half a million low-income and minority students still being taught in schools with the highest percentages of unqualified and inexperienced teachers? A new NASBE Policy Update explores teacher equity and why state policymakers need to start paying closer attention.
A Tale of Two Federal Student Data Privacy Bills
“A Tale of Two Federal Student Data Privacy Bills” measures the Student Digital Privacy and Parental Rights Act (SDPPRA) and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) discussion draft across several areas – ease of implementation, transparency, penalties, data-technology balance, and restrictions on third-parties.
Regulating Student Data Privacy: Don't Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater
In “Regulating Student Data Privacy,” NASBE Director of Education Data and Technology Amelia Vance explains why concerns over student data privacy have dominated the headlines, and what states—and state boards of education in particular—are doing to ensure the safety of student data.
Leading a Standards-Based System: Aligning Policy to Standards
In a standards-based system, learning standards cannot be adopted or implemented in isolation. They must be the hub of all other education system components, permeating all other system functions and serving as the lens through which state board members view all policy design and development.