Education Policy

Dr. George DuPaul, professor of school psychology and associate dean for research, contributed to a report intended to complement a number of outstanding existing reports compiled by respected government, university, and association sources on how children can return safely to school during the coronavirus pandemic. The report provides recommendations in the following areas as they pertain to starting school during this challenging time: motivation, behavior support, learning and instruction, well-being and assessment.

A principal's time is always in demand, and communication is a major factor in this cycle. About 100 years ago, researchers were studying how dictated letters affected principals' workdays. Today, of course, communication methods have changed dramatically. Educators may opt to communicate with their students via text message, phone calls, or video chats in addition to more traditional communications (particularly while school buildings have been closed due to the pandemic).

When schools closed this spring to curb the spread of coronavirus, special education administrators feared the risk of complaints—and potential legal action—from parents and disability rights advocates for running afoul of federal civil rights laws.

Stressed over concerns that they'd be swamped with lawsuits if they could not offer a comparable education for all students, including those with disabilities, some districts were even initially reluctant to offer any online learning.

Kangas examines through multiple studies how state and federal policies and structural issues in schools can be barriers to learning.

In the middle schools and high schools that she visited for her research and studies, applied linguist Sara Kangas noticed a disturbing trend: high percentages of English learners (ELs) with learning disabilities.  

More than two years after the U.S. Department of Education demanded that Texas education officials provide extra help for thousands of students denied special education, the state has failed to provide clear guidance to school districts, leaving struggling children to flounder, records show. "Schools have an obligation to ask parents for permission to test their child for special education if they suspect a student might have a disability," said Perry Zirkel, professor emeritus of education and law.

The American Educational Research Association and the editors of the American Educational Research Journal, announced that Dr. Jihyun Kim, assistant professor in the Educational Leadership program, has been chosen as an Outstanding Reviewer for 2019.