Building Professional Capacity among Paraeducators through Onboarding

Many studies have investigated the inadequacy of training and support for special education paraeducators, but few have examined prehire activities or recommended a comprehensive plan to train and hire paraeducators. This quantitative action research study of 267 special education paraeducators and special education teachers was conducted in a large urban school district to address the concern over paraeducators’ lack of knowledge and training and the need to consider these factors when hiring staff in public school districts. Based on themes from the literature and the expertise of an insider, the purpose of the study was to increase the understanding of the relationship between and the perception of the importance of organizational factors, employee knowledge, and training. Results showed that paraeducators are not adequately trained, prefer specific training topics, and recognize that factors and knowledge affect job performance. The researchers then created a formal institutionalized onboarding program for new hire paraeducators based on a change management model. Immediate implementation recommendations, along with an onboarding plan and checklist, are included for school districts and their human resource departments.

Spending Floors in Gifted Education Services

For nearly two decades, the state of Texas mandated gifted education services and provided funding to public school districts. One policy that was unique to the state is the mandatory minimum spending. This research examines how these mandatory minimum spending floors influence spending in public school districts within the state and how that influence varies across locales. Our findings provide evidence that rural public school districts in Texas were more likely to operate near to the mandatory state minimum spending for gifted education than non-rural public school districts. In particular, rural public school districts allocated 50% of the funds towards gifted education programming as suburban public school districts when the minimum spending floors was accounted for. The results should provide caution to policy makers on the possible ramifications of removing spending floors on gifted education programming in rural public school districts.

Exploring Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Screening Approaches in U.S. Public School Districts

Using a nationally representative sample of U.S. public school districts, we explored the current landscape of social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) approaches and their impact on behavioral outcomes. Data suggest SEB screening is the exception rather than the rule, with most districts reporting that students are referred to an internal support team when SEB concerns arise. Districts more likely to report SEB problems were identified and supported internally when they had elementary SEB programs, were located in urban areas, and had higher socioeconomic status levels. District administrators who reported that SEB problems were identified and addressed internally, including use of universal screening procedures, reported the highest levels of knowledge about their SEB approach as well as willingness to change their practices.

Face Mask Policies of US Public School Districts in States without Statewide Mandates

Objective: We developed categories of the degree of restrictiveness of public schoolboards’ face mask policies in 10 US states that had no statewide mask mandates at any time during the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected data on schoolboards’ mask wearing policies for the individual boards in these states. Methods: We obtained school reopening plans found on school district webpages. We abstracted district mask policies and sorted them into groups indicating whether mask wearing was required or recommended. Results: Overall, 44% of boards mandated masks in school settings. There was a wide variation of policies within and between states. Conclusions: When left to their own resources, schoolboards will follow a variety of policies, many of which are a departure from state recommendations.

Income Support Policies and the Rise of Student and Family Homelessness

This study investigates whether the generosity and accessibility of publicly provided income support contributes to levels of family homelessness. Using data on student homelessness from most public school districts in the United States, I find that greater access to cash assistance from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program reduces levels of family homelessness and that the reduction is particularly strong for majority–Black and Native American school districts. The results suggest that the observed decline in access to TANF cash assistance may be an important driver of the rise in family homelessness. Evidence is inconclusive about whether greater access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or greater generosity of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) reduces levels of homelessness.

What Is the Stanford Education Data Archive Teaching Us About National Educational Achievement?

The Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA) launched in 2016 to provide nationally comparable, publicly available test score data for U.S. public school districts. I introduce a special collection of six articles that each use SEDA to lend their questions and findings a national scope. Together, these articles demonstrate a range of uses of SEDA for educational research. I review their contributions and discuss next steps for SEDA-based research as more years and levels of data become available.

The Aftermath

Chapter 6 traces the impact of the Zobrest decision, as precedent, on U.S. Supreme Court Establishment Clause doctrine and on the practices of public school districts throughout the United States; and it discusses the lives of the Zobrest family since the decision. While strict separationists, such as the leaders of Americans United, predicted the decision would profoundly remake the meanings of the Establishment Clause in the critical area of the sharing of public resources with religiously affiliated schools, William Bentley Ball was closer to being correct, believing the decision would have an incremental impact, pushing the court modestly toward a less strict standard than had prevailed under the Lemon Test. The most important of the decisions growing out of the Zobrest lawsuit, Agostini v. Felton, is discussed.

Stasis and Change in Public School District Racial/Ethnic Segregation, 1993–2015

Scholars have often suggested that racial integration is inherently unstable—a transition point in the racial transformation of neighborhoods and schools. While much empirical attention has been paid to documenting changes in segregation in public school districts, in this study we provide initial evidence focusing on the stability of segregation patterns. We calculate annual measures of district racial/ethnic segregation from the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data from 1993 to 2015. Our findings suggest that despite relatively high and stable levels of segregation nationally, stability is the rule, rather than the exception, for the majority of public school districts. Using a taxonomy of severity and stability derived from previous scholarship, we find that most districts are “stably integrated,” with a minority “stably segregated” or exhibiting meaningful change. Our findings suggest that further attention to the characteristics and practices of “stably integrated” districts may be warranted.