2026 National Forum on Education Policy

The Compact Renewed

At a pivotal moment in education policy, the Education Commission of the States was created to ensure that states could work together, sharing evidence, exchanging ideas and addressing complex challenges without sacrificing state leadership, diversity or judgement.

That vision, established through the Compact for Education back in 1965, continues to be the north star for ECS’ work today.

The 2026 National Forum on Education Policy highlights The Compact Renewed, a forward-looking reaffirmation of ECS’ founding purpose: supporting partnership between political and professional leadership so states can lead confidently in an increasingly complex policy environment.

This event sells out every year, so be sure to register early to secure your spot!

Why National Forum Matters Now More Than Ever

State education leaders today are navigating:

Increasing policy complexity across early learning, K–12, postsecondary and workforce systems.
Greater public visibility and scrutiny of education decisions.
Rapid innovation alongside persistent challenges related to access, outcomes and opportunity.
In this environment, cross-state learning isn’t just important; it’s essential.

The National Forum provides a trusted, nonpartisan space where governors, legislators and education leaders come together to:

Exchange ideas and lessons from across states.
Explore policy options grounded in evidence.
Build partnerships across roles and branches.
Inform decisions in their own state contexts.

The National Forum is where the Compact’s principles are actively practiced. It is where states learn from states in order to lead responsibly.

Program Schedule

Event Agenda

Explore our carefully curated schedule designed to maximize learning and networking opportunities.

On-Demand

Session

Teaching for Tomorrow: Workforce Conditions and Student Success

For too long, the national conversation about teaching has been dominated by crisis—burnout, shortages, and what’s broken. A closer look reveals a more hopeful truth: talented educators are still choosing this profession, and many want to stay. What’s missing are the structures that allow them to grow and thrive over time. This session shifts the narrative from scarcity to design—exploring how we can build a teaching profession that is sustainable, respected, and future-ready. Participants will engage with findings from the latest Teaching for Tomorrow study by Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation. Drawing on three nationally representative surveys of approximately 2,000 K–12 public school teachers each, the research highlights what educators say matters most: strong professional learning, time to collaborate, and the resources needed to do their best work. Together, these insights point toward levers for strengthening satisfaction, engagement, and commitment. The session will feature perspectives from the Bipartisan Policy Center, informed by a selective convening of 12 educators who were invited to reimagine what the profession could be and its Commission on the American Workforce.. Alongside a teacher from that cohort, leaders from BPC and Gallup will explore how well-intended state and federal policies sometimes create friction—and how thoughtful redesign can unlock opportunity instead. A clear throughline emerges: teachers are not asking for lower expectations. They are calling for a profession defined by rigor, meaningful career pathways, and the structural supports that make excellence possible. Together, speakers and participants will explore how state and federal policy can support promising pathways forward, including strategic staffing, flexible work, and removing mobility barriers. This session invites state leaders and advocates to move beyond short-term fixes toward long-term systems building—reimagining teaching as a profession where talented peop

On-Demand

Session

An Integrated Talent Strategy: Blurring Postsecondary and Workforce Systems

As states face growing talent shortages and at the same time, high youth unemployment rates, policymakers are increasingly rethinking how education and workforce systems intersect. Traditional and persistent silos between K-12, postsecondary education, and workforce development often limit learners’ ability to move efficiently into high-quality, in-demand jobs in their local area or beyond. In response, a growing number of states are adopting policies that intentionally blur these lines—reimagining education and workforce systems as a single talent development continuum. This session will explore how Colorado and Kentucky are leveraging state policy to align education and career pathways and systems, scale work-based learning, and strengthen economic mobility for youth and adults. In Colorado, Governor Jared Polis has elevated talent development as a core economic strategy, launching a new Department of Talent and advancing statewide pathways that integrate education, credential attainment, and workforce demand. These efforts emphasize cross-agency coordination, employer engagement, and clear on-ramps to high-value careers. Kentucky offers a complementary model, using policy levers such as H.B. 586 to establish the Kentucky Education and Workforce Collaborative. Through this structure, the state is aligning K-12, postsecondary, and workforce programs, expanding career pathways, and improving access to training, employment services, and supports like child care—particularly through Kentucky Career Centers and employer partnerships. Together, these case studies highlight how states can move beyond fragmented systems toward cohesive, learner-centered pathways that respond to labor market needs while advancing equity and economic growth. Attendees will gain practical insights into policy development, governance structures, public and private partnerships, and implementation strategies that position states as engines of opportunity for all.

On-Demand

Session

Michigan OPTIMISE: Playbook to Attract, Prepare & Retain Special Educators

Michigan’s OPTIMISE addresses the persistent shortages across special education roles that serve infants, toddlers, children, and young adults with disabilities, birth to 26 years. Our State Spotlight session will show how Michigan used a legislatively guided task force structure to move from “shortage talk” to actionable policy and implementation across the educator pipeline. Speakers will walk participants through: -OPTIMISE’s history and the role of the legislature. -Researching workforce data to build uniform systems to support Michigan’s needs. -Diagnosing barriers and building structure using Listening Sessions → Influence Mapping → Core Team → Action Teams → Task Force. -Action team recommendations that move from information to implementation. -Leveraging websites and social media to elevate the profession and change the public’s perception. -Building, supporting, and sustaining a NEW education system that can enthusiastically attract, prepare, and retain an effective and diverse special education workforce to serve individuals across Michigan. -Illustrating success with real metrics drawn from project outcomes, evaluations and impact data. Through OPTIMISE, over 500 individuals with differing perspectives have participated on our action teams to identify barriers and make recommendations for systemic change. Over 4,000 paraeducators have participated in our intentional professional development training. One cohort of building leaders has already received training and mentoring around inclusive practices. Additionally, we secured funding for the development of two additional school psychologist higher education programs. Using storytelling techniques, job portals, and informative offerings, we maintain high engagement on our social media and website. All this, and much more, has been achieved over three years in collaboration with our state partners, as well as our task force made up of 18 organizations which includes the governor’s office and legislature.

On-Demand

Session

Building Civic Skills and a Pathway to Lifelong Community Engagement through Civic Seals

As America celebrates its 250th birthday, we must invest in the rising generation of citizens, ensuring the strength and sustenance of our constitutional democracy for our posterity. To this end, states are adopting civic diploma seals programs to recognize student excellence in civic learning and incentivize their civic development. The civic skills they acquire along the way are critical not only to students’ lifelong engagement in our communities, but also college success and as contributors to the 21st Century workforce. To date, twelve states offer civic diploma seals, most of them rewarding students for strong performance in civics courses and/or assessments and completion of related community engagement projects. Civic seals offer a carrot-based approach to civic learning in contrast to course mandates and high-stakes assessments. They help cultivate critical civic skills like deliberation, public speaking, information literacy, and working within diverse groups to solve community problems. This session will provide an overview of existing state programs and early returns on their implementation. It will also engage participants in conversation about civic skills seals programs should cultivate. Later, attendees will develop a plan for potential adoption in their respective states. These plans will consider implementation challenges and existing and prospective resources to draw upon to mitigate them. Dr. Shawn Healy, Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer at iCivics, will detail the free technical assistance his team offers to state policymakers as they consider civic seals programs and other policies to strengthen K-12 civic education. His colleague Mya Baker, iCivics Chief Learning Services Officer, will articulate the implementation supports her team offers to teachers, schools, districts, and state agencies as they implement civic seals and other policy innovations.

On-Demand

Session

Identifying the Human Advantage in an AI Driven Workforce

As AI rapidly reshapes the workforce, employers increasingly rely on automation while high school and college graduates struggle to remain competitive in entry-level roles. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 84% of hiring managers report that high school graduates are underprepared for the workforce compared to previous generations. As a result, students must distinguish themselves through strong decision-making in complex, fast-paced environments. A 2025 Burning Glass Institute report finds that 41% of job postings from 2022–24 reference at least one decision-making skill, most often embedded within critical thinking, problem-solving, adaptability, and communication. These are teachable, human competencies that increasingly determine career mobility and long-term employability. This session examines how education stakeholders, alongside state leaders from Hawai’i and Tennessee, are advancing policy solutions that move durable skills from aspirational graduate profiles into core academic instruction and career and technical education (CTE). When durable skills and validated credentials are integrated into education systems, students graduate with the judgment and efficacy needed to succeed beyond the classroom. Hawai’i has introduced innovative bridge programs, notably the “glidepath” initiative. This program utilizes CTE courses to enable high school students to graduate as certified nurse assistants. This addresses Hawai’i's healthcare workforce shortage and also lays a foundational step for students to later pursue more advanced healthcare professions. Through strong industry partnerships, Tennessee delivered rapid-response, short-term credential and micro-credential programs aligned to employer needs while expanding access to dual enrollment and CTE. This has more than tripled participation among high school students at Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology to ensure a flexible, future-ready workforce pipeline.

On-Demand

Session

From Practice to Policy: HQIM as a Lever for PreK Quality

High-quality preschool education has long been seen as a foundational lever for children’s future success. One overlooked aspect of quality is curriculum. The 2024 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report A New Vision for High-Quality Preschool Curriculum presents a landmark synthesis of evidence and expert consensus that reframes how policymakers, educators, researchers, and funders can approach PreK curriculum selection, adoption, implementation, and evaluation. The NASEM report makes a compelling case: preschool curriculum is not a neutral backdrop for teaching and learning but a central driver of children’s developmental experiences and outcomes. To date, many preschool curricula lack strong, evidence-based content and have not been designed with the diversity of children’s learning needs in mind. As a result, programs vary widely in the degree to which they support meaningful learning and school readiness for all children. This session will bring together three influential voices—a state PreK policy leader, a researcher with the NASEM study, and a major funder—to unpack the implications of this report for state and local policy, investment strategies, and the future of high-quality curriculum in preschool. To ground the session in children’s experiences, participants will engage with short videos of PreK classrooms that highlight concrete indicators of curriculum quality. Participants will also engage in an activity that compares high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) in PreK and K-12. Using familiar K-12 HQIM principles, participants will examine how these concepts apply to early learning and where preschool curriculum requires distinct policy effort. Together, these experiences will help participants to translate research into action by clarifying why investment in high-quality Pre-K curriculum matters and how state and local policy can strengthen curriculum selection, implementation, and sustained quality at scale.

On-Demand

Session

Beyond the Shops: Idaho's Alternative Funding Model for Local Industry Pathways

As students move through educational systems, our mission and focus must include attention to the value of skilled trades and the power of purpose-driven education. Traditional Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs often struggle with rigid funding silos and slow-moving curricula. In 2023, Idaho broke this mold by implementing the Idaho Career Ready Students (ICRS) Program. This session explores how Idaho bypassed traditional CTE limitations to create a more responsive, industry-aligned alternative that has already launched or expanded 170 programs statewide. Participants will go behind the scenes with State Superintendent Debbie Critchfield to examine the legislative and financial strategies used to: * Overcome Funding Barriers: How Idaho created alternative, flexible funding streams that prioritize secondary programs outside of standard CTE formulas. * Empower Local Industry: The mechanism for allowing local businesses to co-develop curriculum, ensuring students graduate with the exact skills needed for immediate regional employment. * Policy Alignment: How the state aligned graduation requirements with regional career pathways to provide high-quality training without sacrificing academic rigor. This session is a deep dive into state-level policy innovation for leaders looking to connect education with economic strength – right at the intersection of tradition, technology, and opportunity that bridges the gap between the classroom and the local economy.

On-Demand

Session

Research, Scale, and Impact: Bringing Integrated Student Support to Indiana

In Indiana schools, and across the nation, children’s lives outside the classroom impact their learning and growth inside the classroom. Attendance, chronic absenteeism, behavior, engagement, wellbeing, and academic progress are all interconnected. The research on integrated student support suggests that intentional strategies to integrate education with social services, health and mental health, and youth development opportunities could make a difference. Indiana endeavored to find out if it would be possible to scale implementation of an evidence-based model and make a measurable impact on student learning. Learn about exciting new results, and how they were achieved. Topics include: -Sharing new studies’ methodologies and results: Researchers compared student level data in schools with and without the integrated student support intervention using data from the Indiana Department of Education. Learn about these results, their limitations, and how the analysis was conducted.. -Using research to guide selection of evidence-based interventions: Hear first hand from policymakers about their selection process. -Building capacity of local implementation partners: Learn about the importance, challenges, and successes of building local capacity from those who lead the work. Explore the innovative partnership between Indiana, Marian University, Boston College, and City Connects to reach Indiana students. -Being accountable for process metrics and outcomes: Hear about the pros and cons of committing to accountability from different vantage points. -Discussing implications for policymakers: Join in a lively discussion that includes questions, reflections, and recommendations for policymakers interested in improving student well-being and learning outcomes.

On-Demand

Session

The Elephant in the Room: Property Tax and School Funding

Property taxes remain a foundational source of public education revenue in most states, providing a relatively stable and locally-controlled source of funding for schools. Yet they also sit at the center of some of the most politically sensitive debates in education policy: Heavy reliance on local property taxes can contribute to deep inequities in school funding across communities, and property taxes also face backlash from voters who fear rising residential property values will lead to higher taxes. In states and communities where charter schools are part of the public education landscape, differences in access to local revenues can drive both inequity in funding between school types and acrimony between the sectors. This is a live conversation in states: --An OH ballot initiative would eliminate property tax via a constitutional amendment, while a FL proposal would eliminate non-school property taxes. --States like MS, TN, and AL have revised their school funding formulas without considering updates to state-local revenue-sharing structures, suggesting that even wholesale state funding formula reform is easier than changing the local revenue status quo. As states grapple with affordability concerns and wealth gaps across school districts and communities, policymakers face a difficult question: how to preserve the fiscal benefits of the property tax while mitigating its challenges? This session convenes tax policy experts, state advocates, and education finance researchers to discuss the future of the property tax in school funding systems. Panelists will explore how states currently use property taxes to support public education – including for rural and agricultural areas – the tradeoffs of various policy approaches, and the political dynamics shaping reform efforts. The discussion will highlight policy strategies such as equalization formulas, circuit breakers, and targeted relief that can protect schools and taxpayers.

On-Demand

Session

Getting PREPared: How Texas Rebuilt Teacher Preparation at Scale

HB 2’s Preparing and Retaining Educators Through Partnership (PREP) Program was enacted in response to chronic teacher turnover, poor teacher preparation quality, and a rapidly growing reliance on uncertified teachers. Rather than provide incremental fixes, Texas leaders systemically redesigned teacher preparation pathways. By incentivizing high-quality, practice-based preparation through district-EPP partnerships, the PREP program ensures that more teacher candidates can reach certification in a cost-effective and timely manner. Additionally, HB 2 included increases in strategic compensation systems, incentives for Grow Your Own programs, support for strategic staffing, and funding for teacher mentoring, which together create a comprehensive approach to transforming the teacher workforce in Texas. This session will explore how the PREP program evolved from policy to practice. A state legislator will first emphasize why statewide reform was necessary and how PREP was designed to scale year-long residencies, strengthen teacher mentorship, and improve nontraditional pathways into the profession. Top agency staff will then explain key tenets of the program, including how its corresponding allotment provides sustainable funding to EPPs, districts, mentor teachers, and candidates and how these reforms can work together to transform teacher talent systems. Lastly, a leading educator preparation provider will share implementation lessons: how successful partnerships are designing residency models, selecting and supporting mentor teachers, and using the allotment to reduce financial barriers. The session will close with a candid discussion of challenges that arose during policy and implementation stages. Attendee participation will be crucial: throughout the session, participants will be asked to reflect on their own state contexts, engage with panelists through Q&A, and receive take-home, actionable strategies that replicate or adapt similar reforms.

On-Demand

Session

Expanding Pre-K Access Without Compromising Quality: Lessons From Three States

As states work to expand access to early childhood education, policymakers face a persistent challenge: how to grow statewide pre-K programs without sacrificing quality. This Policy Feature session examines how Alabama, North Carolina and North Dakota have addressed that challenge through sustained policy investments that intentionally link access, quality and outcomes. Over the past decade, each of these states has expanded participation in statewide pre-K while maintaining—and strengthening—quality standards. Alabama’s First Class Pre-K has tripled enrollment while remaining anchored in rigorous, research-based benchmarks. North Dakota’s Best in Class initiative has rapidly scaled access to high-quality early learning environments, producing significant gains in literacy, math and whole-child development in just one school year. North Carolina’s long-standing pre-K program continues to demonstrate strong returns on investment, improving kindergarten readiness and supporting workforce participation. The session will explore policy levers that have enabled scale without sacrificing quality, including investments in evidence-based curriculum, aligned assessment systems, sustained professional development and coaching, and intentional family engagement strategies. Speakers from each state will discuss how legislative funding decisions, cross-agency collaboration and continuous improvement structures supported expansion over time—across different political, geographic and governance contexts. This session will translate research and state data into clear policy insights for education leaders and policymakers. Attendees will leave with concrete examples of how states can align funding, accountability and quality supports to expand early learning opportunities while delivering measurable results for children and families.

On-Demand

Session

Growing early childhood data leaders: Lessons from the field

Policymakers across the country need to understand how their states’ early childhood ecosystems are serving children, families, communities, and the economy. Accessing connected early childhood data is vital for growing policymakers’ understanding and informing their decisions related to designing high-quality programming, allocating scarce public resources, and ensuring supply meets demand, among other actions. However, relative to data from other education sectors, early childhood data tends to be siloed, incomplete, and not conducive for decisionmaking, and data improvement efforts across states continue to be hampered by sporadic funding and inconsistent data leadership. Addressing early childhood data challenges requires skilled data leaders. These leaders possess early childhood policy know-how, technical savvy, and sufficient authority to make decisions and get things done. In the early childhood sector, where data infrastructure and practices often fall short, they are needed to modernize and integrate data systems, build capable data teams, and evolve organizational data cultures. And in a shifting policy and funding landscape, they are the champions who will turn data into useful information for state policymakers and other decisionmakers, in turn raising awareness and rallying resources to sustain critical data work. Join the Data Quality Campaign, ECDataLab, and a Minnesota early childhood data leader to learn how to grow early childhood data leaders in states and state agencies. Drawing from collective decades in the field, the speakers will: - Define what it means to be a data leader; - Make the case for growing data leadership capacity at the state level; - Offer learnings from efforts to develop networks of data leaders across states; and - Share lessons learned from the long-term experiences of a state-based data leader.

On-Demand

Session

From Principles to Practice: Maine’s Statewide AI and CS Framework

This State Spotlight highlights Maine’s coordinated, statewide approach to computer science and artificial intelligence education policy, including the creation of the Maine AI taskforce and the development and implementation of Maine AI Guidance for schools. As states confront rapid AI adoption in classrooms, policymakers face urgent questions around student data privacy, academic integrity, instructional quality, workforce preparation, educator readiness, and equity of access. Maine responded by establishing a cross-sector AI Task Force, aligning AI guidance with its existing computer science education strategy, and investing in educator capacity and instructional resources to ensure responsible, student-centered implementation. State leaders will present a policy case-study examining: The specific challenges that prompted policy action The governance structures used to develop consensus; How stakeholder input shaped policy design; and How guidance was operationalized through professional learning and statewide supports. Presenters will share implementation data, early outcomes, and policy trade-offs, including balancing innovation with safeguards for rural districts, low-income communities, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities. Participants will engage in a structured policy scenario activity using Maine’s framework to analyze how similar guidance could be developed or adapted in their own states. Attendees will leave with practical tools, including a policy development checklist, stakeholder engagement map, and AI-CS alignment framework. This session is designed for governors’ education advisors, legislators, state education agency leaders, and state board members seeking concrete examples on how a state can move from high-level principles to actionable, scalable policy while centering student outcomes and educator support.

On-Demand

Session

From Stop-Outs to Skilled Workers: Re-Enrollment as a Workforce Strategy

Millions of adults have left college without earning a credential, even as states face persistent workforce shortages in key industries. With over 40 million adults nationally holding some college but no credential (SCNC), this population is increasingly seen not just as a completion challenge but as a critical workforce asset. As labor markets tighten and the traditional college-going population declines, re-enrolling adult stop-outs has become an urgent workforce and economic mobility strategy. This session explores how states are reframing re-enrollment as a workforce-aligned policy strategy, connecting postsecondary systems, legislative action, and labor market needs to strengthen talent pipelines. Panelists will share how their states identify and prioritize SCNC adults, align re-enrollment with high-demand sectors, and coordinate education, workforce, and economic development systems to support credential completion tied to workforce outcomes. Featured speakers include José Luis Santos, Senior Deputy Commissioner for Massachusetts; Dr. Shun Robertson, Senior Vice President for Strategy and Policy at the University of North Carolina System; and Scott Lomas, Chief Strategy Officer at ReUp Education. These leaders bring perspectives from policy, legislation, public higher education, and cross-state re-enrollment execution. Panelists will highlight policy levers such as funding incentives, data coordination, and cross-agency partnerships that shape statewide impact. They will also share early outcomes, implementation lessons, and strategies for moving beyond pilot programs. Attendees will gain actionable insights into how states can design and scale re-enrollment strategies that address employer needs, build workforce pipelines, and expand opportunity for adult learners—offering a roadmap for aligning postsecondary policy with the future of work.

On-Demand

Session

Is Your State Data Ready for Workforce Pell?

The new Workforce Pell rule goes into effect in July 2026 and states have either already found a way to implement the rule or are in the process of doing so. Administering Workforce Pell requires states to assess multiple outcome metrics; determine which programs meet employers’ hiring needs, and provide training for high-skill, high-wage or in-demand occupations. This work cannot be done without data; Workforce Pell represents an opportunity for states to develop more robust P–20W data systems with strong data governance across sectors. In this session, the Data Quality Campaign and representatives from leading states will explore how strong governance and P–20W systems help states implement Workforce Pell and provide participants with actionable next steps they can take to strengthen their own governance and P–20W data systems—so that Workforce Pell can meaningfully support the education and career journeys of as many individuals as possible across the country.

On-Demand

Session

Reimagining the High School Diploma for College, Career, and Life

Across the country, states are reexamining a foundational question: what should a high school diploma actually signify in today’s economy? For too long, high schools have unintentionally reinforced a false divide between “college prep” and “career prep,” leaving too many students without a clear pathway to a high-value postsecondary option. This session will explore how states are reimagining the meaning of a high school diploma to ensure readiness and personalize learning so that every student graduates on a clear path to their postsecondary aspirations. K-12 chiefs from Indiana and Rhode Island—states at the forefront of these efforts—will highlight their work to modernize graduation requirements, put all students on a pathway to a high-value career, and provide more learners with a “core three” of critical experiences: early college coursework, meaningful work-based learning, and a credential of value, all aligned with their pathway of choice. At a moment when states face mounting pressure to strengthen talent pipelines, respond to rapid labor market change, and improve student outcomes, redefining the high school diploma is both timely and urgent. Attendees will gain insight into policy strategies states are using to align K–12, postsecondary, and workforce systems; avoid tracking while expanding opportunity; and make the diploma a more powerful signal of readiness. The session will surface lessons learned, implementation challenges, and concrete examples that policymakers can take back to their states.

On-Demand

Session

No Effective Leadership, No Effective Schools

This session will spotlight the work the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) has done to create a pipeline of support from new teachers to school board members. ADE gathered feedback from stakeholders on the types of support teachers and leaders need. A 2023 survey of the 18% of Arizona teachers who left the classroom in 2022 showed that the top reasons were pay and lack of administrative support. In the 2023–24 school year, ADE launched multiple cohorts of the Principals’ Leadership Academy. Some principals received coaches while others did not. To date, more than 300 principals have attended the six‑day academy. Feedback from coached cohorts was so positive that all principals now receive a coach. ADE has continued to add trainings and academies, most of which include ongoing support. All training content is aligned so districts can build systems focused on what matters most—recognizing that effective schools change when they need to, while ineffective schools change only when they must. The academies emphasize key practices such as anchoring decisions to a vision and goals, strategically managing time and money, and building trust and relationships. Trainings are designed to be short on theory and long on practical strategies, offering concrete actions that can be implemented immediately. Examples include tools for building trust—such as get‑to‑know‑you cards (teachers), consultancy protocols (instructional coaches), opinion meetings (principals), and Four Agreements (school boards). Time‑management tools include calendar color‑coding for school and district leaders. Since its inception in 2023, the menu of trainings has grown from four to fourteen, and attendance has more than quadrupled--8,000+ attendees to date. Surveys show that more than 99% would recommend the training, and 95% report increased knowledge and skills. One participant shared, “Fifteen years as a principal and I learned more here than I learned in my entire schooling experience.

On-Demand

Session

How All 50 States are Approaching High-Impact Tutoring Post-ESSER

As states move beyond federal pandemic relief, policymakers face difficult questions about whether (or perhaps more urgently, how) to sustain effective academic interventions at scale. High-impact tutoring has one of the strongest evidence bases in education, yet state approaches to supporting it vary widely in funding, policy design, and implementation expectations. This session will highlight findings from a forthcoming 2026 update to a 50-state scan of tutoring policies, including an interactive map, documenting how states are shifting from short-term relief funding toward more durable policy strategies. Drawing on interviews and research across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the session will surface national trends alongside concrete state examples that illustrate different policy pathways. A state leader (Arkansas is in the process of confirming they are available) will share how tutoring is being embedded within literacy initiatives, multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), and broader instructional frameworks rather than treated as a temporary or standalone intervention. For example, Arkansas has combined state policy, higher education partnerships, and federal grant funding to support high-impact tutoring at scale, including through a recent federal Education Innovation and Research (EIR) award. A second state example (to be decided) will provide a contrasting or complementary approach, such as a state-led grant model or sustained technical assistance strategy. The session will emphasize practical policy considerations, including funding mechanisms, implementation guardrails that preserve quality, and lessons learned as states adapt to a post-ESSER landscape. Attendees will leave with actionable insights to inform policy decisions in their own states. See 2024-25 State Policy Snapshot and interactive map here for reference: https://nssa.stanford.edu/briefs/2024-25-snapshot-state-tutoring-policies

On-Demand

Session

Making School Choice Work: How States Can Help Families Access the Information They Need

School choice programs are expanding rapidly across the country, offering families more educational options than ever before. But choice without information isn’t really choice. When families can’t easily find, understand, and compare schools based on what matters most to them—from academic programs and student supports to extracurricular offerings—they struggle to make confident decisions, and state investments in choice fall short of their intended impact. This session explores the often-overlooked role states play in building the information infrastructure that makes school choice work for families. As policymakers invest significant resources in vouchers, tax credits, and education savings accounts, critical implementation questions arise: What information do families actually need? How should it be presented? And what role can states play in ensuring information is accessible, usable, and equitable? The session will also highlight practical examples of how complex school data can be translated into parent-friendly guidance—moving beyond raw metrics to help families identify schools that align with their priorities. A moderated discussion will explore state policy levers such as reporting requirements, data standards, and public-private partnerships, with a focus on replicable strategies that other states can adapt to their own contexts.

On-Demand

Session

Connecting Early Learning Pedagogy to Early Literacy and Numeracy Learning across Pre-Kindergarten to 3rd Grade

Over the last 25 years, early elementary classrooms have increasingly relied on instructional practices that do not best meet young students’ learning needs—extended periods of seatwork, isolated skills drills, and worksheet-heavy curricula. According to the ECLS-K between 1998 and 2010, dramatic play areas in kindergarten dropped by 29%, while worksheet use increased by 17%. This shift has occurred despite evidence that young children learn more effectively through approaches that integrate play, exploration, and evidence-based instruction. Additionally, the NAEP 2024 results underscore an urgent challenge: persistent and widespread reading and math underperformance with gaps emerging early and compounding over time. This data points to the need for stronger early literacy and numeracy foundations for all children, and for instruction that advances learning rather than constrain it. States are under pressure to improve early literacy and numeracy outcomes while also addressing concerns about instructional P-3 quality. Recent action in states such as Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada demonstrates growing policy interest in play-based and developmentally aligned learning. However, policymakers face a critical question: How can states ensure rigorous literacy and math instruction without sacrificing the pedagogical approaches young children need to become successful learners? This workshop addresses the false choice between academic rigor and developmentally appropriate approaches. Participants will explore how states can use policy levers—standards, professional learning, funding, and teacher preparation—to support strong literacy and math instruction that is both grounded in evidence and aligned with how young children learn best. Recognizing the complexity of balancing achievement with child development, this workshop enables participants to engage with peers to work through implementation challenges, learn from states taking action,

On-Demand

Session

A State Playbook for Place-Based Partnerships: Inside Maryland’s ENOUGH Act

Schools are increasingly expected to address nonacademic barriers to learning – chronic absenteeism, housing instability, and mental health needs – and doing so at scale requires coordination across state agencies and local partners. This session offers an implementation case study of Maryland's ENOUGH Act (Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments, and Households) -- the nation's only state-led legislative framework funding community partnerships to deliver cradle-to-career services that improve academic outcomes and student wellbeing. Two years in, 28 partnerships across 12 Maryland counties are operational, spanning rural, suburban, and urban contexts and serving students facing poverty and related barriers to learning. Maryland Special Secretary Carmel Martin will be joined by leaders from Harlem Children's Zone, whose cradle-to-career model inspired the ENOUGH Act's design, and Blue Meridian Partners, whose Place Matters initiative provides philanthropic co-investment in ENOUGH communities. Together, they will address critical state policy decision points: - Funding design: How should states balance planning vs. implementation funding, competitive vs. formula allocation, and flexibility vs. accountability? - Accountability: What outcomes are realistic to measure in early years? How should data-sharing across agencies and community partners be structured? - Technical assistance: What infrastructure and partnerships did Maryland develop to ensure communities were equipped to implement effectively? - Philanthropic engagement: How can states and philanthropy partner to expand resources for youth? Attendees will receive case study materials documenting Maryland's legislative strategy, implementation plan, and emerging outcome data. The session concludes with Q&A for state leaders to explore aspects relevant to their contexts and share opportunities with peers.

On-Demand

Session

From Data to Decisions: Governance Strategies for Cross-Sector Alignment

Across the country, states are pursuing ambitious strategies to improve educational attainment and economic mobility through stronger alignment among K-12 education, postsecondary systems, and workforce development. While access to data has expanded significantly, many alignment efforts stall at the implementation stage due to unclear governance roles, fragmented accountability measures, and limited shared understanding of how data should inform decisions across sectors. This workshop examines how governance-level decision-making can support more coherent cross-sector alignment by translating statewide goals into coordinated regional action. Using a data-informed governance framework developed to strengthen community college board-level decision-making, the session explores how governing bodies can set clear objectives, define meaningful measures of success, and leverage shared data to guide policy choices without blurring the line between governance and operations. Participants will engage with common alignment challenges, including differing definitions of success across systems, misaligned incentives, and the difficulty of sustaining collaboration over time. Through facilitated discussion and practical prompts, attendees will consider how governance practices such as clarifying roles, asking strategic questions, and using data to tell a shared story about outcomes can support stronger learner pathways and workforce connections. While the session draws on examples from community college governance, the framework and discussion are relevant to state policymakers, agency leaders, and cross-sector partners seeking scalable approaches to improving coordination, accountability, and long-term value in education and workforce policy.

On-Demand

Session

Building State Education R&D Capacity: Lessons from Utah

Recent cuts to the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and an emphasis from the federal government on returning power to the states has placed added responsibility on state leaders to shape their own education R&D agendas. This panel presents Utah as a compelling example of this work in action; how state leaders have systematically invested in data collection and evidence-based practices to improve student outcomes. Utah has taken a deliberate, locally-led approach to fostering education innovation through Utah Leading through Effective, Actionable, and Dynamic (ULEAD) Education, an initiative initially passed in 2018 with the goal of identifying, evaluating, and scaling successful evidence-based practices in schools. In a moderated conversation between the former Utah State Superintendent, the current State Superintendent and Governor Cox’s education policy advisor and former district superintendent, panelists will draw on their direct involvement in the program’s design and ongoing implementation in the program. Specifically, the session will explore ULEAD’s focus on multilingual learner and middle school mathematics achievement, and how these priorities were advanced, as exemplified in a 2024 ULEAD Committee report highlighting successful school practices. The discussion will also place Utah’s lessons in conversation with the State Education R&D Playbook, developed jointly by the Alliance for Learning Innovation, Education Reimagined, and Transcend, which offers concrete tools and recommendations for states to support and scale innovation designed to meet the unique needs of their students. Through the lens of the Playbook, the session will offer practical takeaways for state leaders interested in strengthening their state’s capacity to support evidence-based education innovation, including considerations for building cross-sector partnerships, setting clear statewide priorities, and sustaining innovation beyond individual pilots or leadership transitions.

On-Demand

Session

A Simple Cash Transfer with Powerful Results: How New Mexico Raised Graduation Rates for Unhoused Students

Students experiencing homelessness face some of the steepest barriers to consistent attendance and graduation. In New Mexico, a conditional cash transfer model — Guaranteed Payment for Attendance (GPA) — was designed and piloted by New Mexico Appleseed in collaboration with Cuba Independent and West Las Vegas school districts, producing a 93 % graduation rate among participating seniors, well above the statewide average for McKinney-Vento students. The pilot combined monthly $500 payments with engagement requirements (attendance, schoolwork completion, and support sessions), and generated compelling evidence that students could stay enrolled and graduate when financial instability was reduced. Following the pilot’s success, the Legislative Education Study Committee (LESC), under the leadership of Senator Bill Soules, acted to scale the initiative . The broader policy conversation helped shape a state pilot program, funded at approximately $2.1 million annually and enrolling roughly 330 high school students statewide across urban, rural, and tribal districts, which began its first year with payments tied to attendance and academic goals in 2025. This session will explore the continuum from community-based evidence and pilot design to state-level policy adoption and legislative budgeting. Presenters will share data from both the original pilot and early state implementation, discuss legislative and committee processes used to elevate the evidence and inform policy decisions, and provide actionable insights for participants on translating evidence into equitable education policy at scale. Through student voices, implementation lessons, and cross-sector partnership analysis, attendees will gain frameworks for adapting similar initiatives in their home states.

On-Demand

Session

Evaluating Policies to Maximize Impact—Two States’ Efforts to Evaluate Their Accountability Systems

Too often, policies are designed and executed without a clearly defined evaluation plan. A strategic evaluation can enhance policy effectiveness by facilitating consistent monitoring of impact and continuous improvement. As SEAs re-envision their existing policies and design new innovations, they can incorporate right-sized evaluations as an essential tool to maximize impact. This session will feature policy evaluation research in two states with different contexts, systems and implementation stages—New Hampshire and Michigan. Both recently designed and implemented comprehensive evaluations of their accountability systems. By attending this session, the audience will learn tangible examples and evaluation strategies that can be applied to diverse policy areas. First, a representative from a nationally recognized non-profit organization will provide a framework for designing an effective evaluation plan, including design approaches, measurement methodologies, and recommended practices. A central idea in this framework is that ongoing evaluation can be incremental, right-sized, and built into program implementation. The two state representatives will then discuss their research. New Hampshire will discuss its recently completed, four-part evaluation study on how its accountability system supports data literacy and school improvement. It delves into questions on perceived effectiveness of funding and resources and improvement rate of identified schools. The representative will also describe policy improvements made as a result of the study. Michigan will discuss its emerging evaluation to determine whether its accountability system is appropriately calculating school performance and identifying schools requiring additional resources. The representative will describe how the state established its theory of action and guiding questions, as well as the initial findings and policy impact thus far.

Nathan Dadey

Center for Assessment

Nathan Dadey is interested in the design, scaling, and use of educational assessments, particularly assessments used for accountability purposes. He aims to produce methodological and applied work that contributes to improved understanding and use of assessment results in policy contexts. In terms of methodological work, Nathan focuses on tackling issues in which typical educational measurement approaches fall short. One such area is the measurement of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). For example, Nathan has supported multiple state departments of education (Delaware, Wisconsin, and Nebraska) in developing conceptualizations of their NGSS statewide systems of assessments, leading content specialists in the creation of three dimensional tasks, assisting multiple SCASS groups within the Council of Chief State School Officers and reviewing NGSS performance task quality and evaluation tools (with Achieve). A second area deals with the numerous challenges inherent in designing and implementing comprehensive systems of assessment. While working to tackling these kinds of challenges, Nathan has explored ways in which a set of “mini-interim” assessments can be scaled (with Curriculum Associates), written a policy brief addressing ESSA’s interim assessment provision and explored ways in which Bayesian networks can be used to summarize interim and summative assessment results. In terms of applied work, Nathan focuses on issues that threaten the validity of assessment and accountability operational programs. These issues include the dimensionality of alternate assessment based on alternate achievement standards (on behalf of NCSC), the impact of interruptions on online assessment results (on behalf of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortia) as well as recommendations to address such impacts (on behalf of CCSSO), the representation of English Language Proficiency within state accountability systems (on behalf of the Latino Policy Forum), and the comparability of assessment scores across multiple digital devices (on behalf of the TILSA SCASS). Nathan received a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder with a concentration in research and evaluation methodology. Nathan Dadey focuses on using psychometric and statistical methods to address practical problems, including issues related to combining interim assessment data, dimensionality of alternative assessments, subscores, and vertical scales.

On-Demand

Session

AI Literacy Is the Next Foundational Literacy

As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes learning, work, and civic life, states are beginning to confront whether AI literacy should be treated as a foundational literacy alongside reading, writing, and numeracy. This Policy Feature session examines how states are responding to this question through legislation, standards, guidance, and statewide initiatives, informed by research and emerging practice. Grounded in the AI Literacy Framework (Empowering Learners for the Age of AI), developed by the OECD and European Commission with support from Code.org and the TeachAI community, the session will translate research into policy-relevant considerations for state leaders. Facilitators will highlight how states are approaching AI literacy through multiple entry points, including graduation requirements, profiles of a graduate, computer science and media literacy standards, and responsible AI guidance. Rather than promoting a single policy model, the session will surface patterns across states, identify common challenges, and examine how different policy levers can be aligned to support equitable, coherent implementation. Participants will explore tradeoffs related to local control, educator capacity, assessment, and the risk of widening opportunity gaps if AI literacy is addressed unevenly. Attendees will gain practical insight into how peers across states are framing AI literacy as a policy priority, what strategies are emerging, and how state leaders can adapt lessons learned to their own political, geographic, and governance contexts.

On-Demand

Session

Aligned Career Pathways and Credentials for Learner Success

This workshop will guide state policymakers through practical conversations about building holistic skills and aligned career pathways that lead to meaningful employment and advancement. Career pathways and credentials are vital policy levers—but without alignment across K–12, postsecondary and workforce systems, learners and employers alike experience fragmentation and limited returns on public investment. Drawing on the Southern Regional Education Board’s (SREB) Commission on Career Pathways and Credentials, this session will frame why alignment matters, highlight state policy challenges, and provide tools to help policymakers assess their state’s strategy. The Commission’s work emphasizes coherent governance, clear definition of credentials of value, labor market alignment, and cross-agency collaboration as foundational elements of high-quality pathways. Participants will leave with concrete policy considerations that support employability skills—including success, technical, and academic competencies—that prepare learners for the future of work. Through interactive facilitated exercises, attendees will: • map existing career pathway structures and credentials in their states; • identify policy gaps and opportunities for strengthening alignment; • explore how state policy can elevate stackable credentials that lead to both employment and continued education pathways; • review strategies for developing a unified list of credentials valued by regional and state employers; • discuss strategies to embed employer engagement and labor market evidence into policy decisions. This workshop is especially timely as states aim to connect education systems with workforce needs, advance equitable access to pathways and credentials of value, and ensure that learners develop holistic skills that support both civic and economic participation.

On-Demand

Session

Colorado’s Interactive Earnings Dashboard: Making Better Use of State Data

States across the country are seeking better ways to understand whether postsecondary education and training programs are delivering real economic value for learners, yet many lack the data infrastructure needed to answer that question. This Research Feature examines emerging evidence and policy lessons from Colorado’s Wage Outcomes Results Coalition (WORC), a multi-sector initiative designed to align postsecondary training data with administrative wage records. Through a partnership between the Colorado Equitable Economic Mobility Initiative and the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab, WORC links enrollment and completion data from training providers with verified state wage data using privacy-preserving protocols. The resulting longitudinal analysis examines median earnings, earnings relative to cost-of-living benchmarks, and subgroup variation by race, gender, provider type, and completion status. This session will highlight key learnings, describe the methodological approach and its strengths and limitations, and explore how equity-centered reporting can inform state policy decisions. The session is timely as states consider postsecondary value, accountability, and longitudinal data system alignment. Attendees will gain insight into how wage outcome research can support policy decisions related to program approval, funding, learner advising, and cross-agency collaboration. Participants will leave with practical considerations for designing and governing data systems that improve transparency, support economic mobility, and translate research into actionable state policy.

On-Demand

Session

Supporting Student Well-Being Through School-Based Health Centers and State Policy

School-based health centers (SBHCs) are a proven strategy for improving student attendance, engagement, and well-being by integrating health care services directly into K–12 settings, particularly in underserved communities. Operating in 48 states, SBHCs vary widely in their delivery models, funding structures, scopes of services, and policy environments. Many state policymakers lack a shared, up-to-date understanding of how SBHCs function and how state policy decisions shape their sustainability, reach, and impact. This workshop will engage state leaders in a practical, policy-focused exploration of SBHCs as an education policy lever and not solely a health intervention. The session facilitators bring over 30 years of practical experience in behavioral health, SBHCs, and education policymaking. They will provide a concise overview of SBHC models and core components, highlighting how SBHCs support student success through improved access to primary care, behavioral health services, and other preventive care. Participants will then examine key state policy considerations that influence SBHC sustainability and equitable access, including state funding approaches, Medicaid reimbursement pathways, minor consent laws, vaccine requirements, and cross-agency coordination. Framed within the evolving health care landscape, including uncertainty created by federal policy changes, the session will help policymakers assess how their current state policies enable (or constrain) SBHC growth. Designed for attendees with varying levels of familiarity with SBHCs and roles in state policy leadership, the workshop will guide participants through structured, facilitated small-group discussions to identify policy barriers and opportunities in their own states. Participants will leave with concrete, actionable steps to advance SBHC-supportive policies aligned with their state context and existing policy strategies addressing chronic absenteeism, student engagement, and school climate.

On-Demand

Session

Keeping the Arts Alive: Recruiting and Retaining Music and Arts Educators

This session will equip education policymakers with practical strategies and policy tools to strengthen the recruitment, preparation, and retention of music and arts educators in K-12 schools. Participants will explore two national frameworks—A Blueprint for Strengthening the Music Teacher Profession and Supporting Our Current and Future Visual Arts, Design, and Media Arts Educators—along with aligned policy recommendations that address educator shortages, working conditions, preparation pathways, and long-term sustainability of the arts educator workforce. The session will also highlight a successful arts educator mentoring program in Iowa, demonstrating how targeted mentoring and induction supports can improve retention and professional growth for early-career educators. Building on these examples, attendees will receive draft state-level model legislation, focused on strengthening the pipeline of dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts educators through recruitment incentives, preparation supports, mentoring, and ongoing professional learning. Through guided, hands-on exploration of online resources, participants will examine their own state’s music educator certification and licensure requirements and assess existing state policies to recruit, prepare, mentor, and strengthen professional learning for arts educators. By the end of the session, attendees will leave with concrete policy options, adaptable legislative language, and a clearer understanding of how state action can ensure a strong, diverse, and well-supported music and arts educator workforce for the future.

On-Demand

Session

Beyond Income: How Using Wealth to Target Funding Would Improve Student Success

Twenty percent of students from low-income, low-wealth households are predicted to go on to complete a bachelor’s degree, compared to 59% of students from low-income, higher-wealth households. This, among other findings in the report, highlight disparate outcomes stemming from wealth inequality. Nationwide, federal and state financial aid formulas rely heavily on income-based metrics to determine student financial need. While income is an important indicator, it does not effectively identify students with the greatest financial need — those who are “dually-disadvantaged” by low-income and low-wealth backgrounds. Drawing on national and state-level data, this research examines how wealth and income operate as distinct dimensions of economic need and demonstrates the gaps in state financial aid systems. Focusing on state aid programs in California, Illinois, and New York, findings show that students who are both low-income and low-wealth receive nearly the same level of state aid as peers who are similarly low-income but have access to family wealth. As a result of this inequitable distribution of aid, “dually-disadvantaged” students are predicted to borrow more, face greater financial precarity, and experience significantly lower college enrollment and completion rates. The session will highlight core findings relevant to state leaders and invite discussion on a proposed strategy for more efficient distribution of financial aid, aiming to bridge new research with the realities of policy-making and policy implementation. Targeted investments for “dually-disadvantaged” students would yield substantial returns for states. A $5,000 need-based grant targeted to these students is predicted to significantly increase per-cohort graduation rates, with economic benefits outweighing costs by three to five times. Hearing from today’s state leaders is an indispensable opportunity to move forward with a real policy option for maximizing financial aid systems nation-wide.

Day - 01

July