Home > Policy & Advocacy > State Policy and Legislation
Are you interested in learning more about the educator policy issues affecting your state? Visit our State Chapters page and learn how you can get involved in advocating and leading change in your community.
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State Directions Newsletter | June 2020
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State Directions Newsletter | January 2019
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Ward CummingsDirector of Government Relationswcummings@aacte.orgPhone: 202-478-4504
Much of the legislation, regulation, and guidance that directly impacts the educator preparation profession is crafted and implemented at the state level. Each state establishes the licensure and certification requirements for teacher and school leaders, and states are required by federal law to hold educator preparation programs accountable. Each state has crafted its own accountability structure for educator preparation as well. Therefore, it is important to follow and engage with the legislative and regulatory actions unfolding in your state. AACTE has compiled the following resources to assist you:
These search engines support your legislative research to learn the status of bills and those that are signed into law. Please read the descriptions to find the one that will work best for you.
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)– This tracker contains education legislation passed by state legislatures from 2008 to the present, and includes the ability to search by state, topic, status of legislation, primary sponsor, bill number, or keyword.
Education Commission of the States (ECS) – This legislative tracker has three options: search enacted and vetoed bills for the 2017, 2018, and 2019 legislative sessions; search via the ECS 2019 State Education Policy Watch List, which includes pending legislation; or view legislation from a specific year or topic by state.
Legiscan – This legislative tracker allows users to search by state and go more in depth. One can search Senate or House, type of legislation, or the status of the bill. This is a far more comprehensive legislative search engine and might require additional time to search.
These links connect you to information about your state legislature that can support you engagement and advocacy with the legislature and your elected officials.
Legislature webpage Find the webpage for your state legislature or any state legislature in the country.
Legislative Calendar Know when your state legislature is in session.
Another key component in the implementation of the accountability structure in your state is your state’s Department of Education.
Find your State Department of Education
Members of AACTE can download a document containing the key policymakers in their state.
Find your Key State Policymaker
State Policymakers Contact Lists These resources provides AACTE members with contact information for pertinent state policymakers — including Governors, chief state school officers, and state legislators — from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
ACSR State Policy Resources These resources from the Advisory Council of State Representatives (ACSR), representing more than 1,100 educator preparation providers with membership in AACTE’s state chapter associations, guide state policy and advocacy work.
Teaching Fellows Program Act The Teaching Fellows legislation would provide college scholarships to academically talented students who commit to teach in high-need public schools for four years after graduation. Modeled after the North Carolina and South Carolina Teaching Fellows programs, the legislation would also require participating institutions of higher education to provide professional development, community engagement and leadership opportunities to Fellows to support their growth as educational leaders and commitment to remain in the teaching field.
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