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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Ward CummingsDirector, State Relationswcummings@aacte.org
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:
Review actions taken by states to support Colleges and Schools of Education as they navigate COVID-19. The easy to use map provides an analysis of state-issued guidance impacting standards and practice, new teacher induction, clinical practice and licensure.
Watch the short video tutorial on how to navigate the new State Policy Tracking Map. The tutorial offers a walkthrough of how to access and use the information provided in three formats: short bullet points, short-form distillations, and links to the original source material.
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
The importance of state-level advocacy cannot be emphasized enough – particularly as implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the federal teacher preparation program regulations unfolds throughout the country. As legislation and regulations surrounding teacher licensure, certification, accreditation, clinical practice, performance assessment, program approval, teacher shortages, and more emerge at the state level, AACTE is working hard to ensure members are equipped with the tools and resources necessary to bring educator preparation’s voice to the table for these important deliberations.
