State Responsibilities and Activities
Figure 7.4 State courts
215
Structure of a Typical State School System
Governor
State legislature
State board of education
Chief state school officer
State department of education
Intermediate units (33 states)
Local school districts— school boards
(1) what may or may not be taught, (2) how many years of compulsory education will be required, and (3) the length of the school day and school year. In addition, the legislature may establish testing and assessment procedures, authorize school programs, and set standards for building construction. Where the legislature does not enact these policies, they are usually the responsibility of the state board of education, which we describe in the next section. As a teacher, you will need to comply with various state laws. State legislatures have had to comply with the accountability mandates under the federal ESEA. As a result, state statutes have been enacted that increase academic standards, mandate assessments, and establish systems for reporting student data.47 Not since the wave of school reform that followed the passage of the ESEA of 1965 have state legislatures played such a prominent role in educational policy.
7-3b The State Board of Education state board of education An
influential state education agency that advises the state legislature and establishes policies for implementing legislative acts related to education.
The state board of education is usually the most influential and important state education agency. With the exception of New Mexico, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, all states have some sort of state board of education, which depends on the state legislature for
47 “Policies for Jurisdiction of the Education Committee,” National Conference of State Legislatures (2014) at www.ncsl.org/ncsl-in-dc/task-forces/policies-education.aspx (January 22, 2015).
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