Who Ya' Gonna Call....When You Have Education Concerns?

180 Days Education

Who do you call if you have concerns about your child's teacher, or you are not happy with the curriculum, or don't think the requirements for AP History are fair? The answer is - it depends. This episode explores the power structure of the education system, offering insight and suggestions on who to contact, depending on the issue.

Education "policy"" is often cited as a reason for many decisions that impact local schools and districts. It is often difficult to know who to contact if you have concerns, whether those be personal concerns about your child's teacher or classroom, or more wide-reaching concerns regarding the textbooks used in the district or the purchase of technology. Understanding the governance structure of the education can help determine who to contact that will be the most helpful in addressing your specific concerns. From the Federal Department of Education, to State Boards of Education, local Superintendents and local School Boards, all the way down to principals and teachers within a school - who makes the decision and why those decisions are made is complex. We explore these issues in our podcast episode, but for more information, please use the following links:

1. State-by-State Comparison of Education Governance https://www.ecs.org/k-12-governance-structures/
2. State Boards of Education: http://www.nasbe.org/about-us/state-boards-of-education/
3. History of Education Policy and Structure: https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/fed/role.html
4. Specific Policies in Education https://www2.ed.gov/policy/landing.jhtml
5. Local role in Education Policy http://classroom.synonym.com/role-local-government-education-6456723.html
6. Who has educational authority?

   http://education.findlaw.com/curriculum-standards-school-funding/who-has-educational-authority.html

7. Making decisions in school https://soundout.org/how-decisions-are-made-in-school/