°ÄÃÅÅܹ·ÂÛ̳

Opinion
States Opinion

Nine Guiding Principles to Advance Public Education

April 26, 2023 1 min read
Illustration of school and government buildings with girl
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Developed by the Aspen Institute Education & Society program with a group of diverse state policymakers, the offer a road map for education stakeholders to reenvision public education through shared values and approaches.

To read more about this work, visit Mapping the Future of Education: A Collection.

Instruction and the Student Experience

042423 principle 1 3

Principle 1: All students deserve the opportunity to develop their character, talents and interests, while receiving support to address individual learning needs.

Principle 2: All students deserve opportunities that prepare them to succeed in the future of work.

Principle 3: All students deserve opportunities that prepare them to fully participate in American democracy.

Important Enabling Conditions

042423 principle 4 6

Principle 4: All students deserve safe and healthy environments that are conducive to academic learning.

Principle 5: All students deserve access to caring adults with expertise in creating quality learning environments and experiences.

Principle 6: All students deserve instruction and tasks that are worthy of their effort, aligned to state standards, and relevant to the skills they will need to succeed in life.

The Role of the State

042423 principle 7 9

Principle 7: States establish essential policy context and enabling conditions regarding all students’ opportunities to learn.

Principle 8: Schools and public education systems need partnerships with other public agencies and service providers to adequately understand and address students’ needs, opportunities, and outcomes.

Principle 9: States must strategically collect and use data to illuminate the extent to which schools are providing all students with opportunities to learn.

Read the Collection

Illustration of students and hands.
Robert Neubecker for °ÄÃÅÅܹ·ÂÛ̳

Source: .
A version of this article appeared in the May 03, 2023 edition of °ÄÃÅÅܹ·ÂÛ̳ as Nine Guiding Principles to Advance Public Education

Events

Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum Big AI Questions for Schools. How They Should Respond 
Join this free virtual event to unpack some of the big questions around the use of AI in K-12 education.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of °ÄÃÅÅܹ·ÂÛ̳'s editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in Schools
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of °ÄÃÅÅܹ·ÂÛ̳'s editorial staff.
Sponsor
Science Webinar
Spark Minds, Reignite Students & Teachers: STEM’s Role in Supporting Presence and Engagement
Is your district struggling with chronic absenteeism? Discover how STEM can reignite students' and teachers' passion for learning.
Content provided by 

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

States Which States Require the Most—and Least—Instructional Time? Find Out
There's no national policy dictating how much time students must attend classes each year. That leads to wide variation by state.
2 min read
Image of someone working on a calendar.
Chainarong Prasertthai/iStock/Getty
States More States Are Testing the Limits Around Religion in Public Schools
A wave of state policies mixing public education and religion are challenging the church-state divide in public schools.
4 min read
An empty classroom is shown at A.G. Hilliard Elementary School on Sept. 2, 2017, in Houston.
An empty classroom is shown at A.G. Hilliard Elementary School on Sept. 2, 2017, in Houston. Texas's state school board has approved a curriculum with Bible-infused lessons, the latest of a wave of state policies challenging the church-state divide in schools.
David J. Phillip/AP
States A State Changed Anti-Bias Guidelines for Teachers After a Lawsuit. Will Others?
The lawsuit filed by a conservative law firm took issue with state guidelines on examining biases and diversifying curriculum.
5 min read
Students arrive for classes at Taylor Allderdice High School in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Jan. 23, 2024.
Students arrive for classes at Taylor Allderdice High School in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Jan. 23, 2024. As part of a recent court settlement, Pennsylvania will no longer require school districts to follow its set of guidelines that sought to confront racial and cultural biases in education.
Gene J. Puskar/AP
States In Deep-Red Florida, Voters Reject Partisan School Board Races
Florida voters rejected a constitutional amendment to make school board races partisan.
2 min read
Image of a board room.
Collage by Laura Baker/°ÄÃÅÅܹ·ÂÛ̳ (Images: DigitalVision Vectors; E+; iStock/Getty)