How to Impact Education Policy: Guide and Resources

No matter what their role, education professionals are often drawn to the field by a sense of stewardship for the future of society. Much too often, though, educators feel hemmed in by the policies of the very system they so strongly advocate for.

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2024, 82 percent of K-12 educators say the state of American education has deteriorated over the past five years. Fifty-three percent say they expect it to get worse over the next five years.

By learning more about how education policy is created, what influences it and how they can get involved in helping to craft it, educators and other stakeholders can use their experience and expertise to provide a better future for their students and the communities they live in.

How Is Education Policy Created?

Education policy is created by one of three entities — the federal government, a state government or a local school district. These organizations all work together, but they each have their own focus and draft policies in different ways.

Federal Policy

Federal education policy typically takes the form of laws. This means the individual policies must ultimately be voted on by Congress then approved by the president. Once a policy is in effect, the U.S. Department of Education oversees its implementation.

Most often, federal education policy focuses on broad, large-scale issues such as:

• Civil rights and discrimination
• The implementation and accessibility of special education programs
• Parental and family rights
• Providing grants and funding to individual states
• Fair hiring practices
• Constitutionality

All public schools and districts must adhere strictly to federal education policy. Private and charter schools usually have some flexibility in following federal guidelines unless they receive federal funding.

For example, while some private schools choose to implement special education programs, they’re not generally required to. Those that do have these programs don’t necessarily have to fully adopt the guidelines set forth by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

State Policy

The process of creating education policy at the state level is very similar to how it’s done at the federal level. Bills are proposed to the state legislature, voted on and then approved by the governor. Each state has a board of education that oversees policy implementation.

Despite the similarities, though, state policies have a much narrower focus than federal policies. They often concern:

• The allocation of state and federal funds to districts
• Curriculum standards
• Teacher certification, licensing and assessment
• Student assessment and standardized testing
• The establishment of charter schools

State policies must not violate federal law. However, federal policy is regarded as the minimum. If states want to make stricter laws in areas such as special education, it is within their rights to do so.

Local School District Policy

While state and federal authorities actually create laws concerning education policy, it’s up to each individual school district to decide how to carry them out. These day-to-day decisions are the responsibility of a small group of elected officials known as the district’s school board.

The members of a school board are responsible for voting on and creating policies about topics such as:

• Selecting curricula that align with state standards
• Setting budgets for schools in their district
• Determining how and how much teachers and other school staff are compensated
• Creating and revising school hours and schedules
• Carrying out teacher assessments
• Tracking the progress of all initiatives
• Holding open meetings for all community stakeholders

In carrying out these duties, school board members work closely with the district’s superintendent, an administrator the board hires to monitor policy implementation and offer recommendations to both the board and the schools they oversee. School boards must adhere to all policies created by state and federal authorities, but they’re typically allowed to make stricter policies when needed.

What Impacts Education Policy?

Ideally, the creation and implementation of an education policy involves rigorous investigation. Any number of factors can influence the shape of a given policy, but here are a few things that typically play a big role in policymaking at all levels.

Student Achievement

One of the biggest factors in policymaking is how a new rule or piece of legislation will affect students’ performance. For example, before approving, denying or amending policies about curricula, class size and similar topics, local officials may review metrics such as their district’s standardized testing scores and compare them to those of other districts.

Attendance and Enrollment

The size of a school or district can influence everything from its teacher hiring practices to its bus routes and the availability of extracurricular and special programs. According to the Education Commission of the States, student headcount determines funding for schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Stakeholder Input

While policymaking at every level comes down to a vote, stakeholders’ input plays a massive part in the actual creation of education policy. This is especially visible at the local level where parents, teachers, students and the community at large can speak at school board meetings. Organizations such as parent-teacher associations can also influence policy.

Academic Research

In addition to gathering stakeholders’ input, education officials can review academic research when designing and considering new proposals. This can include research on curricula, pedagogies, developmental psychology or special education interventions, to name a few examples.

Funding

The amount of funding a school or district receives can impact all aspects of its policymaking including which policies are considered and implemented. In some cases, funding is tied to the success of other initiatives or specific metrics such as standardized test scores.

How to Advocate for Education Policy

The first step in advocating for changes to education policy is staying informed. In addition, teachers, parents and community members alike have many ways to get involved in the policymaking process. Some avenues are more appropriate for informed professionals while others are open to all.

Join an Advocacy Group

For every school-related issue, from teacher pay to student mental health, there is at least one advocacy group dedicated to bringing about informed policy reforms. Some are local while others have a national scope.

These organizations are often nonprofits, research firms or political groups. Teachers’ unions can also be a powerful vector for change. No matter the type, these organizations often host workshops, lobbying events and other functions that bring their causes to the forefront.

Conduct Academic Research

Academic research of all kinds can help policymakers make informed decisions about education. Many advocacy groups conduct and publish their own research. Universities with graduate-level education programs sponsor research efforts and help professionals get published in peer-reviewed journals. In some cases, universities partner with nearby schools and other organizations to identify and investigate pressing issues.

Conduct Action Research

Impactful research doesn’t always have to be as formal as peer-reviewed research projects. Teachers and other education professionals can also conduct action research — research focused on a specific problem in a classroom, school or district.

An action research project may take place over the course of a semester or year and can be brought to the local school board for consideration. School and district officials can help professionals design and carry out their work. Professionals can also submit articles about their findings to trade and news publications focused on issues in education.

Keep Parents and Colleagues Informed

Research is invaluable in the decision-making process at every level. However, one of the main challenges when it comes to utilizing research in education policymaking is that the ideas and subject matter are often inaccessible to practitioners such as teachers.

Educators can close this gap by discussing research with their colleagues, administrators and students’ parents. It can also be helpful to explain how a certain piece of research could be used to improve their school and better serve their students. These conversations can help educators garner support for positive policy reform and foster an engaged community.

Contact Local Representatives

Even though education policy is made official by a small group of political representatives or school board members, stakeholders often have avenues for making their voices heard. They can attend and speak at school board meetings, contact their political representatives and encourage others to do the same.

Key Issues in Education Policy

While each school and district has its own concerns, many struggles play out repeatedly in schools across the nation. Some of these issues, such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI), are relatively new while others are ongoing. In either case, more research and more discussion add nuance to the conversation.

Technology in Education

The relationship between technology and education is growing increasingly complicated. For instance, while distance education has made learning more accessible to some students, studies have linked it to worsening emotional regulation, mental health and more in those students. And with the rise in the availability of AI-powered assistants, informed policies about technology in the classroom and beyond are needed more than ever before.

Student Assessment

Academic performance is often measured by standardized testing, the results of which are usually central to policymaking decisions at every level. However, critics point out that such exams aren’t always great markers of a student’s development and can be biased against entire groups of students. Whether policymakers aim to fix the current system or revise it completely, it will take vast amounts of research and cooperation to enact change.

School Safety

In 2024, the National Center for Education Statistics reported that the 2021-2022 school year saw about 857,000 violent incidents at schools around the country. That same year, there were about 479,000 incidents of drug use, cyberbullying and other nonviolent events. With the safety of everyone in a school on the line, policymakers and stakeholders will need to develop truly effective interventions at the school and classroom level to change these behaviors.

Student Mental Health

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 40 percent of American students report feelings of hopelessness and 20 percent have considered suicide. While this mental health crisis is wrapped up in the school safety issue, there are many more complex factors at play. Determining the root causes of and solutions to this issue will take a concerted effort involving educators, parents, lawmakers and community organizations.

Funding

Because funding is central to just about every type of education policy, it’s near the top of the list of concerns at schools everywhere. School funding in recent years has, for many states, come up short and not been distributed equally to schools in impoverished areas. Improvements in teacher retention rates and access to resources of all kinds cannot be realized without solving this ongoing issue.

Education Policy Resources

By utilizing the following resources, educators and other stakeholders in school communities can learn more about both pressing education policy issues and how to impact change themselves:

• USAGov, Find and Contact Elected Officials: Links to directories that list contact information for federal, state and local government officials across the country
• Education Commission of the States, Resources by Topic: Provides resources and information regarding topics such as funding, safety and professional development
• Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, “Action Research as Teacher Inquiry: A Viable Strategy for Resolving Problems of Practice”: Outlines the benefits of and steps to performing action research as an educator
• National Council of Teachers of English, “Advocating for Change in the Classroom: School Boards”: Provides tips for educators on advocating for education reform with their local school board

No matter what level of policy an educator, parent or other stakeholder is advocating for, it’s important they approach conversations with evidence, curiosity and a willingness to listen. Each stakeholder can bring a unique and valuable perspective to the conversation, and, together, they can make progress toward the main goal of enhancing students’ health and well-being.