Rural Policy Matters


Coalition for Teaching Quality Policy Recommendations

Report outlines steps for ensuring high quality teachers for all students.


Applications for 2015 Global Teacher Fellowship Program Due January 30, 2015

Teachers and other academic personnel working in a rural or small town school may apply for fellowships for self-designed summer learning experiences based in international travel.


Facts and Figures About Poverty and Rural Children

Question: What percentage of rural American children live in poverty?
Date: September 24, 2014
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: Facts and Figures


Place-Based Learning Offers Variety of Resources

Rural schools and communities use the resources of place to enhance academics and community life.


Rural Policy Matters: September 2014

Rural Policy Matters: September 2014 The September issue of RPM explores new child poverty data; describes recent Rural Trust activities related to place-based learning; examines three current school finance lawsuits; considers recent developments in state and federal initiatives related to teachers; and reports on Missouri’s new law expanding the ability of employees to bring guns to school.
Date: September 24, 2014
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: Rural Policy Matters Issue Index, Rural Trust Publication


Poverty Rates Unchanged for Rural Children

Newly released census data find that overall rates of poverty in the U.S. declined very slightly in 2013. Child poverty rates also fell slightly. Yet nearly one in four American children live in poverty and rates vary widely among states, across racial/ethnic groups, and between place types.


Action on School Finance Lawsuits Heats Up

Courts in Washington and Texas have issued rulings favoring school districts, and a new school finance lawsuit is filed in Mississippi.


Battles Continue Over Teacher Employment Issues

Politically charged fights over teacher tenure, contract negotiations, and testing rage on in states and at the federal level.


Missouri Expands Concealed Carry in Schools

Missouri joins other states that allow guns in schools.


Rural Policy Matters: August 2014

Rural Policy Matters: August 2014 The August issue of RPM considers the importance of Vermont’s stance on declaring its schools “low performing,” examines a recent set of papers related to school finance, reports on a North Carolina court decision declaring the state’s voucher program unconstitutional, and comments on the accountability and teacher quality provisions that NCLB was to require this school year.
Date: August 26, 2014
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: Rural Policy Matters Issue Index, Rural Trust Publication


Facts and Figures About Percentage of Minority Students in Rural Schools

Question: Minority students make up what percentage of rural students nationwide?
Date: August 26, 2014
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: Facts and Figures, Minority Students


Vermont Stands Up, Respects Parents and Teachers

A high-achieving state stands up to the federal law that deems its schools “low performing.”


Summer Crop of Finance Studies

Back to school season sees a fresh set of studies on the effects of school finance systems.


North Carolina Vouchers: Unconstitutional

The Tarheel State’s controversial voucher program is an unconstitutional use of taxpayer dollars and fails other important aspects of education law, according to an August court ruling.


NCLB Requirements Come Due

RPM Editorial: The nation’s schools are supposed to be meeting all provisions of the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act at the start of this school year. But statistical impossibility, inconsistent enforcement, and state waivers leave the law’s provisions in limbo.