Why focus on high school redesign?

Research indicates that high school redesign, specifically designs that emphasize rigor, relevance, and relationships, can reduce the achievement gap, increase graduation rates, improve access to postsecondary education, and ultimately help students succeed as economically secure adults.  National momentum around high school redesign continues to grow, in large part due to the leadership role the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has played in supporting state and local reform efforts.  With support from the Gates Foundation, NCSL is working to increase state legislators' understanding of the need for high school reform and the wide range of policy opportunities available for state legislatures.   NCSL's High School Redesign Project is focused on supplying the specific tools, information, networking, and support that state legislators need to build effective state policy for high school redesign. 

NCSL's High School Redesign Project has the following goals:

1. To continue the national dialogue among state legislators about the need for high school reform and their role in creating and implementing effective strategies.
   
   
2. To provide state legislators with the tools they need to lead reform efforts, craft effective strategies and move reform forward.  We are currently developing a "Tool Kit for Legislators" on high school redesign, which includes the following publications:
   
   
   

   State Legislation and High School Reform

   Effective High School Reform:  Research and Policy That Works

   A Picture of High School Redesign:  Eight Great Schools

   No Child Left Behind and High School Reform

   Innovative State Strategies for High School Redesign

   What Legislators Need to Know About the Cost of Redesigning High Schools
   
   

3. To build state legislative capacity in support of high school redesign by supporting the National Governors Association (NGA) "Redesigning the American High School" initiative, including support for the NGA Honor States Grant Program.  The NGA Honor States Grant Program is providing two-year grants to ten states with comprehensive state plans to raise high school graduation and college readiness rates:  Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Virginia.  NCSL is supporting this initiative by providing information to legislators in the Honor States about the issues involved in high school reform, including models being used in other states; options for legislative policies in support of systemic change; fiscal issues policymakers face when redesigning high schools; and the experiences, successes, and ongoing challenges of other states working on high school redesign.
   
   
4. To offer professional development for state legislators working on high school redesign.  NCSL, working with the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), is planning a series of field trips to help state policy leaders learn more about high school redesign.  Over the next two years, this project offers state policy leaders an opportunity to participate in strategically designed and intensive field trips, in which participants visit redesigned high schools and engage in substantive policy discussions about reform issues with colleagues.  For more information about this project, see AYPF's Project Description

For more information about NCSL's High School Redesign Project, please contact Sunny Kristin at 303-856-1469 or email sunny.kristin@ncsl.org.