A bipartisan group of state lawmakers recently gathered in Miami at NCSL’s Clean Slate Record Clearing meeting to simplify the process of clearing or sealing the criminal records of people who have completed their sentences and remained...

Policies to address representational imbalances caused by the Census Bureau’s “usual residence” rule are known to some as “ending prison gerrymandering”; others call it, more neutrally, “inmate data...

This weekend, Americans pause to remember and honor those who have given their lives while serving in the nation’s armed forces.

Much of the recent state legislation addressing student mental health focuses on the ratios of school psychologists and counselors to students.

Recent state legislation aims to foster safe, positive school climates where all students can thrive and achieve academic success.

A new guide from NCSL and the Election Assistance Commission can help the officials who implement election policy connect with the people who make it.

Advocates believe establishing a strong base of financial literacy can help young people to tailor their future financial education to meet their specific interests and needs.

The 14th Amendment could offer avenue of recourse for President Joe Biden should Congress fail to resolve the debt ceiling issue. Some say that Biden could argue that the government is required to pay its bills and that the language of the...

Two popular options for state property tax relief, homestead exemptions and circuit breakers, are covered here. However, years of appreciation are reflected in current property assessments, and the pressure on lawmakers to provide property tax...

As gig work becomes more and more popular, state lawmakers across the country are growing concerned that labor benefits historically enjoyed by U.S. workers have become out of reach for a sizable segment of the population, particularly those from...

With mental health costs rising and insurance coverage uneven, state lawmakers are pursuing various policy actions to ensure people have access to affordable care.

To preserve access to important emergency and other outpatient health care in rural communities, Congress created a new Medicare provider type, rural emergency hospital, under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

For all the talk about the power of AI (and its ethical implications), the burgeoning technology—once relegated to the pages of science fiction—remains remarkably under-regulated (if not unregulated) in the United States.

Supreme Court will reexamine and potentially limit or overturn the so-called Chevron deference, a decades-old doctrine that allows government agencies to interpret statutes whose language is not clear.

Shifting Medicaid spending from institutional to home-based care, a process known as rebalancing, can reduce state costs and let seniors stay at home as they age.

Tennessee uses a “common sense approach” to identify challenges in workforce development and provide key policy options to ensure a pipeline of well-prepared workers.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a case involving a deaf student means many school districts and state boards of education may now face both administrative proceedings and civil suits over inadequate resources for disabled students.

Two cases will give the Supreme Court an opportunity to define when an official’s use of social media should be considered personal and when it should be considered a governmental function.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that could determine the ability of state law enforcement agencies to use civil asset forfeiture, a practice that four states have abolished entirely.

Since 2020, state policymakers from both parties have confronted the harassment of election workers, including threats of violence, from a variety of angles, including by revising existing statutes and passing stand-alone protections.

Forecast ’23 is a special report from State Legislatures News covering the topics NCSL’s policy experts anticipate will occupy state lawmakers’ time in 2023 legislative sessions: child and maternal well-being, education,...

The top issues in education for the 2023 legislative session include recovering student learning loss, recruiting and retaining an education workforce, and addressing student debt.

Lawmakers are addressing the public safety challenges that emerged during the pandemic by tailoring juvenile and criminal justice policies and using evidence-informed and community-tailored strategies to reduce violence.

Ahead of their 2023 legislative sessions, lawmakers expect to address the need for affordable housing, a strong child care workforce and adoption regulations.