Policy
This coverage will look at how public leaders establish new policies in a range of crucial areas of government – health, education, public safety, for example – and how these policies impact people’s lives through better services, effective regulations and new programs. This will include stories examining how state and local government approaches policymaking around emerging areas, including artificial intelligence.
Governments are paying out billions to settle thousands of claims. There is no substitute for justice, but keeping the abuse from happening in the first place would be far more cost-effective.
The assistance program is a shell of its former self, with caseloads down and millions of poor families receiving no help.
State humanities councils connect Americans with their past and each other. That work is under threat due to federal cuts.
States are doing the bidding of big drugmakers by limiting the cost-saving role of pharmacy benefit managers.
State lawmakers are making the right move by curtailing the major middlemen of drug sales, known as pharmacy benefit managers.
The only state with such a program didn’t get there overnight. Years of action at the state Capitol and the ballot box set the stage. It’s a lesson for lawmakers in other states facing the fiscal challenges of providing services families need amid diminishing federal aid.
Gov. Joe Lombardo struck a deal with the DOJ to expand cooperation with ICE, ending the state’s sanctuary label.
The bill aims to get around federal protections for gun manufacturers.
A landmark study finds older, long-term inmates released under reforms rarely reoffend, while younger offenders with shorter terms cycle back into the system at higher rates.
To balance budgets, states are trimming provider rates even before President Trump’s tax law strips $1 trillion in federal Medicaid support over 10 years.
A new federal program provides a historic level of funding for rural health care. But the application presents challenges and the timeline for submission is short.
When it comes to protecting their residents from environmental harms, lawmakers in red and blue states alike are making progress without waiting for Washington.
High school students’ math and reading proficiency levels are the lowest in decades. Only rigorous accountability and proven improvement strategies can turn that around.
Two big political blocs have different ideas when it comes to health.
Changing federal guidelines are creating uncertainty about access to the updated COVID-19 vaccination. Connecticut has found a way to bring clarity.
These programs are under relentless attack but there is no evidence that they’ve given Black Americans any disproportionate benefit.
President Donald Trump has taken aim at cashless bail, arguing it encourages crime.
The measure is a response to federal immigration officers wearing masks while on duty. It requires most officers to show their faces and identify themselves, with limited exceptions for SWAT and undercover work.
Legislators also agreed to boost domestic oil production through new drilling permits.
Michigan’s experience illustrates how challenging it can be to stop large numbers of people from inadvertently losing coverage,
The policy removes income limits, ensuring every family has access to free child care and strengthening the state’s early education system.
Average performance in both subjects has fallen to the lowest levels in nearly 20 years, with nearly half of seniors scoring below basic in math.
It’s one of the most robust paid leave laws in the country and has required the state government to build out a sprawling administrative apparatus.
State Reps. Cyrus Javadi and Tom Andersen aim to amend the state constitution to mandate visible identification for all law enforcement officers.
Modeled on a Texas law allowing civil lawsuits against abortion providers, individuals would be able to sue to block shipments of abortifacients into the state.
Mobilizing troops in L.A. against the governor’s wishes and deploying troops to D.C. to respond to crime tests new ground for how the Guard is used.
After Katrina, most of the city's schools became charters. Although the change brought results, the importance of accountability measures should not be forgotten.
States are spending a lot of their federal TANF money on things that don’t help families that need it the most, and work reporting requirements keep too many families from accessing benefits.
State law requires immunizations for a number of diseases such as measles and polio, but Gov. Ron DeSantis plans to introduce a “big medical freedom package” to end those rules.
Seeing an absence of strong national leadership on education reform, the Fordham Institute’s Michael J. Petrilli investigated the difference between red and blue state approaches.
Colorado will no longer allow donors of sperm or eggs to remain anonymous. Georgia recently guaranteed adoptees the right to see their original birth certificates.
