Unlocking Student and Educator Empowerment
The Promise of Effective Innovation School Policy
Empower Schools’ report, Unlocking Student and Educator Empowerment, examines how state Innovation School policies can create the conditions for district schools to gain flexibility from district policies and requirements while remaining public, accountable, and connected to their communities.
The report includes national policy recommendations and a state-by-state analysis of how current laws enable or limit school-level innovation. It argues that strong Innovation School policy can help educators design schools around student needs, improve teacher satisfaction and retention, create appropriate accountability, and make school innovation more sustainable.
This resource connects to Empower Schools’ work on Innovation Schools, school-level autonomy, public school governance, and state policy conditions that support high-quality, innovative district schools.
In this resource:
Why Innovation Schools need both autonomy and accountability
How state policy can enable school-level innovation inside public systems
What eligibility, incentives, scope, approval, protection, and renewal conditions matter
How current state laws compare in supporting Innovation School implementation
What policymakers and district leaders can do to strengthen Innovation School policy
Best for: state education leaders, policymakers, district leaders, school leaders, advocates, and funders working on Innovation Schools, school-level autonomy, educator empowerment, or public school governance.
