The Six-Tier Source Hierarchy Behind Every Page
Every state walkthrough on boardofeducations.org/ is built from the same evidence stack — federal agencies first, state agencies second, statutes third, association sources fourth, government-data sources fifth, reputable press and research sixth. This page names the actual sources and explains how each tier is used.
What’s on this page
- Why we publish a hierarchy
- Tier 1 — Federal & state agencies
- Tier 2 — Federal statutes & regulations
- Tier 3 — State statutes
- Tier 4 — Education associations
- Tier 5 — Government data & oversight
- Tier 6 — Press & research
- Open-meetings & public-records
- Federal regulations cited
- Update cycle
- Quality assurance
- Corrections
1. Why We Publish a Hierarchy
U.S. K-12 education sits at the intersection of federal civil-rights law, federal funding programs, state constitutional duties to provide public education, and local district governance under state law. Information appears on hundreds of different official sites, with hundreds more adjacent association and policy sources. Without a clear hierarchy, it’s easy to publish content that sounds authoritative but is sourced from a third-party summary that itself misread the agency page.
The six-tier hierarchy below is how we decide what to trust as the source of truth. Tier 1 always wins for portal URLs, current procedures, current contacts, and complaint forms. Lower tiers are useful for context but are never the sole basis for a current portal URL or procedure.
Federal and State Agencies — Source of Truth
The official .gov portals run by the agencies that actually administer K-12 education. These are the source of truth for portal URLs, current commissioners and chairs, current procedures, complaint forms, and statutory citations.
| Source | What we use it for | URL |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Department of Education | Federal K-12 framework, ESSA implementation, federal funding programs | ed.gov |
| Office for Civil Rights (OCR) | Civil-rights complaints under Title VI, Title IX, Section 504, ADA Title II, Age Discrimination Act | ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr |
| OCR Complaint System | Direct complaint filing portal | ocrcas.ed.gov |
| Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) | IDEA Part B and Part C administration; state-level monitoring | ed.gov — OSEP |
| Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO / FPCO) | FERPA enforcement, complaints, technical assistance | studentprivacy.ed.gov |
| ED State Contacts directory | State-by-state federal contact directory | ed.gov/about/contacts/state |
| State Boards of Education (50 states + DC) | State academic standards, graduation requirements, member composition, meeting agendas | Linked on each state page |
| State Departments of Education / State Education Agencies | Day-to-day administration, accountability frameworks, special-education divisions, educator licensing | Linked on each state page |
Federal Statutes and Regulations
The federal legal framework that governs K-12 public education across all states.
| Authority | Subject | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| FERPA | Student-records privacy | 20 U.S.C. §1232g; 34 C.F.R. Part 99 |
| IDEA | Special education — free appropriate public education (FAPE) | 20 U.S.C. §1400 et seq.; 34 C.F.R. Part 300 (Part B) |
| ESSA | Federal K-12 funding and accountability framework | Pub. L. 114-95 (reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) |
| Title VI of Civil Rights Act of 1964 | Race, color, national-origin discrimination | 42 U.S.C. §2000d; 34 C.F.R. Part 100 |
| Title IX | Sex discrimination in education | 20 U.S.C. §1681; 34 C.F.R. Part 106 |
| Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act | Disability discrimination in federally funded programs | 29 U.S.C. §794; 34 C.F.R. Part 104 |
| Title II of ADA | Disability access to state and local government services, including public schools | 42 U.S.C. §12131 et seq. |
| Age Discrimination Act of 1975 | Age discrimination in federally funded programs | 42 U.S.C. §6101 et seq. |
| COPPA | Online services collecting data from children under 13 | 15 U.S.C. §§6501–6506; 16 C.F.R. Part 312 |
| McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act | Educational rights of homeless children and youth | 42 U.S.C. §11431 et seq. |
State Statutes — Education Code, Open Meetings, Public Records, Special Ed
The state-law framework that governs each state’s K-12 system. Every state has its own education code, open-meetings act, public-records statute, and special-education regulations.
State public-records statutes — applicable to school district records:
| State | Public-records statute |
|---|---|
| Texas | Texas Public Information Act — Tex. Gov’t Code Ch. 552 |
| California | California Public Records Act — Cal. Gov’t Code §7920 et seq. |
| Florida | Florida Public Records Law — F.S. Ch. 119 |
| New York | New York Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) — N.Y. Pub. Off. Law §§84–90 |
| Illinois | Illinois Freedom of Information Act — 5 ILCS 140 |
| Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law — 65 Pa. Cons. Stat. §67.101 et seq. |
| Ohio | Ohio Public Records Act — Ohio Rev. Code §149.43 |
| Georgia | Georgia Open Records Act — O.C.G.A. §50-18-70 et seq. |
| North Carolina | North Carolina Public Records Act — N.C.G.S. Ch. 132 |
| Michigan | Michigan Freedom of Information Act — Mich. Comp. Laws §15.231 et seq. |
Education Associations
National associations that aggregate state-level information, publish governance trends, and train state board and district leaders. Useful for cross-state comparison and historical context — never used as the sole source for a current portal URL or current procedure.
| Association | What it covers | URL |
|---|---|---|
| NASBE | National Association of State Boards of Education — state board governance, training, cross-state comparisons | nasbe.org |
| CCSSO | Council of Chief State School Officers — state superintendents and commissioners | ccsso.org |
| NSBA | National School Boards Association — local school board governance | nsba.org |
| ECS | Education Commission of the States — comparative state-policy database | ecs.org |
| COPAA | Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates — special-education advocacy | copaa.org |
Government Data and Oversight Sources
Data publishers and oversight bodies. Used for school-level statistics, public-records access trends, and federal-program oversight context.
| Source | What it covers | URL |
|---|---|---|
| National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) | School-level and district-level data; the official school directory | nces.ed.gov |
| Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press | State open-government law guides and trends | rcfp.org |
| U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) | Federal-program oversight reports on education | gao.gov |
| Congressional Research Service (CRS) | Background reports on federal education law | crsreports.congress.gov |
Reputable Press and Peer-Reviewed Research
Used for context and background. Never the sole source for a current portal URL or procedure.
- Reputable U.S. legal and education trade press
- State-bar journals’ education-law sections
- Peer-reviewed education-policy research
- State-level press for school district reporting
Open-Meetings Statutes by State (Selected)
Every U.S. state has an open-meetings act that applies to school board meetings. The exceptions for closed sessions vary, but the statutes broadly require advance notice, posted agendas, and an opportunity for public comment in most cases.
| State | Open-meetings statute |
|---|---|
| California | Ralph M. Brown Act — Cal. Gov’t Code §54950 et seq. |
| Texas | Texas Open Meetings Act — Tex. Gov’t Code Ch. 551 |
| Florida | Sunshine Law — F.S. Ch. 286 |
| New York | Open Meetings Law — N.Y. Pub. Off. Law Art. 7 |
| Illinois | Open Meetings Act — 5 ILCS 120 |
| Pennsylvania | Sunshine Act — 65 Pa. Cons. Stat. §701 et seq. |
| Ohio | Open Meetings Act — Ohio Rev. Code §121.22 |
| Georgia | Open Meetings Act — O.C.G.A. §50-14-1 et seq. |
| Michigan | Open Meetings Act — Mich. Comp. Laws §15.261 et seq. |
| North Carolina | Open Meetings Law — N.C.G.S. Ch. 143, Art. 33C |
Federal Regulations Most Frequently Cited
| Citation | Subject |
|---|---|
| 34 C.F.R. Part 99 | FERPA implementing regulations |
| 34 C.F.R. Part 100 | Title VI implementing regulations |
| 34 C.F.R. Part 104 | Section 504 implementing regulations |
| 34 C.F.R. Part 106 | Title IX implementing regulations |
| 34 C.F.R. Part 300 | IDEA Part B implementing regulations |
| 34 C.F.R. Part 303 | IDEA Part C (early intervention) implementing regulations |
| 16 C.F.R. Part 312 | COPPA implementing regulations |
Update Cycle
| Content | Review interval |
|---|---|
| State Board of Education URLs and meeting schedules | Quarterly |
| State Department of Education URLs and named commissioners/state superintendents | Quarterly |
| State open-meetings & public-records statutes | Annually + on legislative session |
| Federal regulations | On Federal Register update |
| OCR regional office assignments | Annually |
| External links sitewide | Quarterly |
Quality Assurance
- Two-editor sign-off before publication for every state page
- Quarterly link-rot check across all external links
- Annual statute citation re-verification on legislative session
- Reader-reported corrections logged and addressed within seven business days
- “Last reviewed” date on every page reflects most recent verification
Corrections
If a source on this page is wrong, outdated, or missing, please email info@boardofeducations.org with the subject line “Sources correction” and what you believe should be changed.
Read the Full Editorial Methodology
The seven-step verification process, AI policy, and corrections workflow are on the Editorial Policy.
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