To inform federal education agency leaders and policymakers about states’ priorities for federal technical assistance (TA) in education, RAND researchers interviewed 37 current and recent-former state education agency (SEA) leaders across 14 diverse states and the District of Columbia. Researchers examined what forms of federal TA have been more or less useful for SEAs and how TA investments could better address states’ needs.

What State Education Agency Leaders Want from Federal Technical Assistance

Benjamin K. Master, Elaine Lin Wang, Susan Bush-Mecenas, Rebecca L. Wolfe, Sy Doan

ResearchPublished Mar 30, 2026

To inform federal education agency leaders and policymakers about states’ priorities for federal technical assistance (TA) in education, RAND researchers interviewed 37 current and recent-former state education agency (SEA) leaders across 14 diverse states and the District of Columbia. Researchers examined what forms of federal TA have been more or less useful for SEAs and how TA investments could better address states’ needs.

SEA leaders shared their perspectives and recommendations related to a variety of TA supports provided to states. In broad strokes, the two main types of TA they described were related to school system improvement efforts informed by research and best practices and to facilitation of compliance with federal laws on the use of grant funds or reporting of state-level data. Across both categories, leaders reflected frequently on the role of federal TA in making connections across states.

The feedback that SEA leaders provided can help shape recently proposed changes by the U.S. Department of Education to the design of Comprehensive Centers, Regional Educational Laboratories, and federal TA coordination overall. SEA leaders’ input on related topics generally reinforced the rationales underlying these proposals.

Key Findings

  • SEA leaders highlighted the value of federal TA in expanding access to specialized expertise, customized synthesis of recommended practices, and expanded evaluation capacity to support continuous improvement. These functions were particularly important for smaller SEAs in less populous states, in which internal staff capacity may be limited. Leaders described the most effective TA as occurring with providers who were deeply familiar with their state context and able to engage in sustained partnerships.
  • Leaders also identified factors that reduced the usefulness of improvement-oriented TA. Slow federal approval processes—for selecting providers, initiating projects requested by states, or publishing completed work—limited the timeliness of TA. In other cases, TA providers lacked the skill sets or flexibility needed to respond to evolving state priorities.
  • Federal TA also plays a crucial role in connecting states. Because SEA staff often work in isolation with limited bandwidth to monitor practices elsewhere, they valued TA that provides a well-structured process for cross state knowledge-sharing and coordination.
  • In addition to its improvement and networking functions, leaders described how federal TA provides essential support for compliance with federal laws and regulations. Their feedback highlights how adequate investment in this area could support a goal of “returning education to the states.”
  • SEA leaders emphasized the unique role of the federal government as a trusted source of guidance in best practices. They discussed the potential value of using federal TA to more proactively promote high-impact, evidence-based practices and support cross-state initiatives related to the most pressing educational challenges nationwide.

Recommendations

  • Federal TA to SEAs should prioritize specialized expertise (e.g., on specific instructional topics or student groups), research and evaluation support, and cross-state networking that tackles shared challenges.
  • TA awards should aim to match SEAs with providers that know their state well and are well-positioned to support them over multiple years and projects.
  • Federal TA should reduce administrative burdens on states by ensuring access to experts who can offer timely, authoritative, and collaborative guidance about allowable uses of federal grants and about reporting and data-sharing requirements.
  • Federal agencies should cut red tape by designing TA contracts and oversight processes that minimize the need for—or accelerate—federal agency approvals for initiating new TA projects and releasing finished work products.
  • Federally funded TA should not only respond to requests from individual states but also proactively promote evidence-based solutions to the most urgent educational challenges facing the nation as a whole.

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Master, Benjamin K., Elaine Lin Wang, Susan Bush-Mecenas, Rebecca L. Wolfe, and Sy Doan, What State Education Agency Leaders Want from Federal Technical Assistance. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2026. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA4822-1.html.
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This study was funded by The Wallace Foundation and conducted within the Education and Employment Program of RAND Education, Employment, and Infrastructure.

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