The frenetic legislative season now finished or wrapping up in many states has brought big changes to education policy, some forged through bipartisan compromise, others only after hyperpartisan battles. From teacher issues to vouchers, the 2011 state legislative season saw widespread action on education. Republican leaders who swept into office last fall wasted no time pushing through ambitious and often controversial education agendas. Their hardest-fought victories include the passage of laws that curb teachers' collective bargaining rights and tie educators' tenure, advancement, and pay to their performance, including their ability to improve student test scores. Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker's successful push to strip teachers and most other public employees of many bargaining powers drew strong objections from Democrats and massive protests from teachers and other public workers, who took part in some of the largest demonstrations the state had seen since the Vietnam War. Similar Republican-backed laws that passed in Indiana, Ohio, and Idaho also drew major protests. Yet many states, with much less fanfare, passed significant measures in areas including the creation or expansion of voucher programs, academic standards, teacher certification, and charter school expansion--in some cases with the backing of both major political parties.