State policy plays a critical role in determining whether and how well local education improvement strategies can be implemented. As states rework their education policies under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), state and local leaders need a way to assess their current policy environment and identify the changes needed to encourage local…

Since the 1980's, fear of school violence has driven American public education toward increasingly punitive and exclusionary methods of school discipline. Yet recent research has begun to raise serious questions about the effectiveness and equity of suspension and expulsion. Despite such controversy concerning the use and effectiveness of…

A national survey revealed that 13 states have created legislation to assist financially distressed schools. Focusing on two states, Indiana and Pennsylvania, the report outlines different methods they have developed to deal with financially distressed schools. In Pennsylvania a distressed school district is taken over by the state, whereas in…

The Indiana statewide Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) prevention plan focuses on community education efforts targeted for specific high risk groups as well as health care and other professionals. Plans are summarized for dissemination of information to the following groups: risk groups, physicians, dental health, nursing, ancillary…

The purpose of this manual is to acquaint both teachers and administrators of vocational and technical education with the principles and methods of fostering better leadership, communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills as well as instituting cooperative models as a strategy for better preparing students to enter the world of work.…