This 17th edition of "Education Week's" annual "Quality Counts" report takes aim at an issue freighted with emotional as well as policy implications: the impact of a school's social and disciplinary environment on students' ability to learn and on the teachers and administrators tasked with guiding them. National initiatives to improve schools…

During the 1995-96 year, the Education Commission of the States (ECS) Clearinghouse issued almost three dozen "Clearinghouse Notes" on a wide array of education issues. The notes, which are usually one to two pages long, show at a glance state legislation passed or pending on specific education issues. This packet contains the complete…