This "ERIC Digest" considers the U.S. charter-school movement, which has produced about 800 schools in half the states and enrolls over 100,000 students. Charter schools reflect founders' varied philosophies and commit to achieve certain educational outcomes within a certain period, in exchange for waiving many restrictive regulations.…

Although older persons are increasing both in number and as a proportion of the total American population, they are not taking advantage of educational opportunities. Barriers to their educational efforts include inadequate transportation, lack of money, poor health, program scheduling, and the attitude that learning is for others. Available…

This monograph in the Urban Diversity Series examines historical and current policy in the teaching of language minority students in New York and California. It explores the key issues in the public's understanding of bilingual education and defines bilingual education in terms of local educational legislation and implementations. Part I,…

The issue of providing public education for undocumented students (children of foreign-born persons who reside and/or work in the United States without proper permission from immigration authorities) is receiving current attention for two major reasons: (1) fear that the financial burden on local taxpayers will increase in areas with increasing…

As part of a series on the legal and governmental foundations governing education of handicapped and gifted children, the booklet focuses on the provision of developmentally appropriate services to handicapped infants and preschool age children and their families. An initial section reviews the literature on the benefits of early intervention in…

This book highlights information from a project that focused on where and how content-based English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction has been implemented in pre-K through Grade 12 classrooms in public schools across the United States. A database was constructed of 3,000 public schools that have content-ESL programs. Descriptions of the…

"The ERIC Review" is published three times a year and announces research results, publications, and new programs relevant to each issue's theme topic. This issue explores systemic education reform via an overview of systemic reform, a description of the Kentucky example, and an article, "Roadmap to Restructuring" (David T.…

Eleven publications are reviewed dealing with tenure laws, establishing criteria for teacher evaluation, due process, relevant state laws, legal case studies, remediation, and the principal's role. The literature agrees that dismissal of tenured teachers is possible if evaluation criteria and evidence of incompetence are clear and if…

This review of tax limitation legislation and its impact on the community college, begins by examining the provisions of this type of legislation, its historical precedents, the extent to which tax limitation legislation was passed in the 1970's, and its implications for local control of community college services. Next, it is noted that…

In March 1990, the Center for the Study of Community Colleges in Los Angeles hosted a Transfer Assembly as part of an on-going effort to stabilize the imprecise definitions and data relating to student transfers from community colleges to four-year institutions. This report provides excerpts from six of the presentations given to the assembly.…

This paper highlights recent trends, issues, and research related to the roles and authority of states in policies for teachers and teaching. A review of literature demonstrates an increased role for state policymakers in education decision making. Decisions that had typically been within the domain of professional educators are now subject to…

The major distinctions between evaluation and research are examined, the chief differences being the intent and type of criteria against which judgments are made. Conceptualization of the evaluation process in higher education is discussed on two levels. A collection of nine similes for understanding evaluation is examined in terms of major…