The September, 1986, consent decree in the case of Wyatt v. Stickney ended 14 years of court supervision of the Alabama state mental health system. The state agreed to adhere to Wyatt standards, maintain accreditation, continue deinstitutionalization efforts, and develop an internal advocacy and quality assurance program. (Author/DB)

The paper reviews issues in the Wyatt versus Stickney court case concerning the constitutional right to treatment for institutionalized persons with mental retardation. Among topics considered are the role of the American Association of Mental Deficiency in the court proceedings, the original intent of the case as an employee action, and the…

A variety of issues and problems in family day care are surveyed in two brief papers. The first paper notes that the majority of children under the age of 2 years, who are currently being cared for outside the home, are being cared for in family day care settings. One of the attractions of this kind of care is its relatively low cost compared to…

An historical sketch of minimum competency testing programs and issues is presented. Among the state and local programs briefly described are: 1960, Denver Public Schools, CO; 1976, Richmond Public Schools, VA; 1977, Kern Union High School, CA; 1977, Berea High School, OH; 1977, Westside High School, NE; 1973, Oregon; 1975, California (High School…

In 2001, a decision by the New York State Supreme Court in a landmark school funding case, Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE), Inc. v. State of New York, declared the current New York state funding system unconstitutional and ordered the legislature to replace it with a new cost-based system that ensures that every school district has sufficient…

This document reports the proceedings of a 1985 conference on preventing the legal problems that could grow out of the implementation of career ladder and merit pay programs for teachers. The contents of the report include a welcome by Preston C. Kronkosky; an overview by Virginia Koehler of the goals, characteristics, and demands of career ladder…

This report provides Minnesota legislators with background information on establishing state educational standards and periodic testing to measure student progress. Scientific management, the accountability movement, and the basic education movement were educational trends of the 1970's providing pressure on states to set standards to improve…

To portray the status of minimum competency testing programs nationwide; as of June 30, 1979, on-site visits were conducted with directors of all 31 state programs and 20 local district programs. Most programs were developed since 1976; 14 state and 13 local programs are fully implemented. The state board of education mandated 16 state programs;…

To ensure that school districts and schools meet acceptable performance levels, many school districts and states have enacted various accountability policies. Two of the most controversial approaches to accountability are reconstitutions of schools and state takeovers of school districts and schools. For each approach, this policy brief presents…

The status of minimum competency testing programs, as of June 30, 1979, is given through descriptions of 31 state programs and 20 local district programs. For each program, the following information is provided: legislative and policy history; implementation phase; goals; competencies to be tested; standards and standard setting; target groups and…