This report discusses the 2023-24 Accomplishments and 2024-2025 Priorities and Ongoing Responsibilities for the departments of the New York State Education Department: (1) Office of Counsel; (2) Government Relations; (3) Finance; (4) Public Affairs; (5) P12 Instructional Support; (6) P12 Operational Support; (7) Higher Education; (8) Adult Career…

Federal legislation, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504, and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, mandates that individuals with disabilities be integrated in all aspects of life from education to employment to independent living. A recent development involves a settlement reached between the United States and the…

As the 3,919 students who participated in the first year of Indiana's new, wide-reaching school voucher program near the end of the first semester in their new schools, the program faces its next challenge: A state court hearing opened on Dec. 19 on a lawsuit arguing the program violates Indiana's constitution. The Choice Scholarship program, one…

Volume 2 of a two-volume series, this document is designed to facilitate research on school finance reform in New Jersey, specifically the Robinson v. Cahill decisions. The purpose of this effort is two-fold: to facilitate access to legal documents submitted during the four-year evolution of the Robinson case and to augment efforts to identify the…

This document provides a summary of legislative actions and issues in the member states of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). The economic slowdown continued to dominate legislative deliberations of state budgets, with midyear cuts the norm rather than the exception. It is expected that 2002-2003 will be another tight year, with…

An appellate court found that Michigan's popular prepaid college tuition program is not subject to federal income taxes, reversing an earlier decision. The program, considered a model for other states, was suspended in 1991 due to fund depletion from tax payments. The Internal Revenue Service is considering an appeal. (MSE)

Discusses the plaintiffs' arguments, the state's responses, and the specific findings in the context of major themes of "GI Forum v. Texas Education Agency," which found that the Texas graduation test was valid and reliable and met applicable professional standards, including motive and opportunity to learn. (SLD)

Draws seven conclusions for professionals who administer state assessment programs from the "GI Forum V. Texas Education Agency" ruling. These conclusions are grouped into observations about test development and observations about test use. Discusses some implications for test use in other states. (SLD)

Discusses the implications of the "GI Forum v. Texas Education Agency" (2000) decision supporting the use of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills for other state assessment programs. Notes that the legal success of the state test in Texas was not due merely to good fortune, but to the test's adherence to legally defensible principles.…

The settlement between the states and the tobacco manufacturers reached in November 1998 is expected to infuse $206 billion in new revenues into state treasuries over the next 25 years. This study examined state decisions concerning the tobacco settlement revenues in order to highlight opportunities for using the funds to support children's…

Fearing a federal court in Oklahoma might end a state-financed merit-scholarship program targeted by a discrimination lawsuit, black legislators passed a bill making the program race and gender neutral. State regents are criticized for failing to develop effective policy to remedy past discrimination. (MSE)

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will not ask the Supreme Court to review a lower court's decision to exempt the Michigan Education Trust from federal income taxes. The state college tuition prepayment plan was discontinued in 1991 due to legal challenges but promised to honor its commitments to 55,000 participants. The program may now be…

High stakes testing is associated with controversy and dialogue in this era of calls for accountability on the part of educators, and the controversy has been strengthened by the national testing plans included in the Leave No Child Behind Act (Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001). A look at the literature on high stakes testing and…

Author (Kentucky governor) describes new educational reform policy objectives. Emphasizes decentralization and outcome-based educational model. Describes 1989 court mandate for comprehensive school restructuring. Describes state's educational reform process, new goals, procedures, and programs. Examines court's role in education reform process and…

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…