In the last twenty years, courts throughout the country have entertained claims relating to disparities in school funding. Early school finance suits sought to equalize "inputs" in terms of per pupil or overall expenditures. More recently, the advent of rigorous state accountability plans and the federal No Child Left Behind Act has…

This report covers the activities of the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) from October 1, 2002, to September 30, 2003. In addition to describing OCR's civil rights compliance program, the report demonstrates how OCR is able to make a real difference in the lives of students. 2004 marks a special year in America's…

Active between 1993 and 1996, the Promoting Academic Student Success (PASS) Program was aimed at reducing the high percentage of failure experienced by academic probation students at Corning Community College (New York). These students typically came from non supportive environments, possessed academic deficiencies, and suffered from feelings of…

This document contains 22 brief summaries of the progress made by Pennsylvania Adult Education Section 353 Special Demonstration projects in meeting their goals and objectives. For each project, the following information is included: project director and number; purpose; impact; outcomes; conclusions and recommendations; project continuation and…

This book compiles information to investigate the presence and structure of multicultural education programs throughout the United States. The book begins by discussing the need for multicultural education programs, and the goal of which is to provide more accurate descriptions of America's microcultural populations and to guarantee a better…

This report discusses the place of preservice and inservice teacher education in the needs of gifted children, outlines the role of the gifted education specialist, and discusses the competencies that gifted education specialists should have. It begins by providing a joint statement of core beliefs and goals related to giftedness and the…

This is a report on the National Articulation and Transfer Network (NATN) program, which seeks to increase the achievement and aspirations of students from underserved population, namely African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans. More than 150 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI), and…

This brief provides information about the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998, how it will be implemented in the greater Phoenix, Arizona, area, and the program's relevance to business. The brief also discusses the current work force development system, including information on these five areas of interest: (1) what the literature says about…

This Non-Regulatory Guidance explains how State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and State agencies for higher education can effectively and correctly use "Title II, Part A" funds to ensure that all teachers are qualified and effective. The Guidance in this document supersedes all prior guidance issued by the Department…

In December 2000, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) was awarded a five-year research and development (R&D) contract to develop and refine a systemic model to improve student achievement in reading or mathematics in low-performing districts and schools. At the onset of the project, 20 districts in Arkansas, Louisiana, New…

Describes the planning and implementation of a locally developed program built on superintendent leadership, administrator and teacher participation, and community support. Outlines the work done by steering and curriculum committees and their role in garnering community support. Recent evidence suggests a decrease in school and classroom…

This article describes how the Professional Development School without Walls, a partnership between the Departments of Special Education and Elementary Education at the University of South Florida and two large school districts, was developed; the challenges, needs, and contexts influencing the development and implementation process; and the…

A Northern Arizona University program prepares preservice special education teachers to work with Native American children and families. University students live on the Navajo reservation and receive practical classroom experience at Kayenta Unified School District (Arizona). Anglo students are paired with Navajo students who act as "cultural…

One-third of all U.S. school children attend school in rural settings. Rural schools are much poorer than urban America, with most of the poorest counties in the United States located in rural areas. Equity is a concern not only in terms of race, class, gender, disability, and sexual orientation, but also in terms of being geographically located…

Response-to-intervention (RtI) models utilize a proactive, prevention approach that requires the implementation of a sophisticated, multi-tiered problem-solving process in the regular education environment. Effective and sustainable implementation of these models will necessitate a mechanism to support professional development, treatment fidelity,…