The Minnesota Business Partnership (MBP) was studied as a policy innovator in state school reform (for kindergarten through grade 12) in relation to agenda setting, alternative formulation, and authoritative enactment. Focus is on the MBP's policy-making involvement during the 1985 state legislative session. Overall, the MBP's influence was…

Responses to a survey of state special education directors (n=51) revealed that fewer than half of the states have developed policies and/or guidelines on Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which ensures specific educational rights for children with disabilities. Highlights of available policies are presented, focusing on compliance…

Events leading to the passage in 1984 of Arizona's bilingual education law are examined using interviews with policy elite and concepts developed by D. E. Mitchell and others (1985) for studying distinctive cultures of state educational policymaking. Passage of a mandatory or more comprehensive law was not likely. (SLD)

To help national leaders work toward the first of six national education goals set forth in America 2000, which states that all children in America will start school ready to learn, surveyed the opinions of early childhood professionals. Reports on changes that have occurred in early childhood education efforts in the states and offers suggestions…

This response to an article evaluating Indiana's early intervention service delivery (EC 628 669) based on the state's comprehensive data system evaluates the amount of services provided, type of services, the service system, and the service delivery model. Analysis indicates continuing gaps between federal law requirements and implementation in…

Designed to address school safety concerns, the Unsafe School Choice Option (USCO) is another less publicized and brief component of the No Child Left Behind legislation, the centerpiece of Pres George W. Bush's educational agenda. The legislation mandates that state education agencies and local education agencies develop policies and procedures…

This research study was designed to determine leadership and instructional behaviors of administrators and teachers who are participants in the Alabama AP Initiative, as well as evaluate the perceptions of the AAPI with regard to student performance. The importance of this research was three-fold. First, this study provided principals, as well as…

The National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) was assigned the task of compiling, analyzing and summarizing the data for Indicator 2--Dropout--from the FY2007 (2007-08 school year) Annual Performance Reports (APRs) and the revised State Performance Plans (SPPs), which were submitted to Office of Special Education…

The National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) was assigned the task of compiling, analyzing and summarizing the data for Indicator 1--Graduation--from the 2007- 08 Annual Performance Reports (APRs) and amended State Performance Plans (SPPs), which were submitted by states to the Office of Special Education…

On August 31, 2005, Nebraska state educational and policy leaders participated in the Nebraska Education Forum to discuss ways to improve student transition from high school to postsecondary education and careers. The forum was sponsored by the League for Innovation in the Community College and the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and…

On May 8, 2006, Georgia state educational and policy leaders participated in the Georgia Education Forum to discuss ways to improve student transition from high school to postsecondary education and careers. The forum was sponsored by the League for Innovation in the Community College and the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and supported…

Policy decision makers, early educators, and early interventionists face numerous challenges as they develop and implement statewide accountability systems to evaluate and improve children's early intervention and early childhood special education outcomes. Kansas was an early adopter of the Child Outcomes Summary Form (COSF) developed by the…

This report presents a series of policy recommendations from the members of the California Technology Project Distance Learning Task Force to the California State Department of Education and the State Legislature on future directions for distance learning for kindergarten through twelfth grade schools. These recommendations are intended to assist…

This analysis of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act focuses on Minnesota's participation in Part H, which creates a discretionary program to assist states in planning, implementing, and developing a statewide system of comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency programs for young (birth to age 3) children and their…

This research sought to determine and describe the impact of standards-based reform as a policy instrument by studying the ways in which state adoption of content standards affects local policy, programs, and practice. In 1992, the state of Delaware embarked on a plan to improve its public schools. While the state worked at determining what…