An analysis is made of the voting record of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on cases related to education and the impact of these votes. The decisions of the Supreme Court during the 1981-82 term were classified under one of seven different headings: (1) religion and the schools; (2) freedom of expression; (3) due process of law; (4) racial…

Mail-in elections are prompting school officials to communicate their message to a wide variety of audiences. Many of the states using vote-by-mail have also made it much easier for citizens to cast absentee ballots. Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of voting by mail. (MLF)

A study examining factors influencing decisions state legislators make about school finance focuses on votes in Michigan, Missouri, and Washington. Each of these states passed major school finance reform legislation during the 1970's and used open legislative procedures in which individual legislators were free to vote their consciences.…

A survey of absentee voting in the Highline (Washington) School District revealed that mailed-in ballots have no better than--and often less than--a 50-50 chance of favoring school finance issues. School officials should reconsider encouraging the growth of voting by mail. (IW)

The 51.7 million students enrolled in public and private schools this year outstrip the 51.3 million mark set in 1971. Today's taxpayers are reluctant to pay for new schools; therefore, school leaders need to be creative in handling the enrollment crunch. Experts in fast-growing districts offer tips. (MLF)

This review of the Supreme Court's term of cases that are relevant to school districts is divided into five sections by subject matter: (1) desegregation; (2) voting rights and political activity; (3) employment and labor; (4) student rights; and (5) special education. A list of cases and statutes discussed, with citations is included at the end…

Working from the basic assumption that the primary motivation for those involved in school governance is self-interest, this paper develops and discusses 15 hypotheses that form the essential elements of an economic theory of school governance. The paper opens with a review of previous theories of governance and their origins in social science…

Various indices of public support for the schools--school finance voting patterns, public opinion polls, and court litigation--are analyzed to document current trends. Two possible scenarios are forecast for the future, based on socioeconomic and demographic patterns. The need for future government support is stressed. (PP)

Self-consciously activist education has a long history among African-Americans; however, it is one of the least well-understood aspects of African American struggle. This paper addresses one chapter in that history, the Freedom Schools that operated in Mississippi during the summer of 1964 and for a while thereafter. The schools were the creation…