Improving low-achieving schools is a critical challenge facing urban education. Recent national policy shifts have pressed states to take an expanded role in school improvement efforts. In 2009, a federal grant competition called Race to the Top (RttT) compelled states to improve their capacity to implement ambitious education reform agendas.…

Examines implications of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142). Delineates areas of conflict that might arise when the law is implemented at the school district level and proposes a strategy for developing future Federal educational policy in such a way as to reduce conflict and enhance implementation. (Author/GC)