The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "The Census Effect." Contents include: (1) The 2020 Census is Here -- Schools…

The federal government has a long history of investing in programs for feeding children, starting with federal aid for school lunch programs in the 1930s. Today, federal child nutrition programs support food served to children in schools and a variety of other institutional settings. The child nutrition programs support meals and snacks served to…

How can local education agencies (LEAs), elementary schools, and teachers make sure the kindergarten year deepens and builds on children's previous learning? What are the best ways to keep children and families connected to school and engaged in learning? And how can LEAs, schools, and classroom teachers provide the smoothest transition possible…

Background: In 2009, the Obama Administration announced its intention to rapidly "turn around" 5,000 of the nation's lowest-performing schools. To do so, it relied on the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program to provide temporary funding for states and schools, and to mandate drastic, school-level reforms. Most of these reforms require…

Increasing federal intervention and the resulting burden of complying with federal programs, rules, and regulations has caused a significant growth in state bureaucracy, much of which has a parasitic relationship with federal education programs, straining the time and resources of local schools. Instead of responding first to students, parents,…

The Obama Administration is currently using more than $4 billion in federal stimulus funds in a controversial program called Race to The Top in an attempt to improve student achievement in public schools throughout the country. However, this study analyzes a different approach to spending stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment…

As a scholar/practitioner who has been involved for more than forty years in efforts to improve urban schools and districts, the author is struck by the confluence of factors that seem to be coming together to support this major new effort to rescue the neediest students in urban America. Is it possible that the idealism of the 1960s is finally…

The findings from this study show that the Public Charter Schools Program is achieving its intended purpose: to provide states with flexible funding to support new charter schools. As can be evidenced by their growing popularity, charters are an important educational option for the nearly three-quarters of a million students who attend…

Outlines sources of fiscal strain on state and local governments (including tax base deterioration, services demand, unemployment, laws and regulations, unionization, and fiscal limitations) and sketches ways to balance their budgets. Discusses implications of fiscal problems and Reagan Administration programs for education and the overall federal…

A study by the American Council on Education examined the conditions and needs of the private sector of higher education. The policy options outlined here are in four categories. The first category, improving federal-state coordination of policies affecting private institutions, proposes two ideas: a request by the President that each state…

Volume 4 of the 19-volume Highway Safety Program Manual (which provides guidance to State and local governments on preferred highway safety practices) focuses on driver education. The purpose and specific objectives of the driver education program and general policies regarding driver education derived from the Federal standard are described.…

The principles espoused by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) may lead to a severe negative effect on Hispanic American participation rates. Decentralization erodes Federal oversight over targeting and monitoring efforts, thus endangering equal access to training programs by the disadvantaged and minorities. Hispanic, small, and minority…

This publication is intended to help ensure full and prompt implementation of the improvements in the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act for children being raised by grandparents and other relatives. It was prepared by 18 organizations, many of whom have been working individually and together for a number of years to…

The source of profits earned by states as a result of tax-exempt bonds issued to raise funds for college student loans is analyzed, as are various proposals to reduce these profits. Background information about both student loan bond programs and student loans is presented, along with an explanation of how issuers of student loan bonds are able to…

Parent involvement in New Mexico, and around the nation, is an essential element in the success of students and their schools. This simple point anchors the federal law known as the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" ("NCLB"). NCLB establishes state, district and school requirements designed to promote more effective parent…