Technological innovation is driving fundamental changes in all aspects of our lives. This is especially true of digital content, as our use of e-books, downloadable music, streaming television and movies, and online social networks has exploded. However, the explosive growth in our use of digital content seems so far to have eluded many of the 50…

Response to intervention (RTI) can be both a system for providing early interventions to struggling students and a special education diagnostic tool for evaluating and identifying students with specific learning disabilities. Contributing to the very limited literature on state-level approaches, this report describes how nine states define and…

Response to intervention (RTI) is a framework for providing interventions and services at increasing levels of intensity until students succeed. The framework helps teachers and schools provide instruction and interventions matched to student needs, monitor progress frequently to guide decisions about changes in instruction or goals, and apply…

This report explores how the states carried out the first year implementation of AmeriCorps, the signature component of the 1993 National and Community Service Trust Act. This initial study is part of a larger study of the effectiveness of the 1993 Act. The report is based on: interviews with the staff of the Corporation for National Service,…

Through programs aimed at enhancing educational effectiveness, states can play important and substantive roles in helping local schools, students, teachers, and principals improve, according to the study "State Strategies to Support Local School Improvement: Cross Site Analysis." The study identifies the key elements of the local change…

The National Apprenticeship Program is the term used to describe the coalition of management, labor, and government that supports the apprenticeship program in the United States and the aggregate nationwide of such programs and enrolled apprentices. Apprenticeship programs are operated by employers, employer associations, or jointly by management…

This report describes the application requirements that state agencies need to follow in order to obtain federal funding for family support and preservation (FSP) programs, as budgeted under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act for fiscal years (FYs) 1994 through 1998. Part I of the report serves as an introduction and provides background…

Describes the role of South Dakota's governor in initiating technology plans for schools that would promote distance education. Discusses a conclave of leaders in technology and distance education that addressed the successful implementation of the Digital Dakota Network, a statewide intranet developed to help students, empower the workforce, and…

At the request of the U.S. House of Representatives, this study identified problems confronting child protective service (CPS) units, which affect the system's capacity to protect children from abuse and neglect. State and local responses to these problems, and opportunities for the federal government to assist in improving the system's capacity…

A survey of 10 states indicated the presence of hiring procedures that discourage or limit public-sector supported employment for persons having severe disabilities. Survey results, and recommendations for state system change to promote supported employment, are presented in 4 areas: civil service examination requirements, job classification…

This study was undertaken to describe efforts in three states to create customized vocational training for specific client firms as part of economic development efforts. Approximately 70 persons from education, business, and state government were interviewed; documents from the three states (Ohio, South Carolina, and New York) were reviewed; and,…

This manual for state agencies suggests law and policy changes that meet the new Federal requirements under Title I of the Family Support Act, passed in 1988 and the Title IV-D of the 1974 Social Security Act, both of which enable states to act to locate parents and enforce child support orders. Chapter 1 of this report is the introduction.…

The report examines the progress made in implementing the requirements mandated by the Education of the Handicapped Act, as amended by PL 98-199, with a specific focus on activities during school year 1984-85. Data are presented regarding four major topics: (1) students receiving a free appropriate public education (factors associated with serving…

This report provides an overview of existing research, issues, programs, and initiatives that relate to coordinated education, health, and human services, with an emphasis on implications for Texas and the implementation of the America 2000 National Education Goals initiative. It discusses the often fragmented and uncoordinated nature of current…

In the 20 years since the major Federal program for the disadvantaged began, surprisingly little has changed from its original vision. It is now time to question some of the basic policies of Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act in view of the change in conceptions about the Federal role and the recent state and local…