Nebraska's Educational Service Units (ESUs) are under threat of de-funding, consolidation, and even elimination. For too long, the ESUs have been an invisible asset to school districts, providing equity to our rural schools, and expertise to our more urban schools. ESUs work from the expectation of efficiency and effectiveness, to be good stewards…

This report highlights the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's 2015-2016 achievements and continuing efforts made toward maintaining a record of meeting requirements under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), reorganizing their system of student and family supports, and improving outcomes for students…

Lottery policies have been created by many states to generate additional funds to support public initiatives, such as higher education scholarships. In 2009, Arkansas adopted a lottery to generate higher education scholarships. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the Arkansas state lottery policy design process to better…

Access and affordability are the main themes of Goal 1 of The Virginia Plan for Higher Education. Progress toward these goals can be measured by a variety of means, but access and affordability serve as foundational guiding principles as the Commonwealth of Virginia crafts its annual and biennial higher-education budgets. Student-loan debt is but…

This report provides six mini-case studies of higher education policy reforms enacted in other states, exploring the important role that state policy leadership played in developing, promoting, and implementing these policies aimed at improving higher education outcomes, and discussing the relevance of each reform effort for California. This…

Adequate funding has become a critical issue for institutions of higher education, affecting outcomes such as accessibility, affordability, and quality of education. The recent economic recession has been detrimental for state funding, resulting in budget cuts for higher education in a majority of states. Overall, state funding has not kept pace…

This study sought to identify major school improvement reform programs and initiatives in Louisiana during the period of 1997 to 2005. The criteria used to identify each program included: state funding that averaged at least $2 million per year in state funds; programs that affected teachers and students for school improvement purposes; and,…

Adult and Organizational Learning and Policy Development in Environments of Gray The purpose of this study was to describe, analyze and provide an understanding of the values that influence state legislators' decision-making as it relates to appropriations, tuition and fees, and financial aid for public postsecondary education in Idaho. The study…

This report, "State Tuition, Fees, and Financial Assistance Policies for Public Colleges and Universities: 2010-11", examines the philosophies, policies, and procedures that influence decision-making regarding public college and university tuition, student fees, and student financial aid programs. This report also provides information…

In the last few years government agencies have expanded their controls over higher education and thus diminished the autonomy of public insitutions. Some of the recent instances of government intervention were the responses of legislators and government officials to student and faculty behavior they considered irresponsible and disruptive. In…

A general commentary on the present education reform in the country is made using the examples of the five state reports. Certain common national trends are noted, and a summary is given of the effects of these reforms. Speculation is offered on the future of the reforms. (JD)

The University of Texas' political response to a recent state legislative threat to reduce higher education appropriations by 26 percent and the roles of individuals in the effort are chronicled. (MSE)

Describes the debate in Illinois over proposed bilingual education policy changes. Analyzes these issues: the effectiveness of transitional bilingual education, the inclusion of a cultural component, language assessment, the overprescriptiveness of current Illinois law, the impact of extending services to all limited-English proficient students,…

As mandated by state finance legislation of 1983, this report provides a plan for differential funding for California's community college districts, and presents the results of a study of differential funding. Part 1 of the report presents the differential funding plan, including a summary of the study and its findings and the basic principles and…

This position paper argues that public and private policies in Minnesota are not responsive to the large scale entry of women into the labor force and proposes a series of basic long-range strategies and specific child day care policies aimed at allieviating the hardships and inequities existing for working women and their families. It is…