Three weeks after the February 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed and 17 more injured, the Florida state legislature passed a bill, which among other things, designated two new roles for each school district: a director of safe schools and a mental health coordinator. These…

In 2002, Michael Bloomberg, New York City's newly elected mayor, hoped to fix his city's public schools, which were widely perceived as plagued by a gamut of problems that ranged from low test scores to patronage-riddled schools and districts. A special bill approved by the New York State Legislature made Bloomberg solely accountable to the New…

Author presented the case against the institution of a no-fault divorce law. (RK)

Provides six questions that can be used for establishing criteria in evaluating education policy changes. The questions will help examine political and technological dimensions of school reform. (MD)

Describes how after the lifting of years of court-ordered desegregation, the citizens of Wilmington, Delaware, voted not to return to neighborhood schools, choosing instead to maintain the school district's socioeconomic and racial diversity. (PKP)

To educate themselves, a group of 16 Massachusetts school leaders has devoted an afternoon monthly during the past year to examining, describing, and wondering about student work. The Collaborative Assessment Conference protocol has revealed that educators hold different, often contradictory, assumptions about teaching and learning. (MLH)

State legislatures are writing more legislation to deal with the day-to-day operation of schools. Special interests, energy, inflation, and declining enrollments have all been the subject of a broad spectrum of legislation. (Author/MLF)

In 1991, the Iowa legislature enacted dual-enrollment legislation allowing Iowa's home-schooling students to enroll in their district for academic programs, participate in extracurricular activities, and use the area education agency's services. This article tells how a home-schooling parent worked with a principal to create a program serving 37…

Discusses the problems facing school district curriculum leaders as a result of increasingly frequent legislative mandates affecting the schools and their curriculum. (JG)

The National Parent Teacher Association acknowledges parents' primary child-rearing role, but questions the need for legislation to extend parents' constitutional rights. Parents already have numerous rights and options for fighting "unreasonable" government interference. The laws that upset parental rights proponents are needed to…

Indiana spent more than $100 million in past three years on Prime Time, program to reduce class size in the primary grades. Data show that in classrooms with 18 to 22 students, the atmosphere is less hectic, teacher morale is higher, instruction is more individualized, and students (particularly those at risk) are better achievers. Includes five…

Two curriculum specialists recount the growth of special education programs in Illinois. They note that strong professional advocacy and political know-how help to promote such programs, but warn that problems of implementation can arise. (Author)

Explores the implications for California schools from new legislation calling for school improvement and, at the same time, Proposition 13 that reduced the property taxes. (Author/MLF)

While working to reconcile developmentally sound curricula and instruction with district and state requirements, faculty at a Dalton, Georgia, primary school were hindered by mandated standardized tests. Since uncovering several negative aspects of such testing, faculty have been struggling to teach a developmental and test-driven math program…

Describes several prominent early grades small-class-size projects and their effects on student achievement: Indiana's Project Prime Time, Tennessee's Project STAR (Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio), Wisconsin's SAGE (Student Achievement Guarantee in Education) Program, and the California class-size-reduction program. Lists several conclusions,…