The Second Session of the 99th Nebraska Legislature, convened in 2007, produced an educational idea that was unique in the United States: The Learning Community of the Omaha metropolitan area. Aimed at creating greater educational funding equity, integrating the young people of the Omaha area, and improving student learning achievement, the…

Charter schools, although a stage for potential educational reform and innovation, remain subject to federal laws regarding the education of students with disabilities. As they intersect with federal law, the variance of state charter laws and policy surrounding the provision of special education creates a challenging context for helping charters…

Individual members of state legislatures wield the greatest influence in state level policy formation. This was one of the findings of a study that identified the power and influence context of state-level policymaking. Data were gathered from six states (Arizona, California, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Illinois) using an instrument…

If school administrators wish to influence the course of collective bargaining legislation, as well as other legislation relevant to education, they must become good politicians. They must understand the political process and realize that it's ongoing and continuous. However, many school administrators remain aloof from the political activity of…

These proceedings present testimony from the California Senate Select Committee on Higher Education Admissions and Outreach and the California Senate Select Committee on Higher Education regarding undergraduate admissions at the University of California (UC) in the aftermath of Proposition 209 and California Board of Regents' Special Proposal 1…

The roles of state boards of education, state education agencies, and chief state school officers are examined. A review of governance models beginning with colonial days and ending with consideration of recent research on the functioning of state boards of education is provided, and it is concluded that state boards have wide discretionary…

This report provides background materials related to the California Senate Select Committee on Higher Education Admissions and Outreach and the California Senate Select Committee on Higher Education hearing on undergraduate admissions at the University of California (UC) and the Board of Regents' Special Proposal 1 (SP-1), which eliminated the use…

In its educational progress, a state is helped by a comparison of the features of its school system with the same features in other states. Such comparisons serve to set in clear perspective likenesses and differences; and since our state educational systems have been developed not only according to the experience of the individual state, but also…