Policies in California are examined to inform analysts of the process by which legal recognition of same-sex relationships may be achieved. Content analysis was conducted of relevant legislation, court cases, and voter initiatives, along with interviews with state legislators to gain an eyewitness understanding of the social climate surrounding…

Efforts by state legislators to curtail collective bargaining or destroy public-sector unions, abolish tenure, and decrease funding for education are spreading throughout the country. This author states that the scapegoating and vilification of unions and teachers, however, are not new. The current attacks have historical parallels, when cries of…

Public university systems and institutions actively engage in legislative relations efforts with elected representatives who comprise state legislative bodies. Historically, the primary impetus for fostering legislative relations was to leverage appropriations. Funding issues remain an important component of higher education's interactions…

Today's school librarians are taking the lead with legislative advocacy for education and their efforts are beginning to have an impact on legislation. Advocates for school library programs in the state of Washington made historic legislative in-roads in 2009 with the passage of Substitute House Bill 2261. Arguably, the most important factor in…

Oregon's Legislature in 2011 affirmed a clear and ambitious goal for the State, known as the "40-40-20" goal, which states that by 2025 all adult Oregonians will hold a high school diploma or equivalent, 40% of them will have an associate's degree or a meaningful postsecondary certificate, and 40% will hold a bachelor's degree or…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) follows education budgets and legislation during regular and special legislative sessions. Current actions are found in Legislative Reports that are released on a timely basis during the months that SREB state legislatures are in session, usually from January through July. These reports follow education…

Since the 1970s, American governors have become increasingly active in education politics. Where they once told state education chiefs to "make me the best education governor ever," they now demand control of state boards of education, push for state control of school funding, and urge statewide standards for teacher evaluation. This…

More than 100 students and teachers from Missouri Career and Technical Student Organizations gathered at the State Capitol Building in Jefferson City, Missouri, to participate in the Missouri Association for Career and Technical Education's (MACTE) Annual Legislative Day on February 13. During the morning session, participants listened to state…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) follows education budgets and legislation during regular and special legislative sessions. The Legislative Reports follow education and budget issues from governors' proposals through final legislative actions in each of the 16 SREB states. The reports include bill numbers and legislative Web site…

The purpose of this study was to investigate Maryland State Senators and Delegates attitude toward ten goals of the community college mission (academic transfer/general education, globalization, community service, continuing education, developmental education, open access, student services, vocational-technical training, funding, and workforce…

Few recent issues in higher education have been as contentious as that of legislation extending in-state college tuition benefits to undocumented students, initiatives now known as in-state resident tuition (ISRT) policies. Building on several strands of literature in political science and higher education studies, we analyze the effects of…

The American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia (AFT-WV) passed safe schools legislation in March 2008. To better understand how AFT-WV influenced the creation and eventual passage of safe schools legislation, several researchers conducted a case study examining the event and the circumstances surrounding it. In particular, they were interested…

Rising juvenile crime rates during the 1970s and 1980s spurred state legislatures across the country to exclude or transfer a significant share of offenders under the age of eighteen to the jurisdiction of the criminal court, essentially redrawing the boundary between the juvenile and adult justice systems. Jeffrey Fagan examines the legal…

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…

Performance funding in higher education ties state funding directly to institutional performance on specific indicators, such as rates of retention, graduation, and job placement. One of the great puzzles about performance funding is that it has been both popular and unstable. Between 1979 and 2007, 26 states enacted it, but 14 of those states…