Approximately 15 states are changing their policies to give school districts more flexibility in acquiring content. They have changed laws or policies or have bills pending in state legislatures to redefine "textbooks". Most of those changes are similar to the approach Indiana took in its new law: a "textbook" is not only a…

A research study including 200 preservice teacher candidates in their junior and senior years of study at a public state university in Pennsylvania examined their knowledge and competencies in establishing family-school partnerships. The study found that preservice teacher candidates were aware of the many positive outcomes and barriers associated…

Background: In recent years, several states have created mandatory prison-diversion programs for felony drug possessors. These programs have both individual-level goals of reducing recidivism rates and system-level goals of reducing prison populations. Objective: This study examines the individual level and system level impact of Kansas' Senate…

Arizona Senate Bill 1108, the "anti-ethnic studies bill," proposed to eliminate ethnic studies programs and ethnic-based organizations from state-funded education. Along with other anti-immigrant legislation, this bill is creating an oppressive climate of discrimination against individuals of Mexican descent in Arizona. This study…

States have been working to increase the rigor and effectiveness of career and technical education to both meet the needs of their students and to address the workforce needs of the state and the nation. This StateNote, while not exhaustive, highlights efforts in the states that appear to be "ahead of the curve" in state policy…

A contract is about commitment and responsibility. It is about the commitment that two or more parties make and the responsibility to deliver on those commitments. When school developers and authorizers turn a charter application into a contract, the relationship transforms: it shifts from aspiration to expectation and from theory to practice. The…

The author began studying undocumented students in the spring of 2006 to better understand the educational experiences of those who wanted to go to college or who were already in college. He invited three of his CGU (Claremont Graduate University) students--Richard Cortes, Heidi Coronado, and Karina Ramos--to join his research team. To better…

Florida has been one of the states hit hardest by the recent financial crisis. Since 2007, Florida State University (FSU) administration says, the university's budget has been cut by over $38 million. The state budget approved by the legislature on May 8, 2009, requires FSU to make another cut of more than $43 million from the institution's…

Conventional wisdom has long held that Asian American students are conscientious, brainy, and successful, and a look at the statistics makes it clear that many are. These students routinely post the highest scores on California's standardized tests, are most likely to graduate from high school, and have the highest rates of eligibility for…

The progress of psychology toward the acquisition of prescriptive authority is critically reviewed. Advances made by other nonphysician health care professions toward expanding their scopes of practice to include prescriptive authority are compared with gains made by professional psychology. Societal trends affecting attitudes toward the use of…

Since 1967, the Nevada State Legislature has mandated that public higher education institutions compile a comprehensive report on program plans. Therefore, this report is prepared in accordance with state law requiring the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) to prepare a biennial report for submission to the Nevada State Legislature that…

In this dissertation, the participation of 5-year-old Spanish speaking children in a kindergarten classroom community was explored. The school was located in a working and middle-class community in Southern Arizona, where pursuant to state law; the language of instruction was English. Student participants spent four hours every day in an English…

This is the first comprehensive, national-level study of the state of sound recording preservation ever conducted in the U.S. The authors have produced a study outlining the web of interlocking issues that now threaten the long-term survival of the sound recording history. This study tells everyone that major areas of America's recorded sound…

On May 14, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger released the May Revision to the proposed budget for the current year (2009-10) and budget year (2010-11). State finances have continued a three-year decline, with anticipated General Fund spending of $83 billion, their lowest in six years. To address the budget shortfall, the Governor proposes major…

Six higher education institutions in Singapore and four universities in New Zealand have reportedly been placed on a list of unaccredited institutions and so-called "degree mills", which has been compiled by the Office of Degree Authorisation of the state of Oregon in the United States (US). As one of the first US states that introduced…