This article traces the development of federal involvement in early childhood education and intervention. It discusses the influences of the Head Start Program, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, court decisions that clarified the right of all children to equal education opportunities, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.…

New England's college- and university-based arts programs feed both the imagination and the economy. The region has 5% of the nation's population, but awards arts and music degrees to 8% of the nation's graduates, garners 7% of National Endowment for the Arts funding, supports over 1000 commercial arts-oriented businesses, and 10,000 nonprofit…

Describes new federal programs designed to support access to educational technology for all children. Programs relate to: school and library access; community access; distance learning; professional development; capacity building; innovation; research; and technical assistance. The programs tend to focus on teachers and involve cooperation between…

Examines the impact of the transition of the Federal Depository Library Program from print collections to a mix of print and electronic materials. Considers library collections and services; discusses reference service within the context of Zipf's Law; and presents a case study of the University of Florida documents reference services. (Author/LRW)

A framework is provided for thinking about how welfare reform affects young children with disabilities and their families and strategies are presented for addressing their unique needs. The article documents the relationship between disability and poverty, reviews major changes in the law, and highlights challenges. (Contains references.)…

Describes general development assistance available to rural areas through federal programs that fund housing, extension education and research, rural community development, rural business development, resource conservation, and development activities in American Indian reservations and disadvantaged rural areas. (SV)

Describes the memorandum of agreement created by the American Indian Higher Education Consortium and the Secretary of Agriculture in an effort to assure that tribal colleges can participate fully in federal agriculture programs. Discusses the activities and improvements of tribal colleges made possible by four $50,000 grants from the United States…

This article discusses President Bush's budget cut on education spending. The president's blueprint for federal education spending in the next fiscal year includes a high-profile plan to boost math and science education, new money for private school vouchers, a renewed push to improve high schools--and the most drastic cut in Department of…

The Office of Management and Budget has recommended the termination of numerous federal programs, citing a lack of program results as the primary reason for this decision. In response to this recommendation, several federal agencies have turned to logic modeling to demonstrate that programs are on the path to results accountability. However,…

It is imperative for special education administrators, and all administrators, to adapt to the changing demographic and educational environments. The field of special education has changed dramatically in the last three decades, and administrators can and should be leaders of the continued evolution of special education. One useful organizing…

As part of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, many states are using confidence intervals to determine a range of scores for evaluating a school system. More specifically, the states are employing confidence intervals to help minimize measurement error in determining a school system's performance. The methodology and techniques employed in…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires that schools make "adequate yearly progress" (AYP) towards the goal of having 100 percent of their students become proficient by year 2013-14. Through simulation analyses of Maine and Kentucky school performance data collected during the 1990s, this study investigates how feasible…

Despite differences in geographic location, district size, and student characteristics, district special education leaders reflected similar views on opportunities and challenges of NCLBA. Challenges included making AYP, meeting the highly qualified teacher requirement, addressing budget shortfalls, aligning of federal policies, predicting the…

In this article, the authors explore whether educational systems have the institutional capacity to implement comprehensive, systemic reform, as envisioned in legislation such as No Child Left Behind. Drawing upon evidence from various state-level reform initiatives, the authors highlight the ways in which systemic reform appears to positively…

Legislative evaluators can inform state policymakers who face policy and budget decisions related to large and complex federal programs such as Medicaid. Unlike lobbyists, advocates, and other stakeholders who support particular interests, legislative evaluators are uniquely positioned to provide independent and timely information to assist…