A survey of the directors of teacher certification in the 50 states and the District of Columbia revealed that few states require services for all handicapped children from birth to age five, and 18 states have established standards for certifying teachers of preschool handicapped children.

In 1983, 26 states have statutes or regulations that require teachers to be evaluated, and 22 of these states also require administrators to be evaluated. (MLF)

Presents 10 questions to test school board members' awareness of the legislative process and offers 10 tips on influencing educational legislation, including identifying goals, knowing the territory and the process, communicating well, being prepared to compromise, offering to help others, and fighting issues not people. (RW)

Describes an innovative way of providing funds for the prevention of child abuse, established by law in Kansas and under consideration in several other states. Listed are proposals approved for funding as of January, 1981, for potentially replicable projects focusing on primary prevention of child and/or spouse abuse.(RH)

Describes the effects of the court decision against the Arkansas equal-time creation law. Although some state legislatures have postponed action on current legislation, creationist groups are campaigning for new laws and filing lawsuits. The American Civil Liberties Union's response to these renewed efforts is discussed. (AM)

Contains a summary of workers' compensation legislation enacted by individual states in 1981. Higher benefit levels, broader coverage, and improved medical and rehabilitation services are among the actions taken by states to provide better protection for injured workers. (Author)

Findings from a study of the relationship between penalties for teacher strikes and strike deterrence demonstrate that mild and harsh penalties provide less deterrence than moderate ones. The optimal penalty for avoiding strikes was found to be the forfeiture of two days pay for each day on strike. (Author/WD)

Introduces the special section of this issue on the Public Employee Relations Act (Act 195) in Pennsylvania. (IRT)

Broader coverage and levels of benefits received the most attention among the 46 jurisdictions which met during 1980, although several states did set new standards for measuring hearing loss. (CT)

The Massachusetts court held that the exclusion of pregnant women from a disability program was facially discriminatory because pregnancy alone was the determinative criterion. Available from Suffolk University Law Review Office, 41 Temple Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02114; sc $3.50. (Author/IRT)

Describes an "Aggressive Adoption" program designed to combat the problem of foster care "drift" by expanding the availability of adoption resources for children in the care of a small, public child welfare agency. (RH)

Uses the authors' experiences in Texas to suggest some strategies that teachers and parents can use to affect the state legislative process. (MP)

Using North Carolina as an example, the article questions whether there is any justifiable reason why disposing of surplus property should be so much harder for school units than for cities and counties. (Author/IRT)

Examines the development of retraction laws, which require publishers to correct allegedly false stories, and looks at their constitutional implications. (GT)

This investigation shows a positive relationship between early enactment of collective bargaining legislation for teachers and the urban percentage of a state's population and a negative relationship between enactment of such legislation and a state's index of conservatism. (Author)