Throughout American history, marital property reform has been a concern of farm women. With most of the farm family's business assets in real estate, women without the right of ownership can find that they have limited wealth and no influence in the distribution of the farm's assets. The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws…

Conceived by the Minnesota State Legislature, the Minnesota Educational Effectiveness Program is a school improvement and staff development program. Its participants perceive the program as a method for identifying areas of concern and for providing staff with the processes to effect change. As of September 1987, 328 Minnesota schools are in…

Three papers discuss aspects of telecommunications regulation in a deregulated environment. The first paper, "Implementing Telephone Deregulation: The Political Economy of State Regulation in the Post-Divestiture Era" (Paul E. Teske), analyzed the variation in state regulation of local telephone operating companies using regression…

Discussions of foster care issues were conducted in four Nevada cities. Topics discussed in Reno included an overview of foster care in Nevada, Federal law and its application in the State, and prevention of placement in foster care. Discussed in Las Vegas were provision of foster care to children in southern Nevada and prevention of foster care…

California state law A.B. 2666 requires local educational agencies to provide special education to all children with exceptional needs between the ages of 3 and 5 years. The law aims to reduce the potential impact of handicapping conditions; produce substantial gains in physical development, cognitive development, language and speech development,…

The Subcommittee on Truth in Testing of the Interim Joint Committee on Education was formed in response to Senate Resolution 43 of the 1982 Kentucky General Assembly. Its task was to study the questions regarding the effectiveness and equity of standardized testing, which has become an important part of the academic experience of public school…

The 20 years following the "New York Times v. Sullivan" Supreme Court decision have seen an accelerating erosion of the protection necessary for the press to perform its function. The erosion has occurred in part because of unfavorable decisions of the substantive law. But in a very large measure it has also been because of uncertain and…

A year-long study of telecommunications policies and regulations in nine states--Texas, California, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, New York, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington--found that these states tend to be more flexible in their telecommunications regulation than other states, although the process for achieving this flexibility has tended to…

This issue of "The Bookmark" contains 23 essays examining the challenges facing public library trustees and changing community needs. Topics considered include: the role of the trustee, fund raising, lobbying and the legislative process, library building programs, library automation, literacy, intellectual freedom, information access, preschool…

This document outlines the basic federal, state, and local financing structure for child support programs. The main components of program financing are discussed, including: (1) the federal government currently pays 68 percent of state and local costs of program administration and rewards states and localities based on their collections and cost…

Actions of the 1985 Virginia Assembly that affected higher education are summarized. Information is included on amendments to 1984-1986 appropriations for operating expenses in all programs, and appropriations for capital outlay. The General Assembly was presented an amended executive budget for 1984-1986 that proposed to reduce higher education's…

Chronicles the effort to preserve bilingual education in California following the passage, in November 1986, of Proposition 63 that made English the state's official language. On the day after the election in which this initiative was supported, its sponsors made public their intent to abolish California's bilingual education program. Compromise…

This guide lays out the issues, objections, responses, and strategies involved with expanding the School Breakfast Program in a state or a school district. The guide describes in lay terms the particulars of the School Breakfast Program, and outlines successful state and local campaign strategies. It contains the following chapters: (1) The School…

In 1983 the Oklahoma Legislature adopted facility guidelines for the purpose of defining, organizing, and encouraging the planning of adequate environments for education. The guidelines contained in this booklet have been designed to allow for the requirements of all Oklahoma school districts regardless of size or educational program. The…

This document provides information on the current status of Wisconsin's laws relating to child support. It describes current law incorporating changes enacted in 1985 Wisconsin Act 29 which have already taken effect, several changes enacted by Act 29 which do not take effect until July 1, 1987, changes which will take effect upon passage of a…