This annual report for fiscal year 1996 for the Educational Coordinating Council for Correctional Institutions in Maryland provides information on the inmate population, school improvement, technology, correctional education libraries and technology, special education, and the Occupational Skills Training Center. Eleven tables reflect composite…

Charter schools represent the fastest growing reform movement in public education today. This report focuses on what has been learned so far about the range of charter schools, and how to create effective charter school policies focusing on five states with statutes that have proven effective in spurring the creation of charter schools: Arizona,…

In 1997, an active year for school-finance legislation, states responded in a variety of ways to court decisions. This report provides an overview of school-finance legislation for that year. Historically, school-finance suits have focused on the equity and adequacy of state funding, and the decisions handed down in 1997, for the most part,…

Researchers assembled a database of current and projected information on the following: welfare recipients; other female participants in the labor market; employment, occupational availability, and job openings; and occupational characteristics. The database was used in a multistep process to project the number of women forced to leave welfare…

This report, based on a survey of State Directors of Special Education, describes current state policies on home schooling with particular attention to state requirements on home schooling for students with disabilities. Background information notes that home schooling is an exemption from compulsory school attendance and does not include home or…

These two newsletter issues recount activities of Voices for Illinois Children to ensure that basic needs of children, families, and communities are met. The summer issue notes various bills in progress in the Illinois House, and looks at the lack of health insurance affecting more than 300,000 Illinois children. Child advocacy efforts are also…

This case study examined the process of change employed by a rural Kentucky elementary school identified as having successfully implemented the state's primary program. The main purpose of the study was to analyze how the school implemented the primary program based on characteristics of effective change. The case study was based on a total of 23…

This update provides information about statewide writing assessment administration procedures in Nebraska and statewide assessment reporting, and contains a review of model assessments. The information is intended to assist local educators in planning and preparing for the Statewide Writing Assessment in February 2001 and the reporting of local…

This brief guide explains the use of testing accommodations for students with a disability participating in state or district educational assessments under federal and Florida state law. These include the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Florida Administrative Code. Planning…

This paper examines the role of state policy in influencing community college-baccalaureate transfer. It discusses the importance of two-year to four-year (2/4) transfer performance as a state policy issue, reviews national research about transfer patterns, and presents findings about state policy and transfer performance in six states. It…

The current approach to dealing with childhood lead poisoning has led to repeated diagnoses of poisoning because such children are treated and then returned to their hazardous environments. This handbook describes in detail the program requirements for effective childhood lead poisoning prevention programs at the local level based on the…

The Colorado Basic Literacy Law, enacted in 1996, requires that school districts report the number and percentage of students who are reading at or above grade level in grade 3, are on individualized literacy plans, or improve their reading achievement by two or more grade levels in a single year. The law requires the use of multiple indicators or…

The impact of the new Virginia statewide Standards of Learning (SOL) testing program on classroom instructional and assessment practices was studied through surveys before and after implementation of the testing program. The sample represented responses from 570 secondary school teachers (of mathematics, social studies, English, and science) and…

In 1997, conservative Texas lawmakers introduced a measure for a state-funded voucher program, which was to be limited to low-income students in the state's lowest performing schools. The real objective of the proposal was to set state precedents for state subsidies for private schools. This proposal never made it out of committee in the Texas…

The rationales for various state-finance distribution formulas, from 1896 to the present, are explained along with the rationales of the lawsuits questioning their validity. Chapter 1 describes attempts at financial equity from 1896 to the 1950s. Chapter 2 examines the current status of financing public education, emphasizing a state's obligation…