This report describes early childhood education policy making and legislation in several states and discusses research methodology for comparative case study research. The first part of the study provides a historical account of the emergence of the national compulsory attendance movement in the 19th century, and the corresponding growth of early…

This committee report represents almost a year of study of the various issues relating to the structure and organization of the constitutionally mandated board of education in Illinois. The committee's 31 recommendations are based on solicited expert testimony and a series of background and position papers. In addition, a highly detailed…

Oregon's new graduation requirements represent a bold effort to implement a mandated statewide competency-based program at the K-12 public school level. All the various ramifications of instituting a change of this magnitude cannot be predicted at this early date, but one major effect already evident is that local school districts have begun to…

The Serrano case controversy raises the fundamental question: Do differences in school district per pupil expenditures represent cost differences incurred in providing essentially equivalent programs, or do they represent substantial differences in educational offerings? Although the answer is debatable, the California legislature increased…

The proceedings include the following: three papers on state finance; six on state legislation; 10 on state, county, and community resources; two on special education administration; seven on recruitment problems and training of personnel; and 11 on curriculum and program planning. Keynote and banquet addresses treat administrative problems and…

The study and recommendations for improved library service in Vermont are based on accepted library standards as well as a consideration of the state's unique pattern of library development. It is concluded that because the regional offices have no control over local libraries the concept of a larger unit of service does not exist, and it is…

In Section 1, this report, a third revision, describes and discusses the accountability legislation enacted in the United States from 1963 through 1974. Tables and graphs reveal which States have enacted accountability legislation and indicate how many States have enacted legislation in five accountability related categories: State…

This report examines California's geographic, socioeconomic, political, and educational makeup, and focuses in particular on organizations, governmental agencies, and persons affecting educational policymaking. The author first examines the structure of the policymaking body in the State. This structure includes the Chief State School Officer…

This booklet is intended to inform school district officials, school planners, and manufacturers of the Bureau's criteria for adequate housing. Part 1 discusses the portable classroom impact, presents data about portable classrooms, and states the Bureau's policy regarding portables. Part 2, performance specifications, is presented to clarify the…

In this landmark educational finance opinion (presented here in full) the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Texas case was not a proper case in which to examine a State's laws under standards of strict judicial scrutiny. That test, according to the Court, is reserved for cases involving laws that operate to the disadvantage of suspect classes or…

Many school board members are inexperienced in the construction process and unaware of the steps to be taken in school building construction. For this reason, this step-by-step outline attempts in a few short paragraphs under each step in the planning, bonding, and building stages to offer suggestions and advice to the school board members.…

As faculty and other public sector unions become more sophisticated in collective bargaining, they tend to lay a greater variety of demands on the table. This, in turn, forces the employer to ask, Do I really have to bargain about these subjects? As more employers refuse to bargain, more unions charge them with failing to bargain in good faith,…

"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama", as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about…

This paper provides a new outlook on the charter school policy environment, however, by re-examining more closely the layers of legal provisions in states' charter laws. Consistent with the first wave of charter school literature which found charter school politics to be complicated and often working at cross-purposes, the authors provide evidence…

The Education Code and Title 5 Regulations clearly lay out the requirements for faculty members hired to teach courses and perform other services in the California Community Colleges. Since passage of the Community College Reform Act (AB 1725) in 1988, faculty have had the primary role in determining who is hired to their ranks and specifically…