This publication contains a glossary of 152 school finance terms, some of which are specific to the state of California. Examples of the terms include: academic performance index, charter school, equalization aid, Gann Limit, opportunity to learn, school site council, Serrano Bands, voucher, and waiver. The glossary also includes definitions of…

Proposition 74 on the Nov. 8, 2005 ballot would change employment terms for certificated school employees, such as teachers, school librarians, counselors, nurses, and instructional specialists. Because the largest population affected is teachers, most discussions of the ballot measure--also known as the teacher tenure or Put Kids First…

Charter schools remain politically controversial in Michigan. The controversy focuses on questions of choice and accountability. Advocates assert that parents should have choices--especially poor parents who otherwise lack good options. Critics argue that charter schools perform no better than regular public schools, or that they are…

This report presents information from the Sixth Annual Survey of State Higher Education Officers, and once again provides information on performance funding, budgeting, and reporting in all 50 states. Survey results show the triumph of performance reporting and the trials of performance budgeting and funding. The bad budgets for higher education…

This collection of papers presents a representative selection of the National Institute of Justice's portfolio of gang-related research. The 10 papers are: (1) "A Decade of Gang Research: Findings of the National Institute of Justice Gang Portfolio" (Scott H. Decker); (2) "The Evolution of Street Gangs: An Examination of Form and…

The participant's manual contains training materials for a national teleconference on coalition building for systems advocacy in agencies concerned with independent living for people with disabilities. Preliminary materials include the conference agenda, background information about the trainers, and organizational information on Independent…

This report reviews changes in higher education staff by occupation between 1993 and 1997. Specific attention is paid to staffing patterns in states with right to work laws compared to those without it. When a state enacts a right to work law, it can be assumed it is not supportive of public unions. This analysis is based on data from the National…

This report contains data on state funding for higher education for the 1997-1998 school year. State funding for higher education continued to grow in FY98 for the fifth straight year, increasing 6%, or $2.8 billion, over the prior fiscal year. The amount of support for higher education exceeded $49 billion, and the 1-year and 2-year percentage…

This report reviews the effectiveness of Washington's HOPE Centers and Responsible Living Skills Programs (RLSPs) and reports findings and recommendations. In 1999, state legislators enacted the HOPE Act, which created these two services. HOPE Centers are temporary residential facilities where street youth can stay for 30 days while being…

This report examines why the child support system breaks down for so many low-income families, presenting information from interviews with unmarried mothers and fathers nationwide. Four chapters focus on: (1) "Introduction" (child support policy in California and nationwide); (2) "The National and California Child Support…

The seventh annual Survey of State Higher Education Finance Officers (SHEFOs) shows the continuing triumph of performance reporting and the continuing trials of performance budgeting and funding in higher education. Responses from SHEFOs from all 50 states show that performance reporting, which now is used in all but 4 states, is by far the…

Assembly Bill (AB) 1402 authorized California's school districts to enter into design-build contracts for projects with design and construction costs exceeding $10 million. These guidelines are intended to accomplish the following purposes: (1) inform school districts of the design-build process under AB 1402; (2) help school districts to…

This paper examines the social, political, and economic factors that influenced the adoption and diffusion of early-elementary school class-size-reduction policies at the state level. It applies a neo-institutional framework to explain the rapid spread of class-size reduction policies throughout many state legislatures and boards of education. It…

This report provides statistics on numbers of students in Ohio identified as gifted; examines the effect of a 1999 state law standardizing the identification of gifted students; identifies factors that influence the proportion of students that districts identify as gifted; compares the identification of gifted students in Ohio with other states;…

This new edition of the Idaho Library Laws contains changes through the 1998 legislative session and includes Idaho Code sections that legally affect city, school-community or district libraries, or the Idaho State Library. These sections include the basic library laws in Idaho Code Title 33, Chapters 25, 26, and 27, additional sections of the law…