Summarizes the new North Carolina state law concerning open meetings of public bodies. (IRT)

Traces judical and legislative developments at the federal level and discusses the approach California has taken in response. Conclusions are drawn on how states should and should not deal with the education of handicapped citizens. Available from Loyola of Los Angeles School of Law, 1440 West Ninth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015; sc $4.00.…

Examines the employment status of a nonprofessional school employee with reference to the procedural steps that a school administrative unit should use in dismissing him. The focus is on North Carolina case law, but the issues and the conclusions drawn are applicable to other states. (Author/IRT)

The author describes the California Master Plan for Special Education--its goals, philosophy, policy--and concludes that this plan is providing an improved delivery system by which the new federal and state requirements can better aid exceptional students. (KC)

This article presents a case study of the school finance controversy in Texas with special emphasis on the results of two school finance bills enacted in successive sessions of the legislature. (Author/IRT)

Reviews the setting of the "Lau" decision, the decision itself, its legislative aftermath, its impact on desegregation, and the judicial clash of opinion as to the degree of judicial intervention necessary to assure the effective enforcement of these rights. Concludes that a more searching standard of review is necessary. Journal…

The impact of four vocational education laws enacted in Michigan is discussed: the Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Act, the Career Education Act, the Mandatory Special Education Act, and Michigan's "Added Cost" funding system. (Author/BP)

Briefly analyzes school finance reform legislation for 18 states, emphasizing those provisions with the most impact on urban residents. The 18 states include California, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Arizona, New Jersey, Maine, Connecticut, New York, and Minnesota.…

The next year or two will determine just how hard state park and recreation agencies have been hit by the troubled economy and whether or not they can maintain quality services while expanding where necessary to meet their share of society's leisure needs. (JD)

Describes major provisions of a $1.4 billion school finance plan proposed by the Texas State Teachers Association, and compares this plan to the finance reform plans proposed by Texas Governor Briscoe and a Texas legislative committee. Available from: Salary and Merit, Suite 908, 1835 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006; $2.50 single copy. (JG)

School support teams--external groups of teachers, pupil services personnel, and reform experts--assist schools as they plan, implement, and improve their schoolwide Title I programs. Team members of the Texas School Support Initiative, begun as a 1994-95 pilot project involving 12 schools, learned the value of building trust, starting with…

Describes changes made in 1994 to California's Ralph M. Brown Act, an open meeting law originally passed in 1953 and applying to local governments and colleges. Summarizes changes related to definitions, meeting locations, and agencies covered by the law. Addresses issues related to access to campus crime data. (AJL)

The Vernonia (Oregon) School District passed a mandatory random drug testing policy for student athletes that was later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. A survey of randomly selected superintendents in five geographic regions disclosed that a majority of respondents who knew about the case were leaning toward not adopting a similar policy. (28…

This special issue provides diverse data sets on a school-improvement initiative in Memphis, Tennessee. The effort seems unusually promising because of top-down district support for eight separate site-based reform designs, planners' reliance on New American Schools and other familiar designs, long-term data-collection opportunities, accessible…

The "one-size-fits-all" approach to teaching and program delivery is indefensible. Minnesota has enacted a law specifying standards of knowledge and skills that high school students must demonstrate to qualify for a diploma via multiple pathways. All pathway programs (classical, postsecondary, interactive-technology evening school,…