Californians have identified the health of public education as top priority. The legislature's search for accountability (focused on student assessment) has not been based on a cohesive school-improvement model. Legislators must work with educators to reexamine the entire education system. Educators must push for rational policy. (MLH)

Examines voter response to bond issues immediately following Michigan's elimination of its property tax school-funding system. Reviews equity measures, discusses court cases addressing school-facility equity issues, and compares other states' funding approaches. Michigan's system for financing school facilities remains inequitable, and facility…

Governor Jeb Bush and a Republican-dominated legislature have legislated a sweeping revision of the Florida education code that could qualify 150,000 of the state's 2.3 million public-school students for vouchers. A convenient diversion from true school reform, Bush's Opportunity Scholarship Program will be judged unconstitutional. (MLH)

Examines, from the perspective of the plaintiffs, the 1998 Guckenberger v. Boston University case in which the plaintiffs claimed the university failed to provide reasonable accommodations for students with learning disabilities. The authors view the complex decision as a ruling against the university under the Americans with Disabilities Act,…

Explains how South Carolina has linked service learning to teacher education, strategic planning in schools, and educational accountability. Planners should establish a policy council, align service-learning initiatives with policy goals and programs, state academic standards, and teacher education programs; and create a network of trained…

Describes the work of the Graduate, Adjunct, Lecturers: Organized Labor at the University of Maryland, noting that the bulk of graduate student struggles overall has occurred at state institutions. The group lobbied state legislators to include nontenured faculty in a bill granting collective bargaining to state employees. Highlights the…

Describes how the California Professional Development Reform Initiative (CPDRI) developed a framework for professional learning. The final CPDRI document, Designs for Learning, is organized around 10 design elements which comprise a system for ongoing professional learning for teachers. Sidebars present: the California Standards for the Teaching…

In 1995, Texas adopted the Safe Schools Act, designed to allow disruptive students' removal from class, while ensuring a safety net for students who otherwise might evolve into undereducated criminals. Participating staff report successes with individual students who function better in the disciplined environment of an alternative educational…

The point of all the services, accommodations, and modifications required by California and federal law is equity. Every child, regardless of disability, has the right to access the same opportunities as nondisabled kids. Schools' highest priorities should be to ensure a quality curriculum and provide continuous and individual assessment to…

In Spring 2000, Nebraska passed legislation supporting a school-based and teacher-led initiative. The plan provides districts flexibility in the testing tools they use, but still requires districts to develop standards, report annually on student progress, and participate in an annual statewide writing assessment. (Contains 13 references.) (MLH)

Assesses what the Internet can do for legal researchers compared to the LEXIS and WESTLAW commercial online services. Highlights include the United States Code, Code of Federal Regulations, Supreme Court decisions, directories of lawyers and law firms, state law, Congressional information, and listservs and newsgroups. (LRW)

With home schooling legal everywhere and many home-schoolers reaching high school age, state legislatures are considering whether and how to encourage "mix-and-match" schooling. In some areas, discussion centers on access to academic classes only. In others, attention is on eligibility to participate in sports or extracurricular…

Explains why women may not be natural opponents of the California Civil Right Initiative (CCRI). The article stresses women's success, or nonsuccess, in the economy comes not from preference-based governmental action, or lack of it, but to other issues. It supports the notion that the CCRI will pass into legislation with the strong support of…

When the 1991 Pennsylvania Legislature decentralized its special education funding process, it created a crisis for the commonwealth's 29 educational regional service agencies. The Chester County Intermediate Unit responded entrepreneurially by downsizing the department; surveying customer satisfaction levels; instituting staff training programs;…

Examines systemic reform development from the perspective of local participants in nine states. Implementation varies with local technical capacity. State systemic reform agendas are frequently viewed as incompatible with pressing local issues. The most frequently criticized aspect of systemic reform is apparent lack of connection between state…