This report from the Washington State Department of Early Learning (DEL) describes some of the Department's work since it's creation in July 2006. Among other achievements, the Department has laid a strong foundation for raising the quality of child care and the state's preschool program, strengthened both the safety in and the reach of early…

With the increasing number of undocumented workers entering the United States and the costs associated with educating their children, bilingual education may soon become the target of opponents of illegal immigration. Furthermore, recent leftist shifts in Latin American governments have provided an impetus for an educated biliterate population…

This paper examines the relationship between policy, organizational type, and the utilization of extrinsic incentives. Charter school reform spread throughout the country in the 1990s, providing the unique opportunity to study over a thousand new public organizations and the innovative operational decisions they made. Traditional public schools…

Many states are considering a form a school choice known as "tax-credit scholarships," which currently provide school choice to almost 60,000 students in Arizona, Florida and Pennsylvania, which and have just been enacted in Iowa. This guide shows how tax-credit scholarships work and introduces the scholarship granting organizations that…

The 2005 Minnesota First Special Session Laws, Chapter 5, Article 3, Section 17, established a Task Force on Delivery of Special Education to Non-Public School Students by Public School Districts to advise the commissioner on the delivery of special education to non-public school students by public school districts. The task force will make…

According to the U. S. Department of Education, "[d]ual enrollment allows high school students to simultaneously earn credit toward a high school diploma and a postsecondary degree or certificate." Dual enrollment, which is also referred to as concurrent enrollment, generally targets a broader range of students, not just the top academic…

Peter Blake reports on new legislations and reforms in Virginia that provide colleges and universities more operational and administrative autonomy in return for their commitment to public goals for higher education. He traces the history and context of privatization in Virgina from 1988. During this time, the legislatively mandated Virginia…

In 1999, the staff of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) of the Virginia General Assembly (the state legislature) completed a review of the Virginia Board of Medicine that found problems with the process used to regulate physicians and recommended major changes to a system that had remained relatively unchanged for almost…

Educational reform has been an important area for debate in the southern states since the end of the Second World War. From desegregation to equity in funding, southern governors have pushed their states in the direction of their parties, their promises and their personal political beliefs. Some of these changes have been progressive in that the…

With regard to school finance legislation, 1994 was an active year with 13 cases decided and over 100 pieces of legislation passed. This paper provides a summary and analysis of state school-finance litigation and legislation for that calendar year. The first part summarizes and analyzes state school-finance court decisions; included is a table…

This guidebook is intended to assist parents of children with disabilities who will be returning to the state of Maryland because of Senate Bill 588, which strongly discourages out-of-state placements of individuals with disabilities or other special needs. The first section is on "getting ready" and provides a summary of Senate Bill…

Between 1983 and 1987, every state in the United States adopted some sort of education reform. This paper presents findings of an analysis of reform activity in the 50 states during the mid-1980s, with a focus on several education and socioeconomic indicators. The conceptual framework was grounded in general-systems theory, which attributes some…

In response to an official request for information and evaluation of solid waste production and management at California's public colleges and universities, this study examined existing conditions and barriers to solid waste reduction and recycled product procurement, and suggested assistance strategies. The examination found that these…

This pamphlet provides information to help teachers, students, parents, and the community at large to examine whether there is equal access to and opportunity in education for males and females in the Iowa schools. Recognition of the importance of gender equity in education is reflected in both state and federal law. This document describes the…

The North Carolina 1994 legislative plan to reform the preparation of school administrators involved an application process through which seven universities would be selected to offer the restructured Master of School Administration degree. The continuation of state programs in school administration was dependent on being able to offer the…