Many states have a disconnected body of laws regarding educator evaluation. Uncoordinated legislation can create problems with respect to evaluation, appropriate standards and methods to be employed, and implementation strategies. This paper describes Utah's educator-evaluation legislation to illustrate this phenomenon. Four statutory provisions…

This report summarizes Colorado student aid program expenditures for the 1993-94 fiscal year. The Colorado General Assembly provided $42,235,123 for Colorado student aid programs for the 1993-94 fiscal year, an increase of 13.45 percent over 1992-93. This included money for need-based grants, merit-based grants, work-study, diversity grants,…

This handbook for Oklahoma school administrators incorporates vital information about school operations and improvement in one volume. It provides detailed information on the following areas: contracts and their due dates; the progress of House Bill 1017; accreditation; federal/special, financial, and professional services; school improvement; and…

The Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 introduced sweeping changes for public education. The planned changes are programmatic as well as fiscal: organizational modifications were introduced; administrator roles and responsibilities were redefined; particular student populations were targeted for additional academic support; and the method…

The bibliography contains over 1,000 citations of books, ERIC documents, government documents, journals, magazine articles, newspaper articles, unpublished works, and videotape recordings on the debate over establishment of English as the single official language of the United States. Citations are listed alphabetically by author within each of…

This document summarizes the Minnesota state district court opinion in "Skeen v. State of Minnesota" and outlines changes made by the 1992 legislature in the state school finance system. In "Skeen," the court found several elements of the state's school finance system unconstitutional. These included the referendum levy, the…

To help school districts comply with Oregon's school bond laws, this manual provides guidelines for school district attorneys and personnel in the issuance and sale of school district bonds. The manual deals with the three primary types of Oregon school district borrowings: (1) general obligation bonds; (2) tax and revenue anticipation notes; and…

SHAPES--an acronym for the South Plains Child Care Management Services (SpCCMS) Helping, Assisting and Preparing Educators and Staff--is also the name of a preschool readiness curriculum that is being developed for use by administrators and teachers. The first phase of the curriculum development consists of the publication of five books to be used…

This paper explores the State University of New York's (SUNY) 34-year history as a background to planning the system's direction as it moves into the next century. The paper's specific focus is on the University's own internal planning mechanisms and its response to recommendations made by the independent review bodies periodically charged with…

This presentation outlines the complaint investigation process developed by the Maine Department of Education to ensure a timely response to complaints concerning special education services, and to provide third party mediation and arbitration as needed. Complaint procedures required under federal regulations are outlined. Strengths and weaknesses…

This handbook aims to assist Colorado school districts as they implement Colorado's Basic Literacy Act of 1996. Suggestions in the handbook are grounded in research and aimed towards one goal: to ensure that all Colorado students are reading well. The handbook notes that the act makes three promises: Colorado educators will work in partnership…

This book brings together ideas and strategies of prominent advocates of school reform. Discussing their experiences, especially in urban schools, in forming coalitions, framing court cases, and dealing with state politics in New Jersey, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Alabama, Kentucky, and Washington, the contributors to this collection explore what…

This bulletin explores the current status of federal and state, especially Pennsylvania, legislation and recent court decisions pertaining to gifted education. It notes the existence, at the federal level, of only one law related to gifted education, the Jacob Javits Act of 1988 which, however, does not mandate the creation of special programs and…

In 1989, national attention was given to the unusual amount of cooperation and social connections among key policy actors in a major school-finance lawsuit in Kentucky. The case resulted in a judicial ruling declaring the entire state's school system unconstitutional. Accounts of this ruling attributed the unprecedented decision partly to…

This paper reports on an investigation of educator reaction to one state's systemic school reform legislation. Educators have generally been reticent to embrace state-level legislation reform initiatives while simultaneously agreeing with their ultimate goals. Findings are the latest data in a 5-year longitudinal study begun in 1992 that focused…