This report focuses on 11 states' efforts to develop state-funded family literacy initiatives either through legislation or other actions. An introduction defines family literacy. Part I includes in-depth case studies on seven states that have either passed or attempted to pass state family literacy legislation. For each state (Kentucky,…

This report concerns the development of "Human Corps" programs of volunteer student service at the University of California and California State University. It summarizes information on student participation derived from surveys implemented by both universities and makes recommendations regarding the development and implementation of…

The Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) was passed in 1990 as a result of a Kentucky Supreme Court order to establish an efficient and equitable system of public education. This report is a guide to the implementation of school-based decision making, which is the most immediate of the reform initiatives being implemented. A review of the role of…

Tennessee's Comprehensive Educational Reform act of 1984 created a widely publicized career-ladder program that provided extended contract opportunities as incentives to teachers receiving level II or III status. A comprehensive evaluation study found that extended contract expenditures and resource-allocation processes were not always driven by…

Findings of a study that explored how California school reforms are initiated and revised and how differences between the judicial and legislative areas affect policymaking are presented in this document. Two themes--financial reform and retrenchment--are examined at two levels: as a case study about the politics of school finance reform and also…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the effects of two dispute resolution procedures--fact-finding and compulsory final-offer, issue-by-issue interest arbitration--on teachers' wages, fringe benefits, and language provisions. New Jersey uses fact-finding dispute resolution, in which a recommendation for settlement is submitted to…

This booklet presents information to help guide college and university administrators in properly (legally) handling those situations in which employees reveal evidence of fraud, abuse, or other illegal activity occurring within the school. Part I describes in general terms the whistleblower protection provisions found in various federal statutes…

This document describes legal requirements that pertain to the dismissal or demotion of career status employees in the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The interpretive analysis section notes that the employer may terminate the employment only for specified reasons and by stated procedures. The grounds for dismissal or demotion…

This document examines legal issues in the negligent hiring and retention of North Carolina Department of Public Instruction school employees. There are no statutes that relate specifically to negligent hiring or retention; it is a judicially created area of law. This document centers around employees who cause injury to school children, but the…

Increasingly, the operation of family day care homes in communities throughout the country is being jeopardized by restrictive local zoning requirements specifying uses of property. The majority of providers operate in areas where they are not specifically permitted "by right" or "by special exception," doing so at risk of being challenged or…

This report addresses the issue of the extent to which state constitutions permit sectarian schools to be included in a choice program. The issue has arisen in connection with federal proposals to fund school-choice programs subject to the law of each state. If the question is considered without reference to federal funding, the inclusion of…

This book is a case study of the Chicago (Illinois) Public Schools 1980s reform movement imposed from the outside through legislation. The first chapter describes why school reform was necessary in Chicago. Chapter 2 focuses on a single high school in that system and shows the difficulties in trying to improve its performance. Chapter 3 describes…

The Congressional hearing examined abuse, mismanagement, and fraud in student loan programs focusing on the fraudulent activities of proprietary schools. Witnesses included officials of the Department of Education including:(1) Laura F. Cavazos, Secretary; (2) Ernest C. Canellos, Student Financial Assistance; (3) John S. Haines, Debt Collection…

Recognizing that unrestricted working conditions for 16- and 17-year-olds may disturb their ability to succeed academically, the Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau conducted a study to explore the effects of minors' employment on the education they received and to determine if changing the state's child labor law would serve minors' educational…

This compilation cites the legal provisions of Part 30 of the California Education Code relative to special education programs; Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations relative to special education for children with disabilities; and other parts of the Education Code, Health and Safety Code, Government Code, and…