This bulletin summarizes issues related to rural education in two parts. Section I, Problems Concerned with Rural School Support, covers: (1) The schools and the economic situation; (2) State aid and equalization of opportunities, including interest in school support and efforts toward improvement, sources and distribution of State school funds,…

The lack of satisfaction with the political process as the means of reaching informed public policy judgments about higher education is seen to be manifested in the intermediate agencies created by every state. Important choices remain between the concentration of authority in centralized governance systems and the decentralization of authority.…

A study analyzed state funding policies for serving limited English proficient (LEP) students and related patterns of state aid allocations to school districts. State efforts were often poorly conceived or applied, and often inadequate. Only New Jersey and Florida met all study criteria for adequacy, "rationality," and equity of funding,…

Presents results of the annual survey of state education departments, which is conducted to provide an assessment of interest in and commitment to educational computing in elementary and secondary schools. Highlights include state funding; requirements for computer courses; hardware and software policies; additional technology usage; and teacher…

Seven common criteria for establishment of a new community college in the United States are outlined. They include local population and demographic factors; community interest; funding availability; appropriate state regulation; assessment of existing educational opportunities; and geographic location and logistics. (MSE)

Budgetary and fiscal data from 11 school districts of varying wealth in New Jersey suggest that, in the first year of the state's Quality Education Act, the law has only modestly increased fiscal equality, with only minor cuts in funding in wealthy districts and some program improvement in poorer ones. (SLD)

This commentary on McPherson (HE 534 036) identifies several disturbing trends that may serve as obstacles to future access to a liberal education, including the relative decline in traditional liberal education settings and high and rising tuitions. He concludes that educators need to make a strong case for government funding of liberal…

State policies toward higher education in the twenty-first century are likely to continue in the patterns already established, though conflicts may intensify. State officials will need to be more sensitive to how policies affect institutions. Institutional representatives must recognize the legitimacy and priority of state, societal, and system…

A variety of trends in state colleges are viewed as privatization, including increased institutional responsibility for meeting costs, financial aid shortfalls that keep many students away, pressure for more institutional autonomy, recruitment of private colleges to provide some state-subsidized programs, payment of private colleges to accept…

Describes a study of the effects of national full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment rates and tuition and fee rates on state appropriations of public community colleges between 1980 and 1990. The percentage change per year in state appropriations increased with the percent change in enrollments for public community colleges. (MAB)

The iconoclastic new governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura, is challenging the status quo in higher education. A believer in personal responsibility, he feels students should do more to pay for their education and opposes merit scholarships, but also wants more state money for colleges. Ventura's skepticism about government institutions such as…

Describes the formation of the new "California Reading Initiative" that directly ties school funding to practices such as teaching phonemic awareness and systematic, explicit phonics. Assesses its research base, and discusses problems in teaching Limited-English-Proficient students to read following its directives. Presents research that supports…

A study tested the accuracy of a general model in predicting college predisposition among eighth-grade students of diverse ethnicity at schools characterized by high minority enrollments and high participation levels in subsidized school lunch programs. Results suggest models using broadly aggregated student data may overlook important…

The long economic boom enabled school districts nationwide to fund expensive reforms and hefty pay raises. Now, however, they are finding it nearly impossible to cut costs and balance their budgets. The specific path to financial distress is unique in each case. Any number of factors, from excessively generous concessions at the bargaining table…

In this study, quantitative and qualitative methods were used to identify factors that best explain variations in state appropriations for Carnegie Public Research I Universities during the late 1990s. A combination of cultural, political, and institutional factors emerged as critical elements accounting for differences in support including…