In the past decade the amount of legislation and litigation involving informal marriages has increased. Historically, a close connection between marriage and property law has existed. However, children today are less important for property inheritance purposes because informal marriages have increased in popularity and are accepted among diverse…

The controversy over whether parents should have the right to determine in detail the type and scope of their children's education harks back to colonial times and has been manifested more recently in court cases considering home instruction in lieu of public school attendance. This first chapter of a book on school law objectively examines both…

The major focus of this book is on patterns of family life that emerge when viewed through the perspective of the different phases of the family life cycle and the various pressures that have changed or reshaped family life during the course of history. Regardless of its title and because the U.S. government does not have a national policy on…

Reproduced here are the text of the 1982 Supreme Court decision "Plyler v. Doe" and its companion cases, "In Re Alien Children Litigation." An introductory statement explains that in this opinion the Court struck down a Texas law prohibiting tuition-free education for children of illegal aliens, on the grounds that education…

This series of course outlines was developed by the Texas Real Estate Research Center to help instructors in developing courses in compliance with the Texas Real Estate License Act Section 7(a). The outlines are general in nature and designed to serve as the basis for the development of a comprehensive course outline based on the texts and…

Political effectiveness is important for English and language arts teachers. A videotape presentation stressing educational accountability (not included in this document) and a list of the educational issues affected by pending bills in the Kansas state legislature both point to the necessity of political involvement. There are three lessons to…

Designed for use by teachers, school administrators, board members, legislators, and lay citizens, this report is intended to be a source document for obtaining a basic understanding of Illinois school finance. It explains the sources and amounts of funds available for pre-kindergarten through postsecondary programs administered by the Illinois…

Intended for handicapped students and their parents, the booklet presents a guide to special education services in the Boston, Massachusetts, public schools, focusing on Chapter 766, a Massachusetts law that guarantees every child the right to a free and appropriate public education. Section 1 discusses the evaluation process, covering such…

The author asserts that early childhood educators have a responsibility to become involved in the formation of public policy. To improve the advocacy skills of early childhood educators, a glossary of basic legislative terminology and descriptions of major legislative processes at the state and federal levels are provided. Particular attention is…

Eleven publications are reviewed dealing with tenure laws, establishing criteria for teacher evaluation, due process, relevant state laws, legal case studies, remediation, and the principal's role. The literature agrees that dismissal of tenured teachers is possible if evaluation criteria and evidence of incompetence are clear and if…

This guide was designed to assist in the assessment of the level of implementation of Washington State's anti-sex discrimination legislation in educational programs and activities. The monitoring guide contains two major sections: a monitoring standards check list and an on-site review packet. The check list provides an overview of the specific…

Five papers collected in this monograph provide information and suggestions regarding the potential role of educators in contemporary society. The first article suggests that, in many families, economic conditions requiring the employment of both parents will place greater responsibility for the development of children's moral and ethical…

In this paper, the Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction reviews issues surrounding competency testing and describes Wisconsin's response to a nationwide effort to enhance student learning through competency based education. Efforts of the past two decades to improve traditional educational practice in Wisconsin are outlined.…

A questionnaire was sent to each state occupational coordinating committee in the 50 states asking for information about certification/recertification requirements for postsecondary vocational teachers. Information was provided by 43 states, and a brief summary of this information for each state responding is included in this report. In addition,…