This study contains an analysis of virtual schools, public policy, and funding in the United States. The purpose of this study was to determine what public policies and legislation were in place regarding the funding models of virtual education on a state by state basis. Furthermore, this study addressed how allocations were being made by state…

Council for American Private Education (CAPE) is a coalition of national associations serving private schools K-12. "Outlook" is published monthly by CAPE. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Louisiana Approves Two Sweeping Choice Initiatives; (2) Public and Private Schools in Philadelphia Sign Compact; (3) Green Schools; and…

The trend toward expanding the role of foundations has intensified during the recent recession and is likely to continue. More than 40 states this year cut funding for public higher education, according to Grapevine, an annual study of state support of public higher education produced by Illinois State University's Center for the Study of…

Textbooks are an integral component of the higher education process. However, a great deal of concern about the high costs of college textbooks has been expressed by those inside and outside of higher education. The authors focus on the results of a pilot study of a survey of marketing professors' criteria and use of textbooks and their reactions…

The article discusses a legislation that would effectively terminate Mexican American Studies programs in k-12 was passed in Arizona in 2010. In this article, the author traces how this legislation drew from discourses of anti-Americanism and wickedness initiated by the state's superintendent of public instruction against Mexican American Studies…

Recent attempts to marginalize the social work profession have had an impact on school social workers in New Mexico. To better understand the quality of the workplace for these related services professionals, a past lead social worker for a large school district was interviewed, and three open-ended items were added to the 2010 statewide school…

In April 2010, Arizona made national headlines when Governor Jan Brewer signed SB 1070, the "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act" which was aimed at deterring illegal immigration to Arizona. SB 1070 is the most prominent of a series of laws and other state policies targeting immigrants in Arizona that date back to the…

Research conducted by Larsen and Hunter (2013, February) identified a clear pattern in secondary school principals' decision-making related to mandated change: more than half of participants' decisions were based on core values and beliefs, requiring value judgments. Analysis of themes revealed that more than half of administrative decisions…

Data systems that use monolingual language frameworks to understand the reading achievement of third-grade students provide inadequate information about emerging bilingual (EB) learners. The authors of this research study apply two competing ideologies (parallel monolingualism and holistic bilingualism) to interpret one set of data. Their findings…

The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) was enacted by the California legislature in June 2013 and fundamentally changes the distribution of education dollars to districts. The legislation simplifies the formula for sending money to districts and now takes into account the higher costs of educating certain groups of students, specifically those…

To shore up the $46 billion pension debt the state has accrued over the past several decades, Illinois has been using its teachers as a piggy bank. New legislation adopted in December 2013 will raise the retirement age for mid-career workers and limit the amount retiree pensions can increase with inflation over time. State and national union…

In response to growing concerns about college readiness, the Kentucky legislature revised the state's assessment and accountability system in an effort to increase the number of students who are ready for college when they graduate. The Kentucky Department of Education and the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education responded by redefining…

In "Pietrylo v. Hillstone Restaurant Group," the plaintiff filed a wrongful-discharge claim against his employer after he was fired for content he had posted about the employer on a social media web site. This article discusses the implications of the court's decision on athletes in the sport industry.

From 1991 to 2009, the fraction of Medicaid recipients enrolled in HMOs and other forms of Medicaid managed care (MMC) increased from 11 percent to 71 percent. This increase was largely driven by state and local mandates that required most Medicaid recipients to enroll in an MMC plan. Theoretically, it is ambiguous whether the shift from…

Lottery policies have been created by many states to generate additional funds to support public initiatives, such as higher education scholarships. In 2009, Arkansas adopted a lottery to generate higher education scholarships. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the Arkansas state lottery policy design process to better…