Many states are considering legislation requiring private insurance companies to pay for autism-related services. Arguments against mandates include that they will result in higher premiums. Using Pennsylvania legislation as an example, which proposed covering services up to $36,000 per year for individuals less than 21 years of age, this paper…

This study examines the impact of the school accountability laws "No Child Left Behind" and Indiana's Public Law 221 on Superintendents' perception of their relationship with the Teachers' Union Leader in their mandatory discussion meetings. Both school accountability laws contain provisions for the Indiana's Department of Education to…

Using an equal-group stratified sample of 42 Kentucky public P-12 school districts, the researcher conducted a quantitative correlational analysis to examine the relationship between per pupil expenditures in reading and mathematics proficiency. Repeated measures t tests analyzed the differences of the mean scores for the study variables of…

A recent law in a New England state allowed public schools to operate with increased flexibility and autonomy through the authorization of the creation of Innovation Schools. This project study, a program evaluation using a convergent parallel mixed methods research design, allowed for a comprehensive evaluation of the first Innovation School…

Although transition of students with disabilities has been part of federal mandates since the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990 and IDEA amendments of 1997, many students with disabilities continue to leave high school without a functional postsecondary transition plan. The purpose of this qualitative…

"A Longitudinal Study of the South Carolina Personal Pathways to Success Initiative" (see Hammond, Drew, et al., 2011) follows the implementation of a statewide mandated career-focused school reform policy in one U.S. state. The research focuses on eight diverse high schools in the state, personnel at those schools, and approximately…

There is broad agreement that teacher quality is related to student achievement, but there is far less agreement about the degree to which school districts and administrators are constrained in making policies to improve teacher quality that might also affect teacher employment and working conditions. Conventional wisdom holds that state law and…

This study looks at the policies and practices shaping teacher quality in the Kansas City, Missouri School District (KCMSD). It is part of a series of analyses by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) in school districts across the nation. Framing this analysis are five policy goals for improving teacher quality: (1) Staffing. Teacher…

The past 30 years have seen a steady expansion in the educational choices available to parents as school choice programs have spread around the country. Enabling parents to choose schools that fit their children's unique needs is a win-win-win: Research shows that such school choice policies benefit the children who participate, give traditional…

The launch of independent Ed.D. programs in 2007 at campuses of the California State University (CSU) is significant for its large program size and timing amidst national debate on Ed.D. programs. These applied programs for practitioners require a traditional dissertation based on rigorous research that address problems of practice. This…

State-level battles over changes in education policy have shifted in many places from legislative chambers to courthouses, as unions and other critics of new laws challenge them on the grounds that they violate state constitutions and worker contracts. Republican governors and lawmakers--their ranks bolstered by the 2010 elections--won passage…

The school psychologist plays a central role in eligibility and other determinations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) not only at the school level but also, upon formal disputes, at the successive adjudicative levels of impartial hearing officers and courts. One of the sources of professional confusion that requires…

This article uses Foucault's (1977/1995) concept of normalization to analyze contemporary opposition to bilingual education in the United States. These contemporary movements have "normalized" English language learner (ELL) students by appropriating the technology of language in order to become "Americanized." This has become…

California's education system--the largest in the United States--is an essential resource for ensuring strong economic growth in the state. The Career Technical Education Pathways Initiative (the Initiative) became law in 2005 with Senate Bills 70 and 1133 and provided more than $380 million over eight years to improve career technical education…

Southern California is facing a demographic transformation that will become characteristic of the nation as a whole in coming decades. In this research, we present a historical review of the region's attempt to address school inequity, recent enrollment and segregation trends, and an investigation of whether segregation still matters. Our results…