Ten states, beginning with Texas and California in 2001, have passed laws permitting undocumented students to pay the in-state tuition rate--rather than the more expensive out-of-state tuition rate--at public universities and colleges. We exploit state-time variation in the passage of the laws to evaluate the effects of these laws on the…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) follows education budgets and legislation during regular and special legislative sessions. The Legislative Reports follow education and budget issues from governors' proposals through final legislative actions in each of the 16 SREB states. The reports include bill numbers and legislative Web site…

The old saying, "You have to learn to earn," underscores the importance of investing in higher education. Yet rising tuition, limited financial aid, and a lack of savings keeps college out of reach, and out of mind, for many Texas families, especially low-income families. Although the Legislature created the Texas Tuition Promise Fund…

What began as a swashbuckling move by the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, the state's governor, and a newly minted billionaire to reshape the beleaguered Newark school system has turned into a tangle of blowback and counterpunches as skeptics contend the plan would violate state law. At issue is the power-sharing arrangement proposed by the three…

For decades, people questioned the sense of having two school districts, each with its own superintendent, central office and high school, operating in the same small town of The Dalles on the banks of the Columbia River in north-central Oregon. But election campaigns to consolidate repeatedly failed because each community had strong emotional…

Recent news in the national media about two students' deaths as a result of harassment in school has highlighted a renewed desire for educators to address the culture of bullying and harassment in public schools, especially when the victims are targeted for their real or perceived differences. South Carolina's legislature responded to this need in…

One of the State Board of Education's (SBE) strategic plan goals is to advocate for an effective, accountable governance structure for public education in Washington. The development of this goal comes from Board members' experiences over the last five years to understand and address the complexity of Washington's education system and their role…

Dual enrollment programs allow high school students to take college courses and earn college credit. While dual enrollment has historically focused on high-achieving students, these programs can have significant benefits for underperforming students as well, particularly if integrated with a career focus. This research shows that student…

An elected school director works every day as an advocate for public education in his community. At each board meeting, crucial decisions that affect the lives and education of children are made as he determines the needs of the students and families he is accountable to. But are those needs being communicated to his elected representatives in…

Spurred by a deep recession and large budget shortfalls, the California Legislature in 2009 enacted what was arguably the largest change to California's school finance system in decades--relaxing spending restrictions on more than 40 categorical programs through 2012-13, extended later to 2014-15. Categorical funding, which gives school districts…

The purpose of this study was to discover the perceptions of Florida law school administrators on the impact of the OFI (one Florida initiative) and the addition of two MSI (minority serving institution) law schools on diversity in Florida's legal profession. This research explored the impact of Governor Bush's EO (executive order) on diversity…

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for curriculum design, instruction, and assessment that gives all students equal opportunities to learn and to demonstrate what they have learned. UDL is built on the premise that there is not one kind of learning. Learning differs across tasks, across development, and among individuals. UDL is…

This issue of "Legislative Review" takes a look at the news in higher education from January 24 to 28, 2011. This Legislative Review reports that: (1) Opening testimony on HB 1003, the University System budget bill, was completed January 24 and 25. The committee also heard testimony on HB 1020, the NDSU Ag Main Research, Branch Stations…

In 2002, Jack Barnes was a school administrator in 11,000-student Sullivan County (Tennessee) Schools when a student brought a racial harassment case against the district. Though an out-of-court settlement was reached, the U.S. Justice Department came down hard with a federal court order forcing the district to pay out millions for third-party…

In 2011, Indiana's legislature reshaped the state's education policy landscape with a package of laws that enabled local leaders to make swift and potentially sweeping changes to district and school operations. The Hoosier State's reforms, dubbed by supporters as the "Putting Students First" agenda, provide a valuable case study of the…