The former Salt Lake City (Utah) superintendent, Donald Thomas, now the deputy superintendent in South Carolina, is interviewed about educational reform and the role of state and federal policymaking in the reform movement. (MD)

Divides the history of educational federalism into three eras: (1) Presidential Federalism (from the Constitution's enactment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1958); (2) Congressional Federalism (from ESEA until Reagan's election); and (3) Gubernatorial Federalism (the 1980's). Federal aid to education has been reduced,…

Examines potential threats to privacy posed by development of unified interaction systems in the home. Applicability of existing federal laws, constitutional provisions, and regulatory actions, and the possible technical and legislative actions that may be useful in curtailing possible privacy abuses in these systems are analyzed. (Author/MBR)

Using various means, 11 states have legislated a ban on school corporal punishment. Persuading other state legislatures to abolish it requires the following steps: develop a materials and information base, build broad-based support, use the media, move the bill through the state legislature, achieve incremental success, and overcome barriers. (JDD)

Describes the considerable amount of work and lengthy process of passing legislation to give foreign-language credit for American sign language in California high schools. (CB)

The paper reviews legislation authorizing services to elderly blind and visually impaired persons in Florida, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin; determines use of those services; and makes recommendations for developing additional needed services. It also summarizes 25 independent living grants given to states under Title VII-Part C of the…

Provides a demographic and fiscal profile of New Jersey's schools and analyzes equity implications of minimum teacher salary legislation for poor school districts. Direct salary impacts should not destabilize local finances or create undue fiscal distress. Other states considering similar legislation should first examine their economic…

For educational reform to succeed it must rely upon state and local leadership. Secretary of Education William J. Bennett outlines 10 questions important for state leaders to consider in relation to the development of quality education (MD)

Describes the debate in Illinois over proposed bilingual education policy changes. Analyzes these issues: the effectiveness of transitional bilingual education, the inclusion of a cultural component, language assessment, the overprescriptiveness of current Illinois law, the impact of extending services to all limited-English proficient students,…

Identifies the political forces affecting state decision making during four Minnesota legislative sessions--1955, 1971, 1976, and 1981--that either passed or retained measures for private school tax deductions. The study focuses on the central features of the legislative process and the implications of those features for education policymaking.…

Because most decisions on the basic requirements in public school curricula and on the funding required to implement them are made at the state level, it is proposed that the major U.S. geographical organizations join in a vigorous campaign to promote the establishment of strong state and metropolitan societies. (RM)

This report includes an analysis of findings from Electronic Learning's 1984 Survey of State Governments on educational computing trends, information on state mandated computer literacy programs, a summary of teacher certification requirements and state mandated computer literacy programs, and a review of two state approaches to educational…

A Michigan law allows school districts to make energy conservation improvements and pay for them with savings generated by lowered energy consumption. A 71-year-old school, now the Community Education Center of Kalamazoo, Michigan, also serves as the base for a centralized energy management system for the school district. (MLF)

Modern medications allow children with a variety of acute and chronic health conditions to participate in daily activities. However, parents and child care providers may not realize that there are different dosage strengths available on the market. The parent or staff may not fully understand the dosage or a miscommunication may occur. These…

Over the past ten years, probation departments across the state of California have seen a number of important changes in the way they do business. Beginning with Title IV-A-EA in 1993, departments began a system-wide "sea change," from a focus on suppression, enforcement, and monitoring of youthful offenders to a focus on families and on…