Charter schools are challenged to find appropriate, inexpensive assessment measures, accommodate special-education students, discover effective governance models, organize learning and teaching effectively, and attract diverse students. External challenges include studying effects of multiple sponsorships, weak charter laws, and involvement of…

The Texas International Trade Initiative is a joint endeavor of business-related organizations across Texas and the University of Texas at Austin to encourage public policy and state legislation that supports international trade. Eight specific initiatives that have been undertaken are noted; also discussed are the process of shepherding related…

Identifies current problems and education issues confronting the Indiana legislature and predicts some issues the upcoming session will likely consider. A new "reward for effort" tax-base formula has resulted in urban districts receiving the lowest share of state revenue and rural districts the highest. Funding for textbooks, bilingual…

Campus police and other college officials believe the 16,237 alcohol arrests and 7,060 drug arrests on college campuses in 1996 reflect tougher enforcement, not increased usage among students. This is particularly true in states such as Michigan, where state law concerning underage drinking has changed, and in communities where enforcement is…

For-profit charter-school managers may be removing the "public" from public education. A study of 11 Michigan charter schools showed that cost-cutting strategies are adversely affecting student transportation, special education, and the socioeconomic mix of students. Corporations' superimposed bureaucracies have eradicated educators'…

Outlines the role of California policymakers as they work to shift the focus of educational reform from rules and processes to student achievement and accountability. Describes the Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999, the most immediate and comprehensive of California's new laws. Shows how it defines fundamental questions of who should be…

A recent study revealed deficiencies in the long-awaited "Abbott v. Burke" ruling, which benefited 28 inner-city districts and shortchanged poor rural and middle-wealth districts. By ignoring these groups of districts, New Jersey lawmakers have sown the seeds of taxpayer backlash, as evidenced by two recent lawsuits. (Contains 23…

Under a bill amending Ontario, Canada's Educational Accountability Act, teachers were expected to resume formerly "voluntary" extracurricular duties they resigned when ordered to teach an extra class. The government's strategy to recast these activities as "co-instructional" did not fly. However, the education minister is…

Examines contradictions between school accountability legislation and the moral leadership applicable to its development and implementation. Using the ethics of critique, justice, and care, analyzes Ohio's recent fiscal and accountability legislation, which may be setting school districts up for failure. Policymakers must examine their moral…

With passage of several recent laws, the California State legislature intended to end social promotion, replacing it with a system of prevention, intervention, and retention. The "strategic schooling" approach depends on three elements: targets (both students and content), continuous feedback via assessments, and organizational and…

Students enrolled in regular, special, or gifted education have much to offer society and should not be consigned to the quarantines of separate schooling, as in the case of "Plessy." Older tracking and assessment models have outlived their usefulness within the current context of a multicultural society. (Contains 20 references.) (MLH)

Despite threats from charters and vouchers, the Edmonton (Alberta) Public Schools are parents' first choice because they address the community's changing needs. Boasting 20 years of experience in alternative programming and open boundaries, Edmonton has introduced two dozen innovative programs, focused on student achievement, and experienced…

Selfishness has spawned a new breed of racism, driven by fear, fed by scarcity, and manifested through economic imperatives. California's Proposition 187 and Herrnstein and Murray's book "The Bell Curve" are built on racist foundations. Our current obsession with race is driven by an economy and an elitist social system that is…

Are state accountability systems hurting minority and low- income children's education or increasing equity? The answer is both, depending on which system, interacting components, or time periods are being considered. System flaws in Texas and elsewhere may be distracting folks from historic improvement possibilities. (Contans 23 references.) (MLH)

Employs school funding formulas enacted under Georgia's Quality Basic Education Act to explore changes in interdistrict equity over time. Regarding overall distribution of per-pupil resources across districts (horizontal equity) and for special- needs students (vertical equity), dispersion measures approach Odden and Picus' suggested equity…