This annual report of the National Council on Disability (NCD) describes major activities and accomplishments during fiscal year 1996 in its role of advising the President and Congress on issues concerning people with disabilities. The NCD conducted the first-ever National Summit on Disability Policy which gathered 300 people to develop more than…

Organized around the theme of influencing public opinion, this booklet provides teachers and lawyers with classroom materials for elementary grades K-3 (Level A), intermediate grades 4-6 (Level B), middle school grades 6-8 (Level C), and high school grades 9-12 (Level D). In addition, each level contains pages for the lawyer (marked by the scales…

These newsletters are produced by Voices for Illinois Children, a child advocacy group that works to make kids "count" in Illinois and to ensure that the basic needs of all children, families, and communities are met. The spring 1996 issue provides membership information and network news, as well as articles addressing the following…

In 1990, the New York State Education Department (SED), Apple Computer, Inc., Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and school districts formed a partnership to explore the contribution technology can make to schools based on Apple Computer's Learning Society and SED's Long-Range Plan for Technology in Elementary and Secondary…

This booklet presents a short history of the Head Start program and discusses some of the challenges that the program will face in the 1990s. Project Head Start, begun in 1965, has helped 12.5 million children become better prepared to start school, and has grown to be the largest early childhood and family education program in the country. From…

Findings of a task force on introduction of a school governance system for Manitoba's (Canada) francophone minority population are reported. The document outlines the background--i.e., the Canadian context--of this report, principles and procedures, the resulting recommended structure for governance, and suggestions for addressing such issues as…

These 28 recommendations are intended to enhance government's ability to play a positive and supportive role in the development of a range of pathways for the learner that can result in literacy for all Manitobans. A foreword provides background on the Task Force on Literacy and presents its definition of literacy and illiteracy, findings…

The National Education Goals were adopted by the nation's governors in 1990. The March 1994 enactment of the "Goals 2000: Educate America Act" made the National Education Goals federal policy and the guiding principles for a fundamental restructuring of the public education system. These goals have created a climate of education reform…

These hearing transcripts present testimony concerning S. 3134, the Ready to Learn Act, which is designed to expand the production and distribution of educational and instructional video programming; support educational programming for preschool and elementary school children, parents, child care providers, and educators of young children; and…

Intended for public comment and discussion, this document is the second volume of papers in which the Information Infrastructure Task Force has attempted to articulate in clear terms, with sufficient detail, how improvements in the National Information Infrastructure (NII) can help meet other social goals. These are not plans to be enacted, but…

In 1989, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights held a series of roundtable conferences to learn about the civil rights concerns of Asian Americans within their communities. Using information gathered at these conferences as a point of departure, the Commission undertook this study of the wide-ranging civil rights issues facing Asian Americans in the…

This essay is based on a federal analyst's 26-year career in government, particularly the Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement. It addresses rural living and quality of life as well as changes that have occurred over the past two decades and planning for the future. The special training needs of rural educators…

The transcript provided in this document is from a symposium set up to explore the educational implications of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA, which will remove trade barriers between the United States, Mexico, and Canada contains no educational provisions. The panelists discuss the new educational challenges that NAFTA may…

Selected issues related to the special populations provisions of the Perkins Act are examined in this paper. Special populations' access to and participation in vocational education are reviewed, and major Perkins Act provisions addressing special populations and congressional intent behind the provisions are summarized. The U.S. Department of…

This book discusses issues involved in the current debate over the nature and effectiveness of anti-poverty programs, and examines the high economic and social costs of, and the risk factors involved in, cyclical poverty. The book offers suggestions to help solve the problems of cyclical poverty and chronic disadvantage by highlighting effective…