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…

Educational leaders have a substantial degree of control over students and generally have a tremendous influence on the decisions that they make. District administrators are already involved in comprehensive efforts to stem sexual harassment, teen violence and bullying; therefore, they may be well positioned to identify and address the problem of…

There is a void in current research and literature critically analyzing how charter schools and their leaders provide equal access to all students. The language used in both federal and state legislation (in the 40 states that have passed charter school legislation) providing a legal basis for the establishment of charter schools explicitly…

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization requires State Education Agencies to establish a school choice policy for students attending a persistently dangerous school as defined by the state. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) stipulates that a school can be deemed unsafe as a whole entity or for an individual student who is the…

This article reports on research projects conducted primarily by first and second generation Mexican American high school students who document how school relationships are shaped by Arizona's racist political discourses. They conducted observations of their school experiences and then wrote up what they were observing in field notes. Field note…

This issue of "Legislative Review" takes a look at the news in higher education from February 16 to 20, 2009. This Legislative Review reports that: (1) SB 2003, the North Dakota University System (NDUS) budget bill, received a unanimous "Do Pass" as amended vote from the Senate Thursday, February 19; (2) HB 1348, the concealed…

This study uses California crime statistics for the years 1984-2004, to determine what effect, if any, the increased sentencing standards under the three-strikes legislation in California have had in deterring crime. This study follows a new approach in differentiating between the incapacitation effect and the deterrent effect of the law.…

In this article we review legislation and bylaws that relate to school bullying. This review focuses on the differences in how bullying is defined by researchers and legislators. It further examines how some laws identify bullying specifically, whereas others address more general acts of aggression. Some laws pertain to the school environment,…

California's Smoke-Free Workplace Act was extended to include bars in 1998. While the majority of bars in the state have become smoke free, in many bars patrons and staff continue to smoke despite the law. The authors present findings from a study which assessed cultural factors related to continued smoking in bars in the city of San Francisco. In…

In 2001, the author wrote legislation that required all public schools in Maine to teach Maine Indian history. On June 14 of that year, Gov. Angus King signed "An Act to Require Maine Native American History and Culture in Maine's Schools" into law--the first of its kind in the U.S. What makes the law unique is its requirement that…

Repeated studies of graduating dental students indicate limited preparation to provide services for individuals with special healthcare needs. By the end of the 1990s and into the present decade, more than half of the U.S. dental schools provided less than five hours of class room presentations and about three quarters of the schools provided 0-5…

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…