This report offers background information on the restructuring of higher education in New Jersey's State Department and Board of Higher Education in 1994, focusing primarily on the substance of the proposals, components of the legislation, and the process through which the changes were developed. Political debates and dimensions are not addressed…

Membership on a board of education had been referred to as the most ill-defined position in local government. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the perceptions of experienced New York State school board members concerning 20 policy-formation and administrative activities. The respondents were asked to indicate whether a board…

The relatively high number of school districts in New Jersey, with a legacy of a strong local home rule heritage, has been of interest to policymakers for many years. In the past few years, concerns for cost, educational equity, and program quality have brought new interest in consolidating these districts. Of the state's 603 local school…

The history of Texas' implementation of bilingual education is examined through a review of relevant literature and court litigation, and a survey of school district superintendents and administrators on this topic is reported. In interviews with the administrators, it was found that bilingual education and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL)…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the problems and issues that emerged as school districts in Pennsylvania tried to implement a strategic planning mandate at the local level. In June 1993, revisions to the Pennsylvania school code changed requirements for graduation from time spent in the classroom to the mastery of 53 state-designated…

In July 1987, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted legislation to provide funds for public school construction to assist county governments in meeting their capital building needs and to provide additional funds for selected counties with the most critical school facility needs. This document, in accordance with the legislation's direction,…

This booklet presents basic issues and recommendations of a Nevada legislative task force on the establishment of courses in American Sign Language (ASL) for credit as a foreign language in the public schools and institutions of higher education. An introductory section, "American Sign Language and Deaf Culture Issues and Answers: A Basic…

Many states give individual schools the authority to make decisions in response to local conditions while still meeting state and district goals. Providing flexibility to local decision-makers is also a potential means for improving student achievement. This report provides a snapshot of several states' recent experiences with flexibility and…

This guide for work-based learning, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the North Carolina Wage and Hours Act is designed to serve employers, educators, agency placement staff, labor organizations, and all those involved in school-to-work initiatives by helping them to understand a variety of issues related to students in the workplace. Based…

The LegiSchool Project of the California State Legislature and California State University conducts televised Town Meetings to provide a forum for dialogue about problems of interest in California education. This collection contains background readings and materials for the fifth of these Town Meetings, to be titled "Segregated Schools:…

This publication is the 11th edition of a guide for students seeking financial assistance to attend post high school institutions in Illinois. The first of six chapters reproduces a booklet, titled "Need a Lift?", on obtaining financial aid for higher education and put out by the American Legion. This chapter provides general…

This booklet is designed to help child care providers recognize and report cases of child abuse and neglect that come to their attention. The first section of the booklet provides legal definitions of abuse and neglect according to Virginia law, and lists indicators of physical abuse, physical neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional maltreatment. The…

The performance evaluation of tenured teachers in the public schools raises significant legal issues particularly in the context of recent education reform efforts. Collective bargaining has expanded to become a central part of labor relations in public schools and has served often to neutralize threatening evaluations. As reform efforts demand…

The Connecticut State Legislature has adopted sweeping telecommunications legislation that will enhance distance education in the state through cable television and telecommunications technologies. This legislation eradicates the delimitation on cable operators of one-way transmission of cable signals and removes the primary statutory restriction…

The educational reform movement of the 1980s forced superintendents and school boards to critically reexamine the rationale used for principal evaluation. The 1985 South Carolina Educational Improvement Act forced all administrators to objectively define and evaluate educational goals for both students and personnel. Consequently, the Abbeville…