This Education Policy Brief examines the latest research and statistics regarding childhood obesity. In addition to providing an overview of current trends and effects of childhood obesity, this brief considers the reasons for the increase in obesity rates among children, as well as the latest federal and state initiatives created to combat…

A historical overview of the doctrine of equal pay for comparable worth is provided, related cases and legislation involving nurses and nonnurses are analyzed, and the implications of comparable worth for the nursing profession are discussed. (MSE)

This report describes current state monitoring systems in special education, identifies trends across states, and examines critical issues. Data are based on discussions with monitoring personnel, responses to a 1992 survey, input from meetings, and analysis of documents provided by the states. Analysis focuses on five areas: (1) the composition…

This guide lays out the issues, objections, responses, and strategies involved with expanding the School Breakfast Program in a state or a school district. The guide describes in lay terms the particulars of the School Breakfast Program, and outlines successful state and local campaign strategies. It contains the following chapters: (1) The School…

This paper is the third in a series of yearly efforts to identify the top public-policy issues facing higher education. Each of the 10 issues is discussed in terms of likely developments in 1996 and the near future, the issue's various aspects, and sources of further information on the issue. Issues identified and discussed are: (1) cost…

The legislation summarized in this compilation was enacted in the two year period comprising the calendar years 1920 and 1921 and represents the educational enactments of regular legislative sessions of all the states, except Alabama whose legislature meets quadrennially and of several special or extraordinary sessions including one in Alabama.…

The paper examines policy implications of recent trends toward state mandated assessment of higher education services. Two differing purposes of assessment, that of academic improvement and that of accountability, are distinguished. Current trends in how policy makers and higher educators approach a "new accountability" include seeing…

The state profiles contained in this document are based on a 1989 survey of statewide or systemwide approaches to assessment and outcomes measurement in postsecondary education. All 50 states, the territory of Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia are included. A common format provides information on the following aspects: origins of the…

The federal government has changed the status of grant money provided to student athletes, with certain portions of the grants now taxable and others not. These changes have implications for athletes, parents, and institutions, and some aspects of the law remain unanswered. (MSE)

State constitutional law is an emerging area for legal education, partly because of state supreme court decisions relying on state rather than federal constitutional law. Studying state constitutional law highlights similarities and diversity of legal and governmental systems. Interest in establishment of curricula and materials in state law is…

This paper offers a literature review of materials concerning inclusion of students with disabilities, and reports on the 3-year development of an inclusion program at one elementary school in Texas. The literature review is organized into sections which address legislative initiatives and law, special education programs with mainstreaming, the…

A survey of 51 state departments of education focused on learning disabilities definitions, identification criteria, and operationalization procedures. Results showed the continued impact of the 1977 federal definition and criteria. Findings are compared with those from a 1985 survey and discussed in terms of trends, prereferral interventions,…

Portuguese legislative and policy moves since 1974 and their effects on academic hospitals are chronicled. The changes began with a serious university crisis, through which academic hospitals were abolished, and have resulted in legislation offering the potential for a restructuring of medical training and research. (Author/MSE)

This report presents an analysis of the Governor's proposed State budget for fiscal year 1991-92. The analysis provides: (1) a discussion of major budget issues facing the Governor and the Legislature in constructing the 1991-92 State budget; (2) a brief overview of the Governor's proposed funding priorities; and (3) an analysis of the key policy…

Litigation concerning wrongful discharge of faculty will increase, but considerable legal variation among the states will persist. The biggest distinction between states will concern tort damage awards, and the net result will be the creation of new policies for employee rights. Employment-at-will doctrine will be affected in most states. (MSE)