This brief illustrates how digital learning opportunities and technology can significantly increase access to high-quality learning materials, curricula, and effective online learning tools to help youth in secure care settings develop expertise in shaping personalized learning and future goals. The brief also offers takeaways that practitioners,…

The proposed federal stimulus package could help to strengthen existing programs with track records of proven performance and strong accountability and administrative systems. This is good news for afterschool programs leaders who can leverage existing relationships and sustainability plans to access new funding opportunities. In these times, a…

Counseling on the Internet is alive and, in the opinion of some, well. The question is do counselors and other behavioral health professional want to take an active role in shaping this new avenue of the discipline, or can they afford to adopt a "wait and see" attitude? Professional counselors do have a duty to protect the public from…

This guide was written to help school and local education agency staff better understand and apply the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law that protects privacy interests of parents and students in student education records. The Forum has developed full reports on student (and staff ) privacy guidance, but a shorter…

National and state assessments have produced an abundance of data regarding the strengths and weaknesses of student achievement. However, to date, little has been written to guide educators regarding the use of these data to increase student achievement. This practical guide will provide educators with a step-by-step process for gathering and…

This paper examines copyright issues vital to education. It explores copyright in terms of both statutory and case law, and in particular in relation to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which is a complex set of rules and regulations that affects anyone involved in copyright. Among the new issues are the impact of technology and the…

This document is intended to help teachers teach their students about the Selective Service registration requirement and the need for young men to register with the Selective Service System in order to maintain their eligibility for federal loans, grants, and other educational benefits. The first 50% of the document consists of 10 sections devoted…

School Districts are required to comply with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) mandating they monitor how students are using the Internet. Although elementary school students need to be supervised, blocking technologies are inappropriate for teen-agers. Secondary school students need to know about safe communication skills and have a…

A 1998 court decision ruled that a recent Virginia law requiring official approval for state employees to put materials with "sexually explicit content" on the Internet was unconstitutional. However, the extent to which the First Amendment will protect academic freedom in cyberspace in this case and for other issues is not clear. (MSE)

Designed for school administrators, policymakers, and others concerned about communications and education, this report first traces the ideas and political forces that led to establishment of the E-Rate. It then looks at the practical issues confronting school districts as they seek to seize the opportunities the E-Rate affords. After examining…

Examines the status of current copyright law and the efforts of Congress and the courts to define how that law will be applied and modified to encompass the Internet as the latest reproduction-distribution-display technology. Analyzes case law addressing server liability in the Internet context to predict potential liability for higher education…

Provides guidelines for the development of campus computer policies, focusing on legal issues related to adult material, harassment, privacy, commerce, and copyright. Notes that computer use policies and practices need to evolve in concert with the changing computer culture. (MDM)

This document provides guidelines on policymaking for public librarians and public library trustees in Vermont. Topics covered include: (1) the importance of policies in bringing order, logic, stability, and continuity to a library's operation; (2) the roles of trustees and librarians in adopting carrying out policies; (3) reasons why policies…

West Virginia has been pursuing an approach to connecting students to the information highway that mirrors the model envisioned by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. This policy brief aims to help schools and state agencies understand the discounts provided by the Act. U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller explains the provisions of the…

This document is a publication for the tenth televised Town Hall Meeting of The LegiSchool Project, an educational collaboration between California State University, Sacramento and the California State Legislature. The purpose of the meeting was to consider what laws and public policies are needed to protect young people from violence--both real…