Although providing tuition tax credits to parents of children in private schools could provide several social benefits, several difficulties stand in the way of adopting such a policy. The major difficulty is that tuition tax credits stand a good chance of being declared unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds. Tuition tax credit proposals…

Current public demands for increased educational quality can best be met at the state education agency (SEA) level, but the SEA is faced with the fact that no single, clearly acceptable definition of educational quality exists. As a result of this lack of consensus, the SEA must examine the policy options available before taking action. First,…

This paper attempts to match identified large-scale social trends (derived from the popular book "Megatrends" by John Naisbitt) to possible state education agency (SEA) policy positions. The first part of the analysis explores possible implications of these "megatrends" for SEA policy development. The trends discussed show…

Recent block grant legislation requires both state and local education agencies to provide private school students a range of services equivalent to that provided public school students. These requirements pose administrative and operational problems for state agencies, since these agencies must simultaneously avoid relationships with religiously…

This paper discusses the role of state education agencies in curriculum reform, in light of contrasting perspectives on the future of society. Current reform proposals call for more required courses and better performance by students, but such moves need to be made with a clear sense of direction. Accordingly, the problem becomes twofold: first,…

The capabilities of a distance education system to enhance instructional programs of small schools by providing equity and increasing quality of educational opportunity, providing access to subject matter and subject matter experts, and providing interaction and joint activities with students in other schools are of sufficient merit to formulate…

The back-to-basics movement and public demands for educational quality guarantees have led state education agencies (SEA's) to examine their options in four areas: definition of the basics, relevant curricular and programming alternatives, alternatives for evaluating achievement of basics-related goals, and methods of reporting achievements to the…

Limitations on governmental taxing and/or spending, exemplified by the "Proposition 13" initiative in California, have been instituted or proposed in a large number of states. As the movement spreads, state education agencies (SEAs) and, especially, chief state school officers have fundamental policy decisions to make. Areas where the…

The comprehensiveness and specificity of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142) and Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act, and the detailed regulations that accompany them, might seem to foreclose any opportunity for states to develop and follow their own policies. However, reports from chief state school…

This paper sets forth and clarifies state-level policy issues that are implicit in the recommendations for reform provided by recent major reports on the status of American education. For each report under consideration, four questions are posed: (1) Who is recommending what? (2) Does the recommendation make sense in a state's total program? (3)…

Policy issues and their implications in the introduction of computer technology in the Northwest and Pacific schools are examined. Eight issues, focused on instructional uses of computer technology, are covered. (1) Establishing an overall state education agency (SEA) position will set the tone for statewide development of instructional…