A survey of state legislators reputed to be leaders in the field of education reveals their backgrounds, present activities, and plans for the future. (MLF)

Changes in the capacity, internal distribution of power, habits of work, and composition of state legislators have increased their involvement and assertiveness in educational policy formation, oversight, and control. (Author/MLF)

This paper isolates four research perspectives that have guided analyses of state legislatures and education policy in the past, and it presents research judgments that it believes will help the Law and Government Program of the National Institute of Education identify promising research directions in the future. While it acknowledges that few…

Surveys the changes in state legislatures since the 1960s, stating that the greatest change has been the enhancement of legislative capacity which reformulated the balance of power within state government. Suggests that political science students would benefit from a combination of observing state legislatures and studying the literature.…

This guide is a revised and adapted version of a previous monograph, "A New Public Perspective on Representative Democracy: A Guide for Legislative Interns." The guide focuses on civic perspective: how citizens view the political institutions, processes, and people that are fundamental to representative democracy in the United States. It…

This monograph and its companion volume, "Shaping Education Policy in the States," portray the contemporary role of state legislators and map the structure of educational leadership in terms of both the characteristics of influential legislators and staff and the nature of influence structures in state legislatures. An outgrowth of the "State…