The euphemism that Florida, the nation's third most populous and politically powerful state, is a battleground is an apt description--and more than just every four years. Every year, every day in the state's capital, Florida has become high ground for pro-corporate, special-interest lobbyists who seek to instill a far-right legislative and social…

Beginning in 2010, more than 40 states adopted the Common Core State Standards. In the years immediately following their adoption, educators, parents, and policymakers familiar with the standards strongly supported them. Both Republicans and Democrats heralded the Common Core as one of the most promising school reforms in decades. Fast forward to…

Over the past year, the authors have discussed college prices, college quality, and student financial aid with elected officials and staff from several state legislatures, financial aid administrators from a variety of campuses, and policy analysts from Washington DC advocacy organizations. They have also been able to informally gain insights at…

Public attitudes about juvenile crime play a significant role in fashioning juvenile justice policy; variations in the wording of public opinion surveys can produce very different responses and can result in inaccurate and unreliable assessments of public sentiment. Surveys that ask about policy alternatives in vague terms are especially…

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Statewide Survey provides policymakers, the media, and the public with objective, advocacy-free information on the perceptions, opinions, and public policy preferences of California residents. This is the 141st PPIC Statewide Survey in a series that was inaugurated in April 1998 and has generated a…

For the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the drinking age recently questioned by college presidents, is not a topic for debate. In August the organization publicly berated the Amethyst Initiative, a group of 100 presidents and chancellors who signed a statement urging legislators to revisit the law and to examine its effectiveness. The…

This review of literature identifies the primary writings and research related to how higher education institutions operate government relations offices. These offices are defined by their mission and role of interfacing between institutional needs and officers and public officials. The review first reports the literature related to public…

The 2006 Public Opinion Survey on Education in Indiana gauged the attitudes and perceptions of a representative sample of Hoosiers on such key educational issues as kindergarten and pre-kindergarten programs, No Child Left Behind and P.L. 221, school funding and taxes, teacher quality, school choice and charter schools, and the achievement gap in…