This newsletter focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country, and is presented in an accessible format for everyone from elected official and policymakers to parents and community leaders. First, it talks about the U.S. Senate's confirmation of Arne Duncan as U.S. Secretary of Education. Second, it presents a…

This report presents the deliberations of the Central Regional Advisory Committee (RAC), one of 10 RACs established under the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. sections 9601 et. seq.) to assess the educational needs of the region. The committee's report outlines the educational needs across the states of Colorado, Kansas,…

This issue of "Policy Insights" reviews the results from WICHE's (Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education's) annual survey of tuition and fees at public colleges and universities in the region. Complete data are available in "Tuition and Fees in Public Higher Education in the West, 2007-08: Detailed Tuition and Fees…

On March 13, 2007, Governor Bill Ritter and state Senator Sue Windels announced a proposal they call the "Colorado Children's Amendment." This proposal would "freeze," or stabilize, local property tax mill levies for general education to maintain local funding for public K-12 education. As overall costs for K-12 education grow,…

This report showcases advocacy efforts of 11 member organizations in 10 states that recently passed an early care and education (ECE) legislative initiative. The aim of the report is to provide advocates with proven strategies for advancing progress in securing access to ECE and expanding the opportunity for all children to start school prepared…

Denver is currently in the national education spotlight, largely because of its willingness to try a unique combination of major education reforms not seen in other large urban school districts. While many observers hold these reforms in high regard, a steep road lies ahead. Current student results are unacceptable by all measures. The time is…

This article defines applied rhetorical work as integral to the intellectual work of writing program administration and asks our professional organizations to classify it as such within our position statements. With a specific case, it offers a generative framework for representing and assessing the work's scholarly commons for professional…

Securing appropriate facilities can be a significant challenge for those intending to open a charter school. Although, like all public schools, charter schools receive per-pupil dollars from the state, they generally receive considerably less. Additionally, because traditional public schools rely on their district to provide their school…

"National CrossTalk" is a publication of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. The National Center promotes public policies that enhance opportunities for quality education and training beyond high school. The primary purpose of "National CrossTalk" is to stimulate informed discussion and debate of higher…

In this article we introduce and explain a funding framework for advancing an equity agenda at the community college. The need for the framework is premised on (a) Dowd's observation that the traditional community college commitment to student access no longer suffices as an adequate strategy to achieve greater equity in society and (b) the…

This year's KIDS COUNT report delves into disparities in child well-being based on race and ethnicity in an effort to shine a light on issues where Colorado can and must do better at creating equitable opportunities for children. The disparities seen in many areas of child well-being did not just happen by coincidence; nor are they the result of…

In this article, the authors examine the new voucher program used to subsidize undergraduate education at Colorado community colleges and four-year institutions. The authors explain the voucher program and discuss the fiscal and policy conditions that led to its adoption. This baseline account of the voucher program and the underlying conditions…

In 2005, Colorado lawmakers radically changed the state's higher education funding system. Until this point Colorado, like other states, had supported higher education by appropriating operating revenues to the institutions and providing some financial aid to low-income students. But in 2005, instead of giving the state's general funds for…

This paper examines the difficulties of strategic planning under severe constraints in a state college. Constraints include the planning models available, the governance structure of the college and other externalities, and a not-for-profit model of constraints by Newman and Wallender. After presenting the planning challenges, we discuss…

The information in this document describes how selected states fund English Language Learner/English as a Second Language (ELL/ESL) programs. The states chosen for this survey include: California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Texas. All information contained in this StateNote is derived from state sources. [This…