The issue of school safety is of paramount concern but what is lacking is clarity on the best course of action aimed at bolstering safety in public schools. We sought to answer the following research questions: What topics are addressed in school board policies related to arming employees? What outlying policy topics are addressed in school board…

The increasing need for highly-skilled employees in the workplace has policymakers and higher education leaders focused on innovative ways for students to access postsecondary education. These access points can include online programs, prior learning assessments and, the subject of this snapshot, competency-based education. The National Center for…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) follows education budgets and legislation during regular and special legislative sessions. Current actions are found in Legislative Reports that are released on a timely basis during the months that SREB state legislatures are in session, usually from January through July. These reports follow education…

In elementary and secondary education governance, the need to build an effective system of public education is the driving force behind the selection of a state's key education leaders. This paper provides a snapshot of what state K-12 governance looks like in SREB states. (Contains 7 tables.)

Nearly 7,000 students drop out of the nation's public high schools each school day, and 3,000 of them are in the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states. Altogether, an estimated 1.3 million teenagers in the United States abandon high school each year without earning a diploma. In 1,700 of the nation's high schools, less than 60 percent of…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) follows education budgets and legislation during regular and special legislative sessions. The Legislative Reports follow education and budget issues from governors' proposals through final legislative actions in each of the 16 SREB states. The reports include bill numbers and legislative Web site…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) follows education budgets and legislation during regular and special legislative sessions. Current actions are found in Legislative Reports that are released on a timely basis during the months that SREB state legislatures are in session, usually from January through July. These reports follow education…

Policy changes in state higher education since the early 1980s are described. For each innovation, the problem and impetus for change are described, as well as the results. Contact persons and some publications are identified. While two states addressed both quality and flexibility in fiscal reform, 13 states had incremental reforms addressing…

K-8 centers combine grades in one location or school that are usually assigned to a separate elementary (K-5) and middle school (6-8). In 1998 the School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida, approved a pilot program to introduce to the district the concept of K-8 centers. Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) initiated two K-8 centers during…

Formula budgeting for college and university facilities maintenance is recommended because: (1) formulas inject objectivity into the budgeting process by using quantified data; (2) formulas tend to improve the equitability of treatment of comparable institutions; (3) formulas are intended to provide adequate but economical budgets; and (4)…

Presentations at a seminar on systemwide tracking that grew out of efforts to promote implementation of South Carolina's desegregation plan are included. Two subjects were the focus: retention and the use of monitored developmental programs as a means of retention and of safeguarding quality. Essays include "Systemwide Student Tracking"…