In the spring of 2008, the Center on Education Policy (CEP) continued its ongoing research on the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) by conducting case studies of six schools in Illinois to learn more about the effects of NCLB and related state accountability policies on curriculum, instruction, and student achievement. The schools…

Describes Illinois's three-part program to give $30 million in direc t aid to parents of non-public school students. Contends that all major st ate programs to give financial aid to non-public schools throughout the nat ion may hang in the balance, pending the outcome in the courts of the Illi nois program. (RJ)

Describes the provisions, development, and future of the Independent-Living Initiative. Discusses its implementation at federal and state levels, and also the plans of the state of Illinois to establish a departmentwide task force to develop a system of services for youths who will be leaving foster care. (RJC)

This study examines the Illinois General Assembly's role in state finance and focuses on how the legislature can best control the scope and limits of state finance. The report is divided into four sections. The first section introduces the language of the appropriations process and the techniques of control applied to that process. The second…

This handbook explains the legal principles underlying the Illinois public education system, thereby providing teachers, administrators, and school board members with an understanding of the nature of the public school as a social and governmental institution. It also considers the legal status of Illinois teachers by defining their rights,…

Prepared by the Illinois State Advisory Committee for submission to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, this report focused on the growing concern among Latino parents, students, and community leaders over alleged violations of Latino students' rights to an education in Chicago, the only city in the United States with a large population of both…

This special report reviews key aspects of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and its implications for Illinois. The report describes the major stipulations in the federal welfare bill and summarizes the impact on Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); food stamp, child care, Medicaid, and…

The principal objective of this report, the last in a series of three, was to develop and determine cost effectiveness of alternate plans for an effective telecommunications capability through 1975 for the State of Illinois. The State is advised to contract with communications consultants to help it save money on its telephone bill. It is also…

Because of a perceived lack in the development and use of evaluation procedures for vocational education in Illinois, a new evaluation system was begun in 1984. It required that at least 20 percent of funded vocational programs be evaluated annually, in compliance with requirements of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act. The evaluation…

A study was conducted in Illinois to determine how effectively the vocational education system was meeting its responsibilities to serve persons in economically depressed areas under the terms of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984. State records showed that during fiscal year 1987, Illinois expended $982,956 of the $1,336,238…

A study was conducted in Illinois to determine the perceptions of "grassroots" personnel who have responsibility for administering programs authorized under both the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act. Questionnaires were mailed to regional delivery system directors, community college…

A study was conducted in Illinois to determine how effectively the vocational education system was meeting its responsibilities to train, retrain, and upgrade employed and unemployed workers in new skills for which there is a demand in the state, under the terms of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984. Responses were received from…