This digest examines the status of girls' and women's athletics more than 20 years after the 1972 passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination in education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. It notes trends in Title IX implementation, the impact of…

This information brief summarizes issues in the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The origins of IDEA in Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, are noted. Concerns shaping the reauthorization debate are identified, including unsatisfactory student outcomes, the isolation of…

The mental health policies of the past 20 years and the evidence of unserved populations suffering from serious mental illness constitute a public health crisis. Currently there are at least 3,000,000 people in the United States suffering from mental disorders. A fully developed continuum of care is needed to respond effectively to the diverse…

Many mentally ill children, especially those who are seriously disturbed, are not receiving the mental health care they need. Although the federal government offers financing to the states for child and adolescent mental health programming, the primary responsibility for financing mental health services has been assumed by state governments. At…

By a wide margin, the major public health problem for teenagers in the United States is injuries associated with motor vehicle accidents. Starting at age 13, motor vehicle passenger death rates per capita climb sharply compared to passengers of other ages. Since deaths per licensed driver peak at the age of 18, insurance analysts have recommended…

This theme issue addresses current trends and new developments in ensuring that individuals with disabilities have meaningful employment opportunities, especially in the context of recent federal legislation. Stressed throughout is the importance of collaboration among professionals, individuals with disabilities, and family members in achieving…

Changes in the legislative history of specialized education for students of limited English proficiency are described in this paper, beginning with the authorization of the Bilingual Education Act of 1968 and going through the reauthorizations of the Act in 1974, 1978, 1984, and 1988. Important events surrounding the legislative action are also…

For certain groups of the mentally ill, most notably individuals with serious mental disabilities, the community-based mental health system can be more of a "non-system." Unforeseen problems have plagued both the dream of deinstitutionalization and the effectiveness of community mental health centers during the last 20 years. Uncoordinated…

This digest summarizes the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 (IDEA 97) with emphasis on changes in the new law. First, it highlights principal changes in the law. These changes include participation of children and youth with disabilities in state and districtwide assessment programs; the way in which…

The status of work-based learning in the programs/courses of Georgia's technical institutes was reviewed, and issues raised by recent national and state legislation regarding education's role in preparing students for the workplace were identified. It was discovered that a total of 54 occupation-based instruction (OBI) programs are currently being…

This report examines the special problems associated with establishing paternity and collecting child support from teenage parents. The report reviews public policy options for legislators and is divided into three major sections: estabilishing paternity, child support enforcement, and state legislative policy and program responses. It notes that…

Historically, the financial responsibility for caring for those with mental illness has shifted back and forth from the local community, to the state, to the federal government. Today states provide the vast majority of the funds to the state mental health agencies and oversee local governments and most private resources for mental health funding.…

This fact sheet summarizes evidence on the work status of successful rehabilitations/closures for people with mental retardation in light of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992, which strengthened the focus of state vocational rehabilitation (VR) programs on community employment outcomes. Data analyzed were drawn from the Rehabilitation…

Two reports discuss 1998 bills affecting education programs, libraries and publishing. Acts include: Digital Millennium Copyright, Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension; Trademark Law Treaty Implementation; Children's Online Protection/Privacy Protection; Internet Tax Freedom; Next Generation Internet Research; Year 2000 Information/Readiness…

Economic, technological, and political changes have created a new employment relationship characterized by an externalized labor market, more tenuous ties between workers and employers, and growing wage inequality. To date, policymakers have sought to address these problems through a supply-side approach focused on education and training. What is…