According to a recent estimate, out of more than four million children between 4 and 6 years of age, less than half a million are enrolled in kindergartens. This condition may be attributed in general to a lack of knowledge of the practical, ethical, and social value of kindergarten education; to the expense of installing a system whose advantages…

In an examination of the dynamics that mold a bill and keep it before the attention of the national legislature, this paper traces the behind-the-scenes history of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), H.R. 925, from its origin as a benefit solely for pregnant women workers to its current status as a broad remedy for the stresses of modern…

Legislative mandates on sexual discrimination do not necessarily guarantee enduring change, as is demonstrated by the reinterpretation by the United States Supreme Court of Title IX of the Education Amendments to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the landmark decision in "Grove City College v. Bell" in 1984, the court ruled that Title IX,…

Citing a number of primary and secondary sources, the legislative and developmental history of the junior college movement in California is examined in this 1964 six-part report. First, a brief introduction presents an overview of the movement's major proponents, and of a 1907 law establishing California's first public junior colleges. The next…

Furnishing textbooks at the expense of the community, free to the individual school children, is not a new idea in the United States. It began as a movement in city school administration nearly a century ago. Philadelphia made provisions for free textbooks in 1818. Other cities, principally in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts,…

This document traces the history of adult education (AE) in California from the 1850s through the present. Chapter 1 traces AE in California from the 1850s through the 1940s, and chapter 2 summarizes AE governance, finance, and programming in the 1950s. Chapter 3 focuses on the new federal role in AE and AE program growth in the 1960s, with…

Describes the debate over how and when the community college movement spread from the Midwest to California. Presents evidence that the University of Chicago's William Rainey Harper was working in 1900 to convince three California colleges to drop their upper division and become junior colleges. Considers the role of David Starr Jordan in the…

With the great war has come a quickened appreciation in all nations of the value of physical education. In France, a strong central committee has been formed to promote physical education. In England, comprehensive and far-reaching provisions for physical education are incorporated in the new education law. In the United States, eight states since…

Results of school district reorganization may be viewed in a number of ways. Frequently progress is measured in terms of the number of local districts eliminated by incorporating their territory in larger units. Results may likewise be measured by increases in the number of new districts having certain characteristics of size or other features…

Within a period of 30 years the high-school enrollment has increased from a little over 10 percent of the population of high-school age to more than 50 per cent of that population. This enrollment is so unusual for a secondary school that it has attracted the attention of Europe, where only 8 to 10 per cent attend secondary schools. Many European…

Findings of a study that explored how California school reforms are initiated and revised and how differences between the judicial and legislative areas affect policymaking are presented in this document. Two themes--financial reform and retrenchment--are examined at two levels: as a case study about the politics of school finance reform and also…

Discusses nine major forces buffeting the California Public School System in the years 1970 through 1980: educational reform movements, declining enrollment, public dissatisfaction with education, the Serrano Decision, collective bargaining, Proposition 13, court-ordered integration, the voucher movement, and the proposed 1980 statewide spending…

Describes the development of the California system of higher education. Discusses the debate between those who wanted a university to educate future leaders and those who urged a system that would stress agriculture and mining. Explores the politics of school boards, the Board of Regents, and the legislature in the state's constitutional…

This bulletin is a product of the Local School Units Project, a cooperative effort of the Office of Education, the National Professional Advisory Committee, the Works Progress Administration which funded the project, and the Office of Education Professional Advisory Committee. Its work could not have been completed without the support of the chief…

This book tells the story of the California Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI), which became Proposition 209. This initiative promised to end the use of race and gender preferences in state employment, contracting, and education. The complex motivations and maneuvers of the people, organizations, and political parties involved in the effort to end…