This newsletter addresses educational reform related to student use of computers and the development of computer networks in Illinois schools. This educational trend is particularly relevant for improving the educational opportunities of rural students. Both the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Planning Coalition for Educational…

A survey of court litigation traces the development of case law regarding the substantive rights of elementary and high school students in relation to school board rules and regulations. The survey reveals the gradual "judicialization" (conversion of conflicts into court cases) of educational governance and the delimiting of the school…

This chapter deals with 1981 cases involving disputes over property. Cases involving the detachment and attachment of land continue to dominate the property chapter with 11 cases reported, the same number summarized in last year's chapter. One case involving school board referenda raised the interesting question of whether or not a state could…

Two questions--how school boards might create more productive schools using the tools of the electronic age, and how they might create new learning opportunities and overcome some of the problems schools now face--were addressed at the national conference summarized in this document. The report reviews the current status of public education today…

Research extending back into the 1890's reveals that the quality of classroom instruction depends not upon differing curricula, for example, but rather upon the attitudes and actions of teachers. Instructional effectiveness is especially important for independent schools, yet availability as well as quality of candidates has dropped markedly.…

Beginning with a review of recent literature on social conflict, this study adopts Coser's distinction between realistic conflict, which seeks to balance both sides of a disagreement, and nonrealistic conflict, which seeks domination by only one party. Where nonrealistic conflict develops in intense labor-management disputes in public school…

This report presents an update of the facts surrounding adolescent alcohol and drug abuse and provides resources to assist school boards in developing effective school policies addressing the problem. The prevalence of drug and alcohol use among young people is demonstrated by the results of a survey of the high school class of 1986. Areas of…

This thirty-first edition of the "Yearbook" is a comprehensive reference to recent state appellate and federal court decisions affecting the operation and governance of public elementary and secondary schools in the United States. This edition includes all reported cases relevant to public schools decided during the 1980 calendar year as well as…

School site budgeting may be said to exist when the school board and central office administration provide principals, in consultation with staff and sometimes community representatives, with an opportunity to prepare a budget for the allocation of resources at the school level. The objectives of school based budgeting include achieving more…

This report focuses on six issues having a direct impact on school desegregation in Ohio: (1) State authority to eliminate segregation; (2) desegregation programs within school districts; (3) desegregation plans between school districts; (4) citizen participation; (5) transportation; and (6) housing. The Committee's findings in each of these areas…

Discusses the nature of recent calls for educational reform in the context of the historical role of superintendents in the development of the public school movement. Provides a case study illustrating how one metropolitan school superintendent facilitated educational innovation and solidified his own organizational power within his district. (34…

Varied reactions within Richmond, California, to efforts to achieve racially balanced schools were analyzed in this article. The authors state their intention was to unravel the complexities of a policy problem in one community--not to pronounce unequivocal judgment on resolutions achieved. (Author/DB)

School-based management (SBM), the decentralization of decision-making authority to the school site, comes in many variations. However, all forms of SBM require a rethinking of how and where budgeting, curriculum, and personnel decisions are made. This bulletin provides an overview of what SBM is and how it is implemented by summarizing some of…

This report employs three analytical perspectives (ideological, implementational, and comparative institutional) in order to examine Federal anti-discrimination law enforcement in the New York City school system since the late 1960s. Part I of the study defines the fundamental American egalitarian ideology and its equality of opportunity and…

Developed under mandate by the Master Plan Commission, this report reviews the organization and governance of the California community colleges and offers recommendations regarding structures and processes. Part I provides an introduction to the need for the study of governance and organizational problems and offers a summary of findings drawn…