Data from national sources were used to test whether state school finance reform alters neighborhood income homogeneity. Results show that school finance has a significant effect on school district income sorting, especially among low-income communities. (Author)

Reviews higher education racial desegregation equity since the U.S. Supreme Court's 1992 "Fordice" decision. Discusses historically black colleges and universities' future status and African-American students' progress, using finance data analyzed and interpreted via critical race theory. HBCU's receive inferior state appropriation…

Asserts that the country's current education system, comprised of local school boards, is fragmented and unfair. Proposes a national education congress to provide direction, promote a more unified effort, and ensure that the education system is responding to the best interests and needs of the American people. (EV)

Although Darling-Hammond's emphases as a teacher, researcher, and college professor shifted over a distinguished 25-year career, her three driving concerns remain the serious and thoughtful training of highly professional teachers; elimination of inequities in school funding, resources, and access to qualified teachers; and personalization of…

A recent study revealed deficiencies in the long-awaited "Abbott v. Burke" ruling, which benefited 28 inner-city districts and shortchanged poor rural and middle-wealth districts. By ignoring these groups of districts, New Jersey lawmakers have sown the seeds of taxpayer backlash, as evidenced by two recent lawsuits. (Contains 23…

Examines contradictions between school accountability legislation and the moral leadership applicable to its development and implementation. Using the ethics of critique, justice, and care, analyzes Ohio's recent fiscal and accountability legislation, which may be setting school districts up for failure. Policymakers must examine their moral…

Employs school funding formulas enacted under Georgia's Quality Basic Education Act to explore changes in interdistrict equity over time. Regarding overall distribution of per-pupil resources across districts (horizontal equity) and for special- needs students (vertical equity), dispersion measures approach Odden and Picus' suggested equity…

Evidence derived from data accumulated under Vermont's Foundation Plan demonstrates that school district property value is a secondary determinant of school spending level, compared with other factors: the nonresident portion of the property-tax base, resident income, and residents' perceived school-tax burden as a percent of income. (Contains 13…

Examines Long Island, New York, school politics and finance, noting that students in many underfunded schools in the area perform significantly below regional standards. Focuses on the Amityville School District, examining the battle in state courts over unequal funding, the impact of legislative inaction on Long Island, and public support for and…

A recent study found no evidence of inadequate state-aid general funding for Oklahoma's mandated elementary class size requirements as they became more restrictive during implementation phases. Over the years, state aid increased on a per-simulated-class basis for grades K-6. State-aid distribution equity also increased. (MLH)

Reviews 30 years of state efforts to support school-facilities construction and renovation in Texas. Describes recent state programs to provide direct funding for school facilities: Instructional Facilities Allotment, Existing Debt Allotment, and New Instructional Facilities Allotment. Although state funding of school facilities has increased,…

No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) encourages New Jersey and other states to use their expanded roles in narrow ways. NCLB identifies state takeovers as one potential sanction for schools that fail to reach their adequate yearly progress (AYP) targets for five consecutive years.

Purpose: Outlines a framework for social justice, describes both the social and educational context of South Africa, highlights inequitable funding practices, and then advocates for policy changes in the form of vertical equity. Design/methodology/approach: Provides a retrospective review of mandated segregation by race to hypothetical…

Over the last several years the author conducted 126 interviews and held four focus groups with academic staff, administrators and others associated with Australian universities, about the problems and challenges they believed faced the system of tertiary education. Widespread concern and pessimism pervaded the interviews about the future of…

Four propositions that have been advanced on the basis of verbal intuition are considered. They are given precise interpretation in a formal model and then disproved. The propositions concern intergenerational transfers through schooling; in particular, they concern equality-efficiency conflicts, net benefit calculation, and the role of genetic…