As postsecondary education has become increasingly important to California's economy and quality of life, the state has been considering how best to meet student and workforce needs over the long term. State leaders recognize that coordination across educational sectors is crucial to addressing these needs. The now-defunct California Postsecondary…

A growing number of schools across the country are working hard to provide a "deeper" learning experience for their students, and state legislators are being asked to create policies that support wide-scale implementation of 21st century learning practices. This primer is created for state policymakers seeking to modify instruction and…

Just 18 minutes before the midnight signing deadline on May 15, 2010, Minnesota state legislators breathed a sigh of relief. Their bipartisan pension reform legislation, which passed both chambers by large margins and aimed to help shore up a potentially failing pension system, had just escaped a veto threat. Under pressure from his Republican…

Draconian cuts have become the order of business for many school districts since the economic recession hit in 2008. But for the coming school year, "draconian" has taken on an even harsher meaning, as states from California and Texas to Illinois and New York wrestle with deficits in the tens of billions of dollars and make…

This article deals with the importance of building partnerships between legislators and educators in order to impact educational legislation. To this end, the faculty in the college of education at a large, urban university made institutional changes to establish a proactive relationship amongst stakeholders. As a result of this exchange, we were…

This update contains the Governor's action on legislative initiatives being tracked by CPEC (California Postsecondary Education Commission) staff in the 2009-10 legislative session and information on the new members of the Legislature. A summary matrix of bills monitored by CPEC staff is included.

Lynette Brown-Snow, vice president of marketing and government relations for the Community College of Philadelphia, is one of several community college leaders across the country who have taken up one of the challenges proffered by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in its 2012 report, "Reclaiming the American Dream:…

This paper is intended to provide a selection of easy to use resources and tools to enhance the effectiveness of a local senate president during ongoing budget conversations. It is not intended to provide a narrative description of budgets and budget process, nor a comprehensive listing of the many arcane rules that govern community college…

This article reports on an outstanding event from May 2007, when the California Faculty Association (CFA), representing more than 24,000 faculty, counselors, and librarians at the 23 campuses of the California State University (CSU), won one of the best collective bargaining agreements in higher education history. The new agreement provides a 20.7…

The LegiSchool Project of California State University, Sacramento, and the California State Legislature planned two town hall meetings focusing on hate crime for the winter of 1999-2000, one in Los Angeles and one in Sacramento to provide forums in which California's high school students, educators, and legislators can engage in face-to-face…

While the California State Department of Education (SDE) holds the primary responsibility for the success of the California educational system, the Federal Government also supports state and local educational activities. The intent of this document is to assist local educators in understanding federal education programs and communicating with the…

Explanation of shifts in U.S. Congressional representation among states have often overlooked the effects of international migration on the size and distribution of the U.S. population. Seventy percent of recent U.S. immigrants have settled in California, New York, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, and Illinois. Estimates of the distribution of…

Describes the origination, goals, funding proposal, and implementation of "Project People," a public relations effort conducted by the California Community and Junior College Association. Reveals how the project strengthened the colleges' position through more knowledgeable staff, heightened awareness of college needs within state and…

Designed to provide information for the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges' review of the state's Master Plan for Higher Education, this two-part report presents background on recent research on the community college mission and describes processes currently available to the Board to establish priorities within the mission.…

Includes "A Capital Connection: In Washington State Educators and Legislators Find Common Ground" (Lozada); "Changing Voters' Minds in Cincinnati" (Ciancio); and "In California, Businesses and Schools Recognize Their Interdependence." (SK)