To address key policy and programmatic questions and help improve student and system performance, states must work to link data across the early childhood, postsecondary and workforce (P-20/workforce) spectrum and share this information with appropriate stakeholders. This issue brief highlights current efforts in California, Florida, Indiana, and…

Agencies and departments of the federal government may find that they own property that they no longer require. This may occur because of a change in their program requirements, a reduction in their operations or the relocation of programs to other sites. These properties are reported to the General Services Administration as excess. Military…

Some of the challenges that test publishers face in constructing educational assessments that meet high technical quality as prescribed in the "Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing" (AERA, APA, NCME, 1999) are examined. Federal educational initiatives are used to illustrate demands on technical quality that challenge the efforts of…

There is significant interest in reforming retirement plans for public school employees, particularly in light of current market conditions. This paper presents an overview of the various types of state regulation of public pension plans that affect possibilities for reform. Several states have legal protections that effectively prevent a state…

Reviews selected proposals for revision of Canadian Copyright Act which relate to copyright exemptions, fair use, reprography, copyright societies, materials for the disabled, computerized information systems, collective works, public renting rights, paternity right, and right to authorize. Modifications in the interest of libraries are suggested.…

Environmental management is buffeted by conflicting demands, calling for either relaxation of environmental regulations or for increased effectiveness and overall performance. While seemingly dichotomous, these demands can be reconciled through alternative approaches to environmental management. Several of these approaches are discussed, focusing…

Effective in September 1983 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires schools to document and verify income information from three percent or 3,000 students approved for subsidized lunches. While there is some flexibility in confirming eligibility, schools must provide evidence of income levels. Outlined are the types of…

Discusses how a financial-aid-related rule that restricts distance education is close to being killed, but that few institutions are planning to take advantage of its demise. (EV)

Compares state telecommunications regulatory policies and their potential impacts on the development of the physical infrastructure needed to support an information superhighway. Topics include federal telecommunications regulations, federal preemption of state regulations, and economic impacts of the development of the National Information…

Describes the collapse of Newfoundland's once immense northern-cod fishery in 1992 from the perspective of a family fisherman who has become an environmental activist. Discusses failures in environmental management including the overfishing of shared resources encouraged by the Canadian government and hastened by international fishing fleets and…

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) face conflicts of interest that stem from a government's dual role as an owner, operator and businessman on the one hand and as the protector of the public interest and therefore a regulator of the SOE on the other hand. Besides pursuing profit maximisation like any private business, SOEs often have a mandate if not…

Much attention has been focused on the accountability, student learning outcomes, transfer of credit, and illegal file sharing provisions of the two related bills that have moved through the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives to amend and extend the provisions of the 1965 Higher Education Act (S. 1642 and H.R. 4137). One of the…

The organization and format of this primer which is designed for state officials differs from the other two in this series based on the recommendations of the state officials who participated in the Special Education Technical Assistance for Charter Schools (SPEDTACS) Project state team meetings convened to assist in the development of the set of…

This article reports on a federal legislation that may chart a new course for states considering whether to grant in-state tuition to undocumented immigrant students. Experts say college attendance by undocumented students would be much higher if they did not have the added burden of financing public education at out-of-state or foreign student…

The Department of Education has issued final rules underscoring that school districts must accommodate the Boy Scouts of America and certain other youth groups that ask to use schools for meetings and recruitment. Schools risk loss of their federal education aid if they do not comply with the requirement included in the No Child Left Behind Act.…