The United States is a world leader in biomedical clinical research. America's existing human subject research regulations structure affords sizable protections for the ethical treatment of research volunteers. Early initiatives such as the Belmont Report were specific to federally funded research. Over the past several decades guidelines such as…

The Obama administration has offered states the chance to waive some requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. States are required, however, to make specific reforms in exchange for increased flexibility. The administration has been clear it wants states to engage in "ambitious but achievable" reforms rather than merely asking for a pass from…

The Obama Administration has signaled that it will include a $1.35 billion expansion of the "Race to the Top" (RTTT) fund in its FY 2011 budget. This is in addition to the $4.35 billion for RTTT included in last year's stimulus bill. Under the Department of Education's (DOE) guidelines for RTTT, states must meet certain requirements to…

Several states had an assessment that they considered to be an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) in place, or in development, when the April 2007 federal regulations on modified achievement standards were finalized. This article uses publicly available information collected by the National Center on…

At the request of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF) has conducted "a literature search and review to identify best practices in [school] building design for accommodating the evacuation and sheltering needs of individuals with special needs or…

Discusses the Copyright Act, four factors that courts must consider in determining permission by the "fair use" doctrine, and the educational exemption for using copyrighted software. Suggests that the best strategy in determining fair use is to contact the publisher, as well as requesting guidelines from the United States Copyright Office. (AEF)

Two years ago, RAND published a report entitled "Fostering the Use of Educational Technology: Elements of a National Strategy." The report documented a series of analyses and workshops carried out during 1994 and 1995 and suggested elements of a national strategy that could foster the effective use of technology by the nation's…

This paper examined the placement of special education students removed from their educational settings for disciplinary reasons, the extent to which local school districts continue educational services for these students, and how the U.S. Department of Education provides support and oversight for special education disciplinary placements under…

The task of monitoring an agency's regulatory environment is defined, the utility of policy analysis for local administrators is argued, and suggestions for incorporating policy analysis assignments into fieldwork instruction are offered. A distillation of four policy analysis frameworks is applied to a series of Senior Aides guidelines.…

Legislative and programmatic efforts to improve teacher quality have become a major focus of state policymaking in recent years. States have employed numerous strategies in response to concerns about the preparation, quantity, and capacity of the teacher workforce. In this chapter, the authors introduce conceptual frameworks for understanding…

The Portland Indian Education Act Project (IEAP), completing its 11th year, serves American Indian students from preschool through high school. Eligibility for services is established according to federal guidelines. Objectives set for the project concentrate on increasing academic achievement and school attendance, and reducing early school…

This document, which is intended for individuals involved in writing and reviewing college disability statements, summarizes the results of a Further Education Development Agency evaluation of the disability statements of 432 further education (FE) colleges throughout England. Chapter 1 examines the extent to which the individual FE colleges'…