Selected financial and program records of nine administrative units of Michigan's Bilingual/Migrant Education Program from October 1, 1978 through September 30, 1983 were examined in an audit to assess fairness of fund allocation, compliance with appropriate laws and regulations, adequacy of administrative performance, and priority of school…

This report, a letter to the Chairman of the Education Task Force of the Committee on the Budget of the United States Senate, summarizes work the General Accounting Office (GAO) has completed from 1990 through 1997 addressing early childhood, elementary, and secondary education issues. The GAO has identified the need for improvement in the…

Given the changing legal context for higher education desegregation cases, there is an apparent need to rethink the strategies used by integration advocates. Examines implications of the articles in this special issue for the ongoing policy discourse on "de jure" segregation and inquires whether grounds exist for litigation on the "de facto"…

Although the driving philosophy underpinning British educational reform since 1988 has emphasized "quality" and "choice," few governmental pronouncements have addressed equity issues. This article defines "equity," focusing on distributional equity as a framework for examining reforms such as formula funding,…

Examines how divergent values and belief systems operate within educational politics. Reviews five questions (concerning educational quality and equality, schooling's purpose, curriculum decisions, school policy making, and financial responsibility for schools) and their underlying value tensions within the research areas of micropolitics, school…

Per-pupil expenditures in the lowest spending states are half of those in the highest-spending states. The federal government could equalize interstate spending by subsidizing spending in poorer states. The plan must consider the dollar's varying purchasing power, higher expenditures for educating disadvantaged children, and disincentives for…

The current obsession with standardizing curricula and measuring output may further reduce teacher agency and marginalize segments of our society that are already cheated by the system. Enormous discrepancies exist among public-school facilities, resources, and teachers. Multicultural education will suffer unless legislatures address these…

This paper provides a historical review of equity in funding education in Alberta. It describes government attempts to address fiscal inequities and shows how the introduction of full spending in 1994 addressed many of the equity problems in Alberta. Full provincial funding of education has proved an overall success, but it faces the following…

Reform of New Zealand schools has been ongoing since 1988, when the Task Force to Review Education Administration recommended devolution of managerial control, within national guidelines, for each of the country's 2,700 state school boards of trustees with a majority of elected parents' representatives. Reforms instituted since 1989 across all…

In almost all states, there is substantial local variation in per pupil expenditures for public elementary and secondary education. This results from the mix of state, local, and federal revenues received by most local educational agencies (LEAs), local variations in student needs, cost of providing services, and ability and willingness to raise…

This report summarizes what is known about educational improvement in Latin America and provides objectives and strategies to guide the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in supporting primary and secondary education in Latin America and the Caribbean over the next decade. It is based on six background papers as well as a review of the lessons…

Vermont's Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1997, "Act 60," was designed to rectify inequities in the state's funding of public education, as determined by the Vermont Supreme Court. This report examines the degree to which Act 60 has improved conditions over the last 5 years, focusing on the 3 main equity goals of Act 60 and the…

Explores 1990s educational equity issues and implementation challenges, including outcome measurement, the accountability-governance relationship, resource implications, the need for integrated children's services, and necessary role changes for teachers, administrators, and parents. Summarizes recommendations of a New York State Equity Study…

Summarizes recent developments in educational adequacy and finance-equity court cases around the country, highlighting the differences and the relationship between traditional finance-equity claims and more recent educational adequacy claims. The most sweeping decision occurred in Alabama; a state trial court will monitor mandated reforms in…

According to the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1997), education of disabled children should produce outcomes akin to those expected of "regular" students, and disabled students should be educated with other kids. Implementing inclusive programs will require visionary leadership, educator collaboration,…