The Texas Education Agency, in cooperation with the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, was directed by the Texas State Legislature to study the problem of substance abuse by public school students and to develop guidelines for public school districts to use in implementing substance abuse education programs. This document reports on the…

Notes that, in Texas, counselors were excluded from mandated educational reforms and that state and local counselor organizations are attempting to clarify whether counselors should be placed on career ladder and should be appraised by statewide system. Sees counselor's role in reform movement as vital because it can stabilize and balance local…

More than half of all school fires are started intentionally, and students (particularly older students) are responsible for a large percentage of those fires. Having a troubled background is a strong predictor for a student setting a fire. This article highlights one Texas community's experiences and reaction when its high school was burned by…

Reviews court litigation in Texas concerning the rights of children who are illegally residing in the United States to public schooling. Focuses particularly on the issue of whether the equal protection clause in the fourteenth amendment applies to noncitizens. (GC)

Reviews the history of charter laws since the first charter law was passed in 1991, examining the implementation of charter schools in California, Colorado, Minnesota, and Texas. The paper delineates issues and concerns and suggests educational practices within charter schools which are pertinent to the successful reinvention of public schools in…

Explains the background of a movement to weaken vocational agriculture programs in Texas. Describes the efforts of alumni and current members of Future Farmers of America to change vocational agriculture's image; these efforts have turned public opinion and enabled educators to help reshape the agricultural education curriculum. (CH)

This report was prepared in response to a request from the 70th Texas Legislature that the Texas Education Agency implement a voluntary missing child prevention and identication pilot program on school campuses. The report consists of four brief sections. "Historical Introduction" reviews legislative actions taken by the Texas…

In the midst of national education reform and in line with efforts to describe national standards for school mathematics, Texas is taking an aggressive role in reforming mathematics in the public schools. Ways that Texas schools, the Texas Education Agency, and the State Board of Education are addressing the dramatically changing needs of…

This booklet provides a history of teacher retirement benefits in the state of Texas from 1937-97, offering highlights of important state legislation related to retirement and its benefits. In 1936, Texas citizens approved an amendment to the Texas constitution establishing a retirement system for public school employees. Enacting legislation…

Many states, including Texas, use alternative certification programs to address projected teacher shortages and recruit highly qualified individuals into the teaching profession. Texas's State Board for Educator Certification has developed a framework of assumptions to facilitate the design of a system to ensure that all educators are recruited,…

This report contains a synopsis of all public education waivers to improve student achievement granted to Texas school districts during the period from September 1, 1991 through August 31, 1992. The purpose of the waivers is to set aside a requirement or prohibition imposed by state law that inhibits student achievement. The state's educational…

This article considers different ways in which research and policy are connected in an era of educational reform. The relationship between public policy, school reform, and educational research is examined from a political perspective. The article focuses on the uses of research in recent state-level reform activities in Texas. (JL)

This report of the Committee on Student Learning to the 73rd Texas Legislature addresses committee structure and membership, the charges to the committee as established in House Bill 2885, and the committee's key actions during its first year. The committee focused on receiving research and discussing issues related to outcomes-driven education,…

Volume 3, the third of eight publications developed by the Intercultural Development Research Association as part of the "Texas School Dropout Survey Project," describes a tracking study developed to measure the magnitude of the dropout problem in Texas. The tracking of 1,500 students who had withdrawn from schools in 10 districts is…

Volume 7, the seventh of eight publications developed by the Intercultural Development Research Association as part of the "Texas School Dropout Survey Project" focuses on study methods and procedures. It includes all surveys, protocols, and instructions and documentation of procedures used in the Texas Dropout Survey Project. Included…