Historically, U.S. school districts have led schooling, while state education agencies (SEAs) have held a largely regulatory role in school improvement. Yet, a recent reform strategy, the "state takeover," allows an SEA to assume direct governance of a low-performing district -- potentially creating a much more active role for state…

Presenters at the State of the States Roundtable session at the 2014 National Education Finance Conference in Louisville were invited to submit their papers for publication. These papers address the following topics: (1) State issues affecting P-12 and/or higher education funding; (2) Funding priorities/trends for P-12 and/or higher education; (3)…

In February 2015 a large group of scholars, researchers, and practitioners interested in P-20 finance issues gathered in St. Louis, Missouri, for the National Education Finance Academy's annual conference, on February 25-27, 2015 to discuss, among multiple topics, the state of P-20 finance in all 50 states. There were 35 states represented in the…

The State of Arkansas, through legislation, has set new standards for schools of education. The new standards mandate changes affecting the following: (1) National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) approval for all teacher education programs in the state; (2) general education requirements for education students that are the…

Two surveys were conducted during July-September 2000 at the request of the Arkansas School Boards Association (ASBA). Their purpose included identifying specific legislative issues that the organization would include in its legislative agenda for the 2001 session. Responses detailed board members' involvement in state and federal policymaking and…

This presentation addresses aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act of relevance to day care centers in Arkansas. First, Title I of the Act which addresses discrimination in employment is summarized including definition of "individual with a disability," reasonable accommodations, identifying essential functions, want ads,…

Teacher testing began in Arkansas when the governor threatened to veto a 1% sales tax if a teacher testing bill were not passed. With enactment of Act 76 in 1983, an instrument was developed for field testing in 1984 over objections of the Arkansas Education Association. The test, the Arkansas Educational Skills Assessment, is comprised of 50…

A study identified misconceptions about resource allocation for teacher salaries that generate distrust among stakeholders, and the study examined an Arkansas legislative response to that distrust. Methodology consisted of three questionnaires. The first one was administered to the state financial director/coordinator in each state department of…

Act 34, the School Finance Act of 1983, was legislated in Arkansas to provide financial equity for all school districts. The comparison of school equity before and after the passage of the school finance law on 14 different measures is the purpose of this paper. Equity is measured for two different years: 1982-1983, the last year before passage of…

This paper discusses the historical background of the creationist movement, presents Federal Judge Overton's analysis of why and how the Creationists got the equal time evolution/creation teaching law passed in Arkansas, and examines how scientists and educators are reacting to the controversy. Creationists were set back when Overton declared…

In a poor state such as Arkansas, progress is often a slow and painful process. Particularly in the area of teacher salaries, school funding plans are often thwarted by budget shortfalls. Court decisions and efforts to stabilize and equalize school funding and local property taxes have led to political battles over taxation. Constitutional…

A study explored, through a review of the literature, specific problems that scholars have identified regarding free expression in student publications since "Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier" (1988). It then analyzed the six state statutes which were passed to clarify the extent of school administrators' rights to censor student journalism and…

This paper reviews research concerning the attitudes that principals, journalism advisers, high school journalism press association directors, and student editors hold toward student publications, and it reviews research concerning effective political strategies. The study focuses particularly on the strategies employed by supporters of student…

State legislation that has contributed to the reduction of Arkansas' tax base is described in this paper. Amendment 59, adopted in 1980, has reduced the state tax base by millions of dollars. At the end of 1992, the majority of school districts have equalized their real, personal, and carrier and utility property. Act 34, the current foundation…

Instead of adopting an entirely new school finance system to replace an inequitable system threatened by lawsuits, the Arkansas legislature has chosen to repair Act 34 of 1983. Two major changes enacted in 1993 (recalculation of state aid for districts experiencing growth and a change in a district's real property charges when calculating state…