Practical lessons in lobbying at the state level include the following: practice friendly persuasion and good timing; accentuate the positive; and be consistently accurate and honest. Lists 19 do's and don'ts of lobbying. (MLF)

Presents and evaluates the National Education Association's for-pay software review program. Also reviews the 98th Congress's legislation relating to school software. (MD)

Outlines the components of new teacher warranty programs. They offer two benefits, schools are assured new teachers will be effective, and teacher training institutions can use warranties to bolster their programs. (MD)

Under Rhode Island's new School Accountability for Learning and Teaching (SALT) program, the state gathers information from such sources as statewide performance assessments, in-depth community surveys, and computerized, comparative analyses of school expenditures. Article offers basic guidelines for program evaluation. (MLF)

Examines the idea of establishing a merit pay commission within a school system that would have the authority to make merit pay decisions independent of school administrators. Presents the philosophic and legal issues associated with installing such a commission. (MD)

Presents the findings from a 1985 survey of state legislation and school system policy on child abuse. All 50 states have statutes mandating that child abuse be reported, but there is great variation in how the laws are written and interpreted. Recommends three steps school boards should follow to establish effective child abuse reporting policy.…

The amount of due process tenured teachers are entitled to in some states discourages schools from pursuing dismissals of even the most unsatisfactory teachers. Administrators need to work intensively with new teachers, and administrators' own evaluations should include measures of how effectively they evaluate teachers. (MLF)

Under both the present and the proposed Individuals with Disabilities Education Act law there is no 10-day rule that keeps school administrators from taking strong measures to deal with students who pose a clear and present danger to the safety of others. (Author/MLF)

School board members can be more effective by following four rules: count their votes, comply with open meeting laws, live with press scrutiny, and learn the art of political decision making. (MD)

Overtime lawsuits have been filed against school districts in a growing number of states. Guidelines offered to prevent or at least minimize damaging claims include becoming informed and establishing an accurate record-keeping system. A sidebar describes one Alabama district facing 100 overtime claims. (MLF)

School leaders cannot afford to be bystanders in the campaign to rewrite telecommunications laws and regulations for building the National Information Superhighway. Proposes a coalition representing all public schools to demand recognition in the development of telecommunications policy. (MLF)

Most states are either working on or have adopted statewide standards. A significant number of states plan to link their standards to rigorous new assessments and accountability measures. Districts engaged in standards-based reform must routinely analyze data on student achievement. Sidebars list sources and describe a survey of district programs.…

To uphold constitutionally approved teaching about religion (and refrain from unconstitutional religious indoctrination), schools are advised to adopt an approach that is academic, not devotional. Other responsibilities include, making sure that students' beliefs--especially those who are not religious or are otherwise in the minority--are never…

Recent court decisions and federal guidelines make it clear that school districts must take action to protect gay students. Eleven states have laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Attorneys recommend defining sexual-orientation discrimination, along with other types of discrimination, in nondiscrimination policies,…

Two Constitutional principles--separation of church and state and freedom of speech--have been placed in conflict by the newly established Equal Access Act (1984). Some ways that school boards have found to deal with the confusion are presented. (MD)