As state legislatures go to work this year, one of the overriding questions is whether 2012 will bring a reprise of last year's frenzied work on education--much of it shepherded by newly elected Republican majorities and governors--or whether elected officials will take a more deliberate and cautious approach. Last year, many governors and…

Teachers' unions find themselves on the defensive in states across the country, as governors and lawmakers press forward with proposals to target job protections and benefits that elected officials contend the public can no longer afford academically or financially. Many of those efforts are being driven by newly elected Republicans, who have…

The 2008 state legislative season launches this month under a fiscal cloud in a number of states, where ambitious education initiatives--including expanded pre-K programs, college- or career-preparation efforts, and improved teacher pay--may end up being balanced against gloomy revenue projections. A revenue slowdown--foreshadowed last month in…

In this article, the author talks about the Shays-Farrell race as one of three closely watched contests in Connecticut that could help determine control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the midterm elections November 7. U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, a Republican, and Diane Farrell, a Democratic, are the candidates for the state's 4th…

Despite rosy economic news, highlighted by the 8.2 percent surge in the nation's economy in the third quarter of 2003, state coffers aren't growing at pace to meet the needs of schools and other high-priority programs such as Medicaid and prisons. Last month, many states started issuing estimates of how the money they'll have to spend in the 2005…