This theme issue focuses on issues related to high Texas dropout rates among Hispanic and other minority group students and on dropout prevention strategies. "School Finance Inequities Mean Schools Are Not Ready To Teach" (Maria Robledo Montecel) deplores the recent Texas Supreme Court ruling that state educational funding is constitutional, outlines state and national needs for improved school facilities, discusses the relationship of adequate facilities to educational quality, and calls for direct state funding for school buildings. "Equity and Accountability Needed To Reduce Dropout Rates" (Josie Danini Supik) points out that over half of Texas Hispanic students drop out, discusses successful dropout prevention strategies based on valuing all children, and calls for equitable schools that tap minority children's strengths. "Up or Down: The Dropout Dilemma in Texas" (Roy Johnson) challenges Texas Education Agency claims that state dropout rates declined, 1988-95; presents findings based on enrollment data that high school attrition rates during the period increased 27 percent overall, 50 percent for Blacks, and 18 percent for Hispanics; and provides 1995-96 attrition rates by county and race. "What Adults Should Know about Teenagers" provides a bilingual Hispanic teenager's perspective on support needs of students, dropping out, and bilingualism. "Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program Expands" provides an update on the successful dropout prevention program in which at-risk secondary students tutor elementary students. "Our Nation on the Fault Line: Hispanic American Education Dropouts" (excerpt from the report of the President's Advisory Committee on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans) concludes that serious shortcomings in the public education system lead directly to unacceptable dropout rates, exceedingly low numbers of college graduates, and an overall denial of educational excellence to Hispanic Americans. Unrelated to the theme, "'E Pluribus Unum' Strengthened by Multicultural Education" (Frank Gonzales) outlines school reforms that support valuing of ethnic and cultural pluralism. (SV)