Describes how the director of the Office of Human Research Protections has an amiable approach that emphasizes cooperation in oversight of studies with human subjects, but isn't afraid to suspend programs that violate federal regulations. (EV)

This document conveys mandatory policies that have their basis in Federal Law and/or program regulations. It also provides interpretations of Federal Statutes and program regulations initiated by inquiries from State Child Welfare agencies or Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Regional Offices. The manual replaces the Children's…

There is significant interest in reforming retirement plans for public school employees, particularly in light of current market conditions. This paper presents an overview of the various types of state regulation of public pension plans that affect possibilities for reform. Several states have legal protections that effectively prevent a state…

The General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed a grant awarded to the National Partnership To Prevent Drug and Alcohol Abuse by the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The GAO interviewed current and former agency and Partnership officials and reviewed applicable laws, policies, regulations, and…

Identifies flaws in the new Carl Perkins Act: mismatch between purpose and funding; micromanagement; attempts to legislate learning by specifying courses; legislation of methodology such as academic-vocational integration; failure to consider restructuring of the vocational education system; and failure to address the important federal role in…

Examined effects on funding of standardizing the independent living center model. Findings from 55 Independent Living Programs that had complete funding diversity indexes and 58 that had designated their total budgets revealed that more programs tended to become compliant over time, but funding also became more diverse over time regardless of…

Promoters of the Fiesta Football Bowl offered the universities of Alabama and Louisville $400,000 each to fund minority-exclusive scholarships. The Department of Education declared minority-exclusive scholarships illegal. Documents the historically uneasy relationship between race-based scholarships and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.…

Much attention has been focused on the accountability, student learning outcomes, transfer of credit, and illegal file sharing provisions of the two related bills that have moved through the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives to amend and extend the provisions of the 1965 Higher Education Act (S. 1642 and H.R. 4137). One of the…

The organization and format of this primer which is designed for state officials differs from the other two in this series based on the recommendations of the state officials who participated in the Special Education Technical Assistance for Charter Schools (SPEDTACS) Project state team meetings convened to assist in the development of the set of…

Since its enactment in 1975, the federal special education law, now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), has made each state responsible for the compliance of all their local education agencies (LEAs) and other public agencies that provide special education for students with disabilities. The 2004 reauthorization of the…

This paper is the Office for Civil Rights's (OCR's) "Annual Report to Congress" for fiscal years 2007 and 2008. This report details OCR's accomplishments in enforcing the civil rights laws under which OCR has been granted jurisdiction to address and remedy discrimination. These enforcement efforts include complaint investigation and resolution,…

Various legal methods, such as copyright, trade secret, and patent law, protect proprietary rights in computer software. Users of this software must respect these rights or face infringement lawsuits. (TE)

In ruling on Title IX, lower federal courts have had to determine whether it affords a private cause of action for alleged violations in addition to the disciplinary procedure explicitly established under the Act. In Cannon v. University of Chicago the Supreme Court confronted this issue for the first time. (MLW)

In the next few years employers will frequently be confronted with the fact that they cannot rely on undocumented, subjective selection procedures. As long as disparate impact exists in employee selection, employers will be required to validate whatever selection procedures they use. (Author/IRT)

Examines the drafting of regulations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination against handicapped persons by recipients of federal funds. Available from Harvard Legislative Research Bureau, Langdell Hall, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA 02138; single copy $4.00. (Author/IRT)