School district associations across the country have often opposed charter school legislation as strongly, or more strongly, than have teachers unions. They typically argue charter schools will threaten the tradition of local control of schools by elected officials, drain their financial resources, and distract them from pursuing…

Sixteen pieces of legislation affecting public education in Georgia were passed by the General Assembly in the 1997 session. Eleven of the 16 are notable, and are discussed in this article. They include: (1) House Bill 567, the School Safety Act of 1997, which makes juvenile court records available to the schools and establishes alternative…

Though conventional public schools enroll the vast majority of difficult-to-educate students, many such students who are not accepted by public schools end up at private schools. This report describes the role of private institutions in educating these students, incorporating case studies and analyzing various institutional arrangements. Part 1…

Community schools were created in Ohio to provide additional educational options for children in low-performing schools and to develop innovative teaching and management techniques that may be transferable to traditional public schools. In 1997 the Ohio General Assembly required the Legislative Office of Education Oversight (LOEO) to evaluate the…

The purpose of this paper is to explore funding issues related to charter districts. It begins with definitions of charter school and charter district. It continues with a brief discussion of public-school finance and some of the policy issues associated with distributing state funds to school districts, allowing school districts to generate…

Educators must open their eyes to the intensity of the anti-public-school efforts by many politicians and business leaders. This book provides a defense against those who innocently attack schools with misinformation and those who disingenuously attack schools with disinformation. A total of 18 chapters address 18 criticisms most commonly leveled…

This document consists of the four 1998 issues of the "Journal of Educational Relations," published quarterly to promote student achievement through positive school-home-community relationships. Articles in the first issue include: "Policy Changes May Help Organizers of Charter Schools Meet Expectations" (Alex Medler); "Make Friends Before We Need…

This yearbook's focus is the connection between state responsibility and local control. Its purpose is to analyze the evolving balance between state responsibility for funding K-12 education and local autonomy in operating these schools. The goals of this analysis are twofold; the book seeks to characterize how this relationship has changed, both…

This report analyzes how charter schools handle the education of students with disabilities, with a focus on charter schools in Colorado. It first defines charter schools and notes ambiguities in the legal responsibilities of charter schools and/or their host school districts regarding students with disabilities. The Colorado information is based…

President Bush's comprehensive education plan includes major initiatives in areas ranging from accountability to school safety. While breaking new ground in some areas, Bush's plan accelerates the progress states have made in improving quality, performance, and flexibility in public education. This status report reviews the progress of states in…

This document provides basic background on how public K-12 education is funded in the United States. It is intended to be a tool to help policymakers when creating an alignment between funding and accountability. This survey addresses briefly the following topics: how much public education costs; where the money comes from; how the money is spent;…

The research reported in this document was undertaken to determine the relative costs of educating a child in a charter school and a traditional public school in Michigan. To assess the costs, the following research was done: a review of the laws that govern public schools in Michigan; a review of the statutes that govern the funding of public…

More and more, private for-profit and non-profit organizations are involved in schools. No longer limited to support services like transportation and food services, companies are providing tutoring, directing classroom instruction and managing public and charter schools. School reform has raised the stakes for schools and students, asking for…

The school legislation of the two-year period here under review comprises the most recent enactments of all the States, since all legislatures met within the period, and six States--Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Georgia--whose lawmakers meet annually, held two meetings of their respective legislative…

Discusses the use of a universal choice plan as leverage for a wide range of school improvements in the Springfield Public School System (Massachusetts). The author examines the educational reform movement in terms of change coupled with concurrent development of four transformations: organizational, pedagogical, social/attitudinal, and political.…