School choice policies allow parents to exercise an active role in selecting the school or educational program their children attend. This report reviews development of school choice policies at the national and state levels. Rationales for school choice programs and key components of these programs are noted. Eight types of school choice programs…

The rhetoric of the community colleges presents them as democratizing agents, enabling the underprivileged to move upward in society through education. While this is their purpose, the community colleges also aspire to gain acceptance as regular members of the system of higher education. In Connecticut, the image of the community colleges suffers…

A program officer at the Ford Foundation traces her experiences as student and "young trustee" at Vassar, graduate student at Columbia University during the early '70s, and teacher at Staten Island Community College. The challenge of diversity that she encountered in the '70s is seen as still prevalent today. (MLW)

About 150 educators, administrators, and officials of public and private educational agencies took part in three days of discussions that focused on equal opportunity and the related issues of: (1) access, placement, and retention; (2) black colleges; (3) standardized tests; (4) needed change in white attitudes; (5) open admissions; (6)…

This study examines results of integration programs in cities relatively similar in size and ethnic composition to San Diego. Pertinent case studies, conflicting experimental research findings, and group attitudes reflected in opinion polls are described and evaluated. A summary of the major conclusions and an annotated bibliography complete the…

This document argues that for the 1.8 million students attending the 731 rural community colleges in the United States, the community college is often the only option for higher education. However, both access and excellence for rural students are being negatively impacted by recent federal and state policy that has decreased funding to community…

This book contends that choice is critical to the process by which parents, students, and teachers can build consensus that allows a community of learning to emerge. It argues that the key to meaningful school choice is a system of tuition vouchers involving nongovernment schools, together with deregulation, which will foster an education that is…

Current social, economic, and policy trends threaten to erase the gains in educational access and attainment minorities have made since 1960. The educational reform movements of the past two decades reinforced the concepts of equity and opportunity, but in the face of financial exigency and retrenchment, driven by state legislatures and public…

Dedicated to the memory of Raymond E. Schultz, the essays in this monograph discuss the role of the community college in serving minority students. An introductory essay by Fred F. Harcleroad summarizes Schultz's contributions to community college education. John E. Roueche then discusses the provision of equal educational opportunity to…

Explains and analyzes open-enrollment plans, current open-enrollment legislation, and the Omaha (Nebraska) School District's attempt to balance goals of integration and open enrollment. Provides recommendations for educational and legislative reform in the area of public school choice. (198 references) (MLF)

In 1970 the City University of New York (CUNY) initiated an open admissions policy that aimed to create an unusually high level of educational opportunity, especially for low-income minority youth. Opponents asserted that this policy so degraded academic standards that CUNY's diplomas lost their value. Using a data set with extensive information…

This monograph documents major events in the Cincinnati (Ohio) School District (CSD) in 1990-91 concerning the Bronson Settlement, which was the result of a racial segregation suit against the CSD (Mona Bronson, et al. v. Board of Education of the City of Cincinnati). The Bronson Settlement ordered changes in nine areas of the CSD. This report…

THESE PROCEEDINGS ARE OPENED BY A WELCOMING STATEMENT BY JOSHUA A. FISHMAN, WHICH IS FOLLOWED BY A DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT BEACON OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION OF YESHIVA UNIVERSITY. THE PAPERS PRESENTED ARE (1) AN INTRODUCTION BY STANLEY H. LOWELL, (2) "SHALL SCHOOL BOARDS BE COLOR-BLIND OR COLOR-CONSCIOUS," BY WILL MASLOW, (3)…

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE EVALUATED SUCH EXISTING DESEGREGATION EFFORTS AS OPEN ENROLLMENT, ZONING, THE FREE CHOICE TRANSFER POLICY, FEEDER PATTERN CHANGES, AND PAIRING PROPOSALS. THEY DECIDED THAT DESEGREGATION WOULD NOT BE EFFECTIVE UNLESS OTHER MEASURES WERE UNDERTAKEN. RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDED ESTABLISHING COMPREHENSIVE 4-YEAR HIGH SCHOOLS BUILT…

The steps which led to the establishment of the Open University in Great Britain and the intentions of its founders are first described, with particular attention paid to the needs it was intended and not intended to meet. Following this is an examination of the evidence to date of the University's success in reaching its target student…