Courts have been reluctant to fully embrace free exercise or equal protection claims of school choice advocates, but recent rulings may have permanently reversed that trend, potentially compelling governments to provide substantially more resources to parochial schools than ever before. The first section of this article summarizes the origin of…

This paper draws on critical race theory to explore the reproduction and enactment of Islamophobia in education policy. It will focus on an unprecedented policy intervention in which the federal Australian government withdrew funding from the largest Islamic private schools in the country. Australia represents a useful context to explore…

Background: In 2009, the Obama Administration announced its intention to rapidly "turn around" 5,000 of the nation's lowest-performing schools. To do so, it relied on the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program to provide temporary funding for states and schools, and to mandate drastic, school-level reforms. Most of these reforms require…

The federal government's student loan programs for higher education convey substantial financial benefits to borrowers because of their broad availability and favorable terms. Of the various provisions included in a federal student loan contract, the option to consolidate individual loans contributes greatly to a borrower's benefits and the cost…

Changing how the federal government reimburses states for foster care has been on the mind of reformers for more than 15 years. In an effort to advance the debate, the Department of Health and Human Services published an issue brief in 2005 that examines the relationship between federal Title IV-E funding and child outcomes at the state level. The…

Dilemmas inherent in new regulations attempting to end age discrimination in federally supported agencies or activities are examined in this article. Recommendations for clarifying and increasing the fairness of such antidiscrimination legislation are offered. (GC)

The federal role in education finance is commonly seen as compensatory. The federal government gives large sums of money to low-income schools and school districts through programs such as Title 1. Yet, this view of federal aid is based solely on direct educational expenditures. The federal government and state governments also support schools…

This report tracks federal spending from 1960 to 2006 and uses current policy and some assumptions to project activity through 2017. The report looks at more than 100 major programs that aim to improve children's lives through income security, health care, social services, food and nutritional aid, housing, education, training, and tax credits and…

Discussion of the role of the federal government in supporting educational technology focuses on its efforts to enhance the growth of computer use in the nation's schools. Highlights include legislation, emphasizing the Hawkins-Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Act of 1988; and programs sponsored by the Department of Education…

This paper examines library network activity in the United States and the past, present, and future roles of the federal government in nationwide library networking. The first chapter describes the history and development of library networks and defines terms used in the report. An examination of the current status of networks in the second…

Analysis of six federal government studies on deinstitutionalization is followed by a discussion of initiatives enacted by the 95th Congress and proposals under consideration in the 96th. Among studies described are reports by the U.S. Government Accounting Office ("Returning the Mentally Disabled to the Community: Government Needs to Do…

Federal support for day care was first proposed in 1971; it remains an issue in 1989. Added to the battles between those who see day care as an educational program and those who view it as a logical extension of state economic assistance to low income families, and between those who favored tax credits and those who advocated direct…

Information is presented on senior fellowships awarded in the United States from 1968 to 1977. Applicants for Guggenheim fellowships were asked to provide information on the applications they made to other fellowship programs in order to identify the major senior fellowship programs. The definition of "senior" was more than five years…

Examines the organizational and political context of decisions directly related to the fate of the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) from 1980 to 1992. This decision-making environment is then analyzed in terms of political values, structures, and strategies. (Contains 59 references.) (Author/KRN)

This document presents the 50th semiannual report on the activities and accomplishments of the Office of Inspector General (OIG), U.S. Department of Education (Department). During this reporting period, the OIG issued 123 audits, inspection reports and memoranda, and closed 95 investigations. As detailed in this report, this office continues to…