There is a growing call to reconsider current approaches to national and state assessment system policies and practices. State and local education agency leaders, educators, community leaders, and advocates have voiced concerns that current state assessment systems--defined primarily by end-of-year multiple-choice tests--are unable to meet…

This article reviews the historical context in which Canadian legislation and policy for children with special needs has evolved. The potential for the rights of students with special needs in light of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is outlined. The role of the Federal and Provincial governments in legislation and policy vis-à-vis…

This article examines the recent expansion of the federal role into teacher workforce policy, primarily as embodied by the Race to the Top Fund of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Such recent federal teacher workforce policy reflects an important expansion of the federal role into a policy domain that deserves more attention. The…

This article offers an analysis of the origins, evolution, and impact of the Obama administration's Race to the Top (RTTT) competitive grant program and places it in the broader context of the debate over the No Child Left Behind Act and the shifting intergovernmental relations around education. RTTT is fundamentally about two things: creating…

Last Thursday, the House of Representatives passed the College Opportunity and Affordability Act in a vote of 354-58. This legislation, H.R. 4137, moves Congress one step closer to the long-awaited reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which governs federal student financial aid and other programs that promote access for low-income…

This report examines the problem of school facility disparities in Michigan and the prospects of litigation to address this problem. First, the authors briefly review evidence of the important impact of school facilities on students, teachers, and communities. They then provide an overview of litigation aimed at state school finance systems across…

Fourth in a series, this report provides a descriptive and analytical review of legislation affecting community and junior colleges which has been introduced or enacted during 1978. It includes factual information on the bills as reported by the states as well as an interpretative evaluation and synthesis of major developments. Legislation is…

In June 1989, the Kentucky Supreme court ruled the state's elementary and secondary school system unconstitutional. A Task Force on Education Reform provided recommendations to the General Assembly for reforming the educational system which resulted in the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990. This act mandates the creation of a system of public…

Over the past two years, the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) has made such extensive compromises in implementing the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)that the law's legitimacy is in serious question. In response to growing state and local opposition to the law, political and professional criticisms of its requirements, and the…

For nearly 50 years, the unemployment insurance program has functioned as a unique and largely successful intergovernmental effort. From its inception, federal and state governments have each had principal jurisdiction over particular aspects of the program and both have shared responsibilities for others. The distribution of authority and…

Based upon a survey of the community and junior college state directors in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, this five-part report presents an analytical and descriptive review of state legislation affecting community colleges. Part I discusses study methodology and describes the two survey instruments--one soliciting information on relevant…

Based upon a survey of the community and junior college state directors in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, this five-part report presents an analytical and descriptive review of state legislation affecting community colleges. Part I discusses study methodology and describes the two survey instruments--one soliciting information on relevant…

The triad or tripartite concept of school governance is a theory for the involvement of state, federal, and accrediting group oversight of schools. The author, who is the Executive Director of the National Home Study Council points to six problem areas in this theory of institutional regulation: (1) there is a lack of cooperation and communication…

Based on a survey of state directors of community and junior college education in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, this five-part report presents an analytical and descriptive review of 1981 state legislation affecting community colleges. Part I presents study methodology and describes the two survey instruments, one soliciting information on…

This report focuses on a study that examined whether the implementation of the sex equity provision of the 1976 Vocational Education Amendments has resulted in equitable access to and benefit from the nation's vocational education system by women and men, girls and boys. The study focused on such issues as funding mechanisms; federal and state…