Open enrollment in the public schools is a salient aspect of Minnesota education reform. The historical framework of the issue is discussed in the context of the state's politics which involve confrontation, collaboration, and implementation guided by state gubernatorial leadership. Emerging problems are indicated and reform tactics are examined.…

An attitudinal survey of 28 Minnesota legislative and interest-group policy makers in education examined educational groups' fragmentation, linkages, lobbying power, legislators' information resources, and initiation and accommodation between legislators and interest groups. Among the conclusions is that educational lobbyists' power in the…

Due to massive reform initiatives, American states have become major policy makers for public schools. Examines, from a state and a political-influence perspective, the causes, processes, and consequences of the decade-long "education excellence" movement. Places events in historical context, draws upon research findings, and applies an…

Emphasizes the development of an effective planning capability in the state. Describes the policy challenges posed by enrollment decline, then analyzes the content and process of Minnesota's response, focusing on legislative enactments aimed at improving school district planning. (IRT)

An analysis of structured interviews conducted in 1973, 1979, and 1984 with state legislators and school lobbyists and 14 case studies that investigated issues in Minnesota state school policymaking reveal that influence relationships do not correspond to the bureaucratic model. Political leaders influence policymaking far more than do…

This report examines the process through which the Minnesota state government established school policy during the 1970s. The analysis focuses on who shaped state school policy and how they did it. The data come in part from personal interviews to determine the perceptions key participants had of the state school policy system. These interview…