In this dissertation, I analyze the development and dissemination of state-level policies to prohibit colleges from considering criminal history for purposes of admissions otherwise known as ban the box in higher education. This research engages with practical and instructive questions of how individuals or coalitions can learn from other policy…

Just 18 minutes before the midnight signing deadline on May 15, 2010, Minnesota state legislators breathed a sigh of relief. Their bipartisan pension reform legislation, which passed both chambers by large margins and aimed to help shore up a potentially failing pension system, had just escaped a veto threat. Under pressure from his Republican…

Higher education must tell legislatures how the state should raise the money the colleges want to spend--even if it means higher taxes--and then lobby on behalf of those proposals. This also means addressing new and potentially controversial issues about the role of colleges in state politics. (MLW)

State legislatures are writing more legislation to deal with the day-to-day operation of schools. Special interests, energy, inflation, and declining enrollments have all been the subject of a broad spectrum of legislation. (Author/MLF)

Description of a course involving students in the Michigan state political process. The students investigated a legislative bill intended to reduce throwaway drink containers by summarizing relevant literature, conducting consumer surveys, and performing self-initiated projects. Journal available from Faculty of Modern Studies, Oxford Polytechnic,…

The current status of state policy on minimum competency testing in Wisconsin, and the political process that produced that policy, are explored in this report. The document presents the preliminary findings of research conducted for a doctoral dissertation. The research methodology, mentioned only briefly, involved participant observation,…

Discusses the use of lobbying by education interest groups in the political process. Suggests lobbying strategies and techniques effective at the state level. (FMW)

An exploration of the decision-making processes of state legislators on public school finance issues focuses on major school finance changes that occurred in Michigan in 1973 and in Washington and Missouri in 1977. Roll call votes, primarily in the lower chambers of the state legislatures, on both selected amendments and the complete versions of…

The student's kit and teacher's manual provide a framework for secondary students to simulate the functionings of Georgia's General Assembly. Objectives of the simulation are to help students: (1) experience the forces and conflicts involved in lawmaking, (2) learn about the role of legislators, (3) understand and discuss issues facing citizens,…

The major goal of this book is to improve the public's understanding of the legislative branch of the state government in Connecticut. It is divided into seven sections: (1) the political tradition and environment of the state legislature; (2) the state legislature as a nonpartisan institution; (3) the substance of the legislature; (4) the…