"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Senate Committee Passes Education Appropriations Bill; (2) Upside Down: New Alliance Brief Says Federal Education…

In the past, rural America often relied on Washington for policy responses to its challenges, but federal policy has been slow to adapt to the broad changes taking place in so many rural communities. New approaches to rural policy have taken root in some states. Georgia's OneGeorgia Authority will oversee a series of economic development programs…

In 1995, Georgia became the first U.S. state to provide universal prekindergarten to 4 year olds. Although the lottery-funded program has received more attention from policymakers than any other program, there has been no systematic effort to chronicle the program's evolution or to draw lessons from its experience. This report illustrates the…

While current early education and care funding still reaches only a fraction of preschool children, some states now have considerable experience in coordinating subsidized child care, Head Start, and state prekindergarten initiatives to enhance early education and learning opportunities for young children. Drawing on the experiences of Georgia,…

A pilot survey, administered in 1972, was designed to assess a rough cross section of attitudes toward birth control in both black and white neighborhoods. A survey of 41 male and 39 female white residents of Decatur, Georgia, was conducted primarily to get an indication of how attitudes held by whites relate to feelings about family planning…

Recommendations regarding student financial aid in Georgia, criteria for judging how well recommended policies are being met, and study findings of an assessment conducted by the Governor's Committee on Postsecondary Education are presented. Attention is directed to the following concerns: responsibility for the financial assistance of…

A comprehensive set of recommended policies for Georgia that address the student financial aid and related postsecondary education goals and objectives, and criteria that serve as definitions and standards for judging how well the policies are being met are presented. Based on a review of financial aid programs, the Governor's Committee on…