This study, jointly conducted by the University of Warwick Institute for Employment Research (IER) and SQW Ltd., discusses the UK Government's intention to accelerate the process of ceding more responsibility for delivering a range of services to the local level. The logic is that local actors are better placed to identify local priorities. This…

In this article, Murphy, Strothers, and Lugg, focus on one urban center, Newark, as an illustrative case study of how New Jersey's brand of neoliberal politics has shaped the political agency of those who live in the communities served by New Jersey's public schools. The city, like other New Jersey locales, has had a long history of political…

Many layers of education governance press upon U.S. schools, so we separated state actors into those internal to and those external to the system. In the process, we unpacked the traditional state-local dichotomy. Using interview data (n = 45) from six case-study states, we analyzed local leaders', state-internal actors', and state-external…

The first eight years of life, beginning before birth and continuing through third grade, are a critical developmental period that sets the stage for future success. Research over the past 15 years has demonstrated the importance of high-quality care and education throughout the prenatal-through-third-grade (P-3) continuum, including prenatal and…

Sponsored by the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP), the second edition of this groundbreaking handbook assembles in one place the existing research-based knowledge in education finance and policy, with particular attention to elementary and secondary education. Chapters from the first edition have been fully updated and revised…

Achieve has put together a set of materials--"Taking Root: Strategies for Sustaining the College- and Career-Ready Agenda"--that seeks to help states develop and implement strategies to support the sustainability of the college- and career-ready agenda. This sustainability audit was created for states to use to evaluate their own…

The institutional landscape of K-12 educational contracting is fundamentally changing. Based on industry and district data, this study identifies three distinct shifts in the content and structure of interactions between suppliers of instructional goods and local school systems. These shifts include 1) elevation of test-related services and…

The United States is undergoing a transition as state governments reclaim responsibilities that the federal government had assumed earlier in the century. Sorting out which governmental body should take charge of various services is the subject of this report. It focuses on two critical issues in the relationship between state and local…

This paper provides an overview of the controversy concerning "freedom of choice" desegregation plans and presents a case study of the plan adopted by Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1981. Following the introduction, a short explanation of the plan's distinctive feature, controlled open enrollment, is given. (Under controlled open…

Defines the problem and causes of homelessness, suggests a comprehensive policy approach, and describes its implementation in Massachusetts. (CMG)

This report documents the recent course of events in government spending, taxing, and employment at all three levels of government. It also speculates on the nature and causes of fiscal containment in its myriad forms. The report devotes one chapter to a case study of city budgets in Los Angeles during the five years of rapid growth immediately…

New Jersey is strengthening its high-technology economy by encouraging technology transfer through supporting advanced technology centers, funding academic researchers for technical problems of immediate industry interest and application, and forming other, less-structured alliances. Better interaction between the state's research community and…

The second in a two-part series, this volume presents 13 chapters discussing many of the most pressing cable policy issues facing local government, describing alternative policy options, and suggesting regulatory procedures successfully used by decision makers in the United States. Topics covered are (1) "The Rationale for Regulation,"…

The question of how women are faring under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) has received little attention. Of particular concern is whether, and how successfully, JTPA is reaching and serving those sub-groups of women in poverty, such as displaced homemakers and AFDC (welfare) mothers, who face particularly difficult barriers to employment…

Development of the concept of quality within higher education, at both government and institutional levels, is traced, focusing on differences in state and institutional approaches and concerns in the pursuit of quality. Miami-Dade Community College (Florida) illustrates one approach. Relative impact of different approaches on the public interest…