This twelfth edition of "Measuring up to the Model: A Ranking of State Charter School Laws" evaluates each state's public charter school law against the 21 essential components of a strong charter school law. These 21 components are drawn from the National Alliance's "A New Model Law for Supporting the Growth of High-Quality Public…

Research has demonstrated that principals have a powerful impact on school improvement and student learning. Principals play a vital role in recruiting, developing, and retaining effective teachers; creating a school-wide culture of learning; and implementing a continuous improvement plan aimed at increasing student achievement. Leithwood, Louis,…

As the charter sector grows and evolves, information regarding these autonomous public schools of choice evolves as well. Prior to 2015, only a handful of reports included information about the status of students with disabilities in charter schools. In fall 2015, the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools (NCSECS) published a…

The National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools (the Center) is deeply committed to ensuring that students with disabilities have equal access to charter schools and that charter schools are designed and operated to enable success for all students. To accomplish this goal, the Center conducts analyses and releases a comprehensive…

Scant information exists regarding the status of students with disabilities in the charter sector. With the release of the most recent U.S. Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), the National Center for Special Education in Charter Schools (NCSECS) embraced the opportunity to examine these issues across the universe of…

Scant information exists regarding the status of students with disabilities in the charter sector. While there is some understanding of several high-profile issues (e.g., enrollment gaps, counseling out, the provision of special education services, and growth of specialized charter schools), to date, little has been published to verify or disprove…

This report provides six mini-case studies of higher education policy reforms enacted in other states, exploring the important role that state policy leadership played in developing, promoting, and implementing these policies aimed at improving higher education outcomes, and discussing the relevance of each reform effort for California. This…

This issue of "Legislative Review" takes a look at the news in higher education from February 28 to March 4, 2011. This Legislative Review reports that: (1) HB 1263, which deals with the UND Fighting Sioux nickname and logo, was opposed by the SBHE. Board members cited concerns, including the constitutionality of the bill, impact on the…

The California Voting Rights Act of 2001 had the effect, among others, of granting standing for "protected classes" disadvantaged by at-large school board elections to sue their school districts for lack of appropriate representation. This has generated increased legal action along these lines, particularly among Latino communities that…

This report concerning the Louisiana social studies program begins with the process of analyzing and evaluating the current state of affairs in social studies education with a view toward reform. After the introduction, general sections follow to define social studies and to provide a historical and philosophical perspective on the social studies.…

In 1976 the California state legislature adopted Assembly Concurrent Resolution 201, which called for the preparation of a plan to address and overcome, by 1980, the underrepresentation of handicapped students in public higher education institutions in the state. The plan presented here is the result of consultation between the state postsecondary…

This report analyzes the progress made in implementing the Illinois Board of Higher Education's policies on undergraduate education, with particular attention to the status of policy implementation concerning student achievement, scholarship, and general education. The report examines recent trends in the number of Illinois high school graduating…

This manual assists South Carolina service providers in their efforts to comply with components of Public Law 94-142, Education of All Handicapped Children Act, in order to assure that handicapped children receive an appropriate education. The manual is designed as an evaluation tool for school districts to record areas of compliance and to…

Information gathered about postsecondary education in Maine include: enrollment data for both public and private institutions; geographic distribution of out-of-state students; programs of study in public and private institutions for the academic year 1975-76; facilities inventory for public and private institutions; directory of administrative…

This report continues for a second-year analysis of progress made in implementing Illinois State Board of Higher Education policy on secondary education requirements for college admission and improving undergraduate education in Illinois. In particular this report examines the preparation of students for college and their achievement in their…