This article maps the genealogies of how California and Texas have dealt with school policy. The twin purpose is to shed light onto the dynamics governing the formation of K-12 education policy in two influential and different states, and visualizing the intensification of state-federal interaction that has gradually evolved into a national school…

All states value their distinct approaches to policy and to life and the U.S. Constitution embeds the idea of state rights and responsibilities as a core principle in the federal system. California arguably takes this further than most. This paper provides a new way to think about how national policies might complicate or augment the next state…

Large numbers of schools across the country are low performing and have been for years. This longstanding and widespread problem painfully reveals that individual schools are not the only ones responsible for their performance. The public school system as a whole is unable, and sometimes unwilling, to address the root causes of dysfunction.…

The trend seems to be in the direction of the federal government recognizing the state as the primary legitimate source for educational policy-making. This is not to say, however, that the federal government has given up trying to accomplish beneficial educational ends because of the limitation that the states' supremacy seems to posit. Public…

To determine whether program evaluation will be an important tool for policymaking and management in the Reagan Administration, it would be helpful to consider what the Reagan administration expected and received from evaluation in California during the period 1971-1974. In California, program evaluation activities were frequently implemented on a…

A survey indicates that the state government has more influence on higher education than federal and local authorities together, but a growth of federal influence is foreseen. (Editor/LBH)

A federal system is better than one that is totally nationalized or left totally in the hands of the states and their districts. The principle undergirding that system is appropriateness. Responsibilities most appropriately handled at the state level ought to rest at that level. Responsibilities best met by the resources and reach of the national…

This report analyzes information from 12 Educational Flexibility Partnership Demonstration (EFD) program state reports submitted to the U.S. Department of Education in spring 2000. The EFD program helps schools and districts implement educational reforms and raise student achievement by providing increased flexibility in implementing federal…

Three movements that have affected the structure of American postsecondary education are the development of governance by lay boards of control, the growth in power of state coordinating bodies, and the emergence of federal regulatory agency authority over postsecondary education. American postsecondary education has been characterized as…

Argues that the Reagan Era's New Federalism hamstrings government by precluding the possibility of a balance of power and responsibilities between state and federal government. Compares this development to the states' rights dilemma freed by John C. Calhoun. Contends that history shows federal inaction produces sectionalism, social cleavage, and…

This dissertation addresses how federalism is portrayed in high school U.S. history textbooks. The guiding questions of this study include: (1) How well do senior high school U.S. history textbooks portray federalism through description of domestic disorders? (2) When domestic disorders are included in these textbooks, how accurately are they…

This document contains proceedings from a hearing held in Washington, D.C., on March 22, 1995, to gather information about the appropriate federal role in establishing national educational guidelines. The goal of the hearing is in conjunction with the overall objective of establishing a framework for policy initiatives that will create an…

Analyzes the struggle to create a federal department of education in the 1920s. Details proponents' arguments in favor of efficiency, national control, and cultural homogeneity. Contends that opponents organized against further expansion of federal power. Places the debate within the larger context of progressivism and nativism. (CH)

The triad or tripartite concept of school governance is a theory for the involvement of state, federal, and accrediting group oversight of schools. The author, who is the Executive Director of the National Home Study Council points to six problem areas in this theory of institutional regulation: (1) there is a lack of cooperation and communication…

This kit, the second of four learning circles on civics and citizenship, explores Australia's federal system of government and the three spheres of government. Introductory materials include lists of 53 print resources, 47 Internet sites, and 7 videos and CDs; and a glossary. Session guides are provided for six sessions: The Three Spheres of…