This report looks at the early efforts of states to implement the elementary and secondary education provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The findings are drawn from a survey of officials in state education agencies and governors' offices in 44 states and the District of Columbia. Key findings concern the financial…

Several states had an assessment that they considered to be an alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) in place, or in development, when the April 2007 federal regulations on modified achievement standards were finalized. This article uses publicly available information collected by the National Center on…

This article provides merchandising, housing, and design professionals, as well as educators, with a clear understanding of the program objectives and development of the Upholstered Furniture Action Council (UFAC), an industry-driven voluntary product safety association. The central mission of UFAC is to conduct research on cigarette-ignition…

Several months into a credit crunch that has led at least 20 lenders to leave the guaranteed loan program or suspend their lending operations, lawmakers have begun to respond with a sense of urgency, even as they seek to reassure students and parents that a crisis is unlikely and that federal student loans will still be available this fall. In the…

When Congress passed the GI Bill, it linked the accreditation process with the distribution of federal funds. As Congress saw it, accreditation would ensure accountability without subjecting institutions to harmful external controls. While accreditation began as a voluntary system, it has now become virtually mandatory. Policymakers and trustees…

The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) submits these comments in response to the US Department of Education's (ED) draft requirements, priorities, selection criteria, and definitions for the Race to the Top District (RTT-D) competition. DQC applauds ED for including the following components of the proposal: (1) Data is acknowledged throughout the…

This letter is submitted to comment on the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) proposed revisions to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's (ARRA) State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF), as published in the September 23, 2011, Federal Register. Overall, the Data Quality Campaign believes the proposed changes strike a sensible balance: they…

The U.S. Department of Education, overriding opposition from colleges and accreditors, is pushing ahead with a plan to remake American higher education by requiring that colleges show results if they want to remain eligible for more than $90-billion in federal student aid. At the end of a three-day session last month, representatives of colleges…

Across the United States, school districts are working to turnaround their lowest performing schools in order to meet the requirements of Adequate Yearly Progress mandated by the "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2001. These failing schools are facing district, state, and federal sanctions of closure, takeover, or restructuring. A new…

This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) paper, which was prepared at the request of the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, compares athletic departments' share of revenue from commercial sources with that of the rest of the schools' activities to assess the degree of their commercialization. It also discusses the benefits of…

Currently, the federal government administers several programs that aim to address the "unique educational and culturally related academic needs" (Title VII, Part A, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 2002) of Native American students. What does this mean for today's teachers and learners? Unfortunately, the drive to significantly raise…

Most public schools are funded through a combination of local, state, and federal sources. Each funding stream is often accompanied by a host of regulations on how schools and districts can use the funds. Often such regulations can be highly restrictive, limiting the ability of schools to align their budgets with their instructional programs.…

This book offers a clear-eyed and balanced analysis of for-profit colleges and universities (FPCUs), reviewing their history, business strategies, and management practices; setting them in the context of marketplace conditions, the framework of public policy and government regulations; and viewing them in the light of the public good. Individual…

The movement to strengthen and expand the role of religious groups in social services has had a significant effect on sex education in this country. In part because of the government support they receive, religious conservatives have come to dominate the public discourse on faith and sexuality. This obscures the fact that other, more progressive…

The Secretary amends title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations to establish regulations for the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant program. The TEACH Grant program is a non-need-based grant program that provides up to $4,000 per year to students who are enrolled in an eligible program and who agree to…