This report summarizes results of a survey of states, teacher centers, and professional organizations on the status of teacher inservice and staff development. The 43 states and the District of Columbia that responded to the survey have a state level plan for both inservice and professional development. Some, by law, require implementation of the…

School staff members need continuing opportunities to learn and grow because the waves of social change strike them first and most powerfully. Research on effective schools tends to stress staff development as crucial. School boards are involved in the development of their staff. A staff development program of broad scope and sharp focus can…

Six policy issues emerging from a Midwest dissemination conference on the Richardson Study are highlighted. The focus is on facilitating policy initiatives in gifted education among local and state school districts. Policy statements on each of the following issues are cited: improving identification procedures; articulating goals, programs, and…

The theme article of this issue, "Addressing Teenage Pregnancy and Parenthood" by Brenda Greene, explains that pregnant students and those who are already parents have the same legal rights to public education as do all other students. To meet this responsibility and to lower dropout rates, schools need to make educational opportunities available…

This manual is intended to serve independent schools beginning strategic planning methods. Chapter 1, "The Case for Strategic Planning," suggests replacing the term "long range planning" with the term "strategic planning," which emphasizes change. The strategic planning and policy development process begins with…

This study examines local, ongoing inservice practices and programs for school board members in Pennsylvania in order to devise a program that local districts can adapt or adopt in response to their own needs. Following a brief introduction, a summary describes how data for the study were gathered by means of a series of interviews and…

The National School Boards Association proposed to the United States Department of Education a project, "Building Character in the Public Schools," designed to enhance character development in the schools through involvement of more than 15,000 local school boards in this country. The project had two overall goals: to heighten national awareness…

This monograph outlines the "Long-Range Plan" for Texas public schools, which was implemented by the state board of education in compliance with legislative mandate. The plan, to be reevaluated and updated each biennium, originated from the perceived needs of a diverse and changing demography. The report presents listings of state board…

This paper reports a 2-year study of education policy that sought to identify, describe, and analyze the essential building blocks of state-level education policy and to discover the factors responsible for creating differences among states in their use of these elements to construct an overall framework for school regulation and support. Sample…