Based on a study of how eight states have pursued educational reform, this booklet reviews new issues facing school finance as a result of the recent upsurge of interest in educational improvement. The booklet has four sections. The first section discusses changing state fiscal and political contexts within which reforms are being debated. Section…

From 1989 until 1998 the U.S. Department of Education administered the National Workplace Literacy Demonstration Program. During that period, over $130 million supported some 300 projects where adult education programs partnered with thousands of businesses, agencies, and organizations to provide work-based skills to employees. While only seven…

One of six projects funded by P.L. 93-247 state grant money, the Foster Child Advocate Services (FOCAS) Project established a guardian "ad litem" program in which court-approved members of the community volunteered to visit children in Texas State Department of Human Resources Conservatorships. Part I of the report, describing the…

Because increased need for child protective services exceeded the Texas Department of Human Services' capacity for timely response, a 2-year Case Decision Project was implemented with the aim of applying automation to parts of the case investigation process. The project produced a Case Investigation Decision Support System with two sections: a…

In July of 1986, the Legislative Budget Board requested that the Texas Department of Human Services (DHS) provide information concerning the number of absences in DHS-paid child day care during fiscal year 1985, and the costs associated with the absences. To fulfill this request, DHS conducted a study to (1) identify by provider type the numbers…

Representatives of several states met to identify basic elements of a tracking system designed to ensure that disabled and at-risk infants and their families receive continuous and appropriate services to improve health and developmental outcome. Discussants explored six clusters of questions concerning the following: realistic goals and…

The Office of Education Guidance and Counseling Project for Adult Basic Education in Region VII includes five state programs, each run somewhat autonomously, in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, for which joint training preparations were made. In Phase I of the Project the central staff gathered statistical data on students,…

Project FOLLOW-UP was conducted to develop, test, and validate a statewide management information system for follow-up of Texas public junior and community college students. This activities manual provides an overview of the resultant student information system (TEX-SIS) and its characteristics. Seven subsystems comprise SIS, each with its own…

Project FOLLOW-UP was conducted to develop, test, and validate a statewide management information system for follow-up of Texas public junior and community college students. The results of this project was a student information system (TEX-SIS) consisting of seven subsystems: (1) Student's Educational Intent, (2) Nonreturning Student Follow-up,…

An evaluation model was developed to measure the effectiveness of pilot programs in vocational education for handicapped persons in selected State schools and State hospitals in Texas. The model was field-tested by conducting evaluations of 16 pilot programs in vocational education for the handicapped located in seven State schools/hospitals. Data…

This report interprets information from the first phase of a Federally funded adult basic educational guidance and counseling project in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Findings and conclusions are presented as to the cultural, psychological, and other characteristics of students; problems encountered in designing guidance…

Originally designed as a summer program to be offered through the network of bookmobiles and rural public libraries in the state, the Texas Reading Club is now also promoted year round by school and institutional libraries to encourage young readers and to acquaint them with libraries and their services. A theme, formats and ideas, and basic…

The Accelerated Schools Project (ASP) in Texas attempts to improve schooling for students in at-risk situations. Rather than lowering expectations for these learners, the ASP attempts to accelerate progress by maximizing their talent development. The accelerated schools movement in Texas spread rapidly, but few actual data have been collected…

This long-range plan was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA; Public Law 98-480) and to guide the Texas State Library and Archives Commission in the fulfillment of its statutory mission. The plan provides a framework for the establishment or expansion of programs to carry out the purposes…

This two-part report describes various strategies for involving the private sector in job training programs and summarizes a study conducted with prime sponsors of Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) programs in Texas. Included in a discussion of involving the private sector in job training programs are the following topics: the new…