Local school districts have gradually lost policy-making discretion to state legislatures and bureaucracies. State-mandated reforms of school finance and academic standards (especially those involving curricular alignment with standardized tests) tend to diminish teacher autonomy and creativity, disrupt school climate, and ignore individual school and student differences. To restore balance, states and central offices can avoid being overprescriptive and local school boards can act as "institutional buffers" and strong leaders with clearly defined roles and objectives as well as effective policy-making, implementation, and self-evaluation procedures. (MLH)