An examination of the authority, the structure, and the activities of school councils, as revealed through relevant literature, field visits, workshops, interviews, and other channels open to the Institute for Responsive Education, reveals that most councils have little responsibility or power to affect educational decision-making, and rarely are…

A vast number of different types of citizens' groups participate in the educational process with differing degrees of involvement. Besides school-oriented groups, there are child advocacy and neighborhood associations, other citizens groups that have broad concerns but are in part interested in schools, and the advisory committees created by legal…