Since the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, state teams have been preparing their state plans aligned with ESSA for submission in April or September 2017 to the U.S. Department of Education. Because ESSA lands much of the decision-making and responsibility in education at the state and local levels, state education leaders…

This report provides six mini-case studies of higher education policy reforms enacted in other states, exploring the important role that state policy leadership played in developing, promoting, and implementing these policies aimed at improving higher education outcomes, and discussing the relevance of each reform effort for California. This…

Educational productivity offers a perspective but not a solution for many of the problems in American education. Because education produces several different products, several kinds of educational policy outcomes can be defined as productivity increases. These include improving classroom methods, curriculum structure, curriculum content,…

Relates the history of First Impressions, an early childhood initiative in Colorado. Insights gleaned from the First Impressions story are offered for advocates of early childhood education. (BG)

The First Impressions initiative was created in 1987 by Governor Roy Romer of Colorado to increase public awareness of the critical importance of the first 5 years of life, assist communities in developing effective programs for young children and their families, and influence early childhood policy and practice. In 1991-92, the priorities of…

The management plan for 1979-81 of the Minnesota Higher Education Coordinating Board provides an outline of the major functions and programs assigned to the board, a general outline of the role and scope of the board as an agency of the state, a statement of the mission of the board staff, an organizational chart, a board calendar for 1979-81, and…

The Management Information System for Occupational Education (MISOE) supports policy formation at two levels. On the static level, MISOE provides managers with data about students, teachers, administrators, costs, and the social impacts of educational programs which are essential to the accurate analysis of present policy. On another level, the…

This report has three objectives: (1) to identify social indicators relating to policy concerns of the legislature, state board of education, and commissioner of education; (2) to predict the future status of selected social indicators, using the assumption that present policies will be continued; and (3) to recommend policy changes for achieving…

A rebuttal is offered to the criticisms made of the State Education Department (SED) and its Board of Regents in a program audit of the Legislative Commission on Expenditure Review (LCER). Comments of four major types are made. First, the Regents contend that the LCER report ignored many of the SED's activities in the area of instructional fixed…

A state educational indicator system being developed by the Pennsylvania Educational Policy Studies (PEPS) project at the University of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) is described. The extensive database that has been established as part of the PEPS project includes thousands of variables that are descriptive of the 500 Pennsylvania school districts.…

Based upon testimony before the National Governor's Association Task Force on Technology, this article identifies important considerations that state education agencies should take into account in developing educational technology plans and strategies. Policy recommendations are given, including the creation of interstate consortia for software…

This report examines progress made as well as strategies and programs that promote the postsecondary education and employability of Florida's disabled citizens. Data suggest that less than 1.0% of university students in Florida are reported disabled, while 1.2% of students at the State's community colleges are disabled and 5.9% of school district…

This monograph provides information on the State Advisory Councils on Vocational Education (SACVE) mandated by the Vocational Education Act of 1963, as amended in 1968. Section I discusses the SACVE and its responsibilities. Section II focuses on the increased emphasis and added responsibilities given to the SACVE under the Vocational Education…

This report reviews California higher education academic program evaluation activities from July 1988 through June 1989. An introductory chapter discusses the meaning and purposes of program evaluation, accreditation, and outcomes assessment at institutional and state levels and the Commission's role. The second chapter reports on planning for new…

This survey sought to identify the status of state policies on Individual Family Service Plans (IFSP) required by Public Law 99-457. The survey found that every state plans to develop or review IFSP policies, even the three states who said they had existing policies which they thought might currently meet the Part H requirements on service…