The "Disability Standards for Education 2005" (the Standards) are subordinate legislation to the "Disability Discrimination Act 1992" (the DDA). They do not create new obligations, but seek to clarify education providers' responsibilities under the DDA and ensure that students with disability can access and participate in…

Given that work-based learning (WBL) can -- and should be -- a key driver of student career readiness in these efforts, it is essential that all states have a robust work-based learning continuum of experiences and exposure that spans K-16. WBL is an essential element of career and technical education (CTE), and ExcelinEd's CTE Playbook series…

This presentation was meant to identify for principals some of the issues surrounding the education of the handicapped by the use of questions and answers that include citations of selected federal court cases. Issues discussed include history of the education of the handicapped, problems related to handicapped student identification and testing…

This article presents 11 concrete policy guidelines to help school districts avoid some of the most common problems associated with the implementation of minimal competency testing. (Author/SJL)

There has been little litigation since the Family Medical Leave Act's inception in 1993. This article highlights FMLA's scope of coverage, leave requirements, notice and verification, special rules for employees and local education agencies, employment and leave entitlements, and enforcement. Employers violating the FMLA may have to reinstate and…

The fictive account of a school board's problems with a new policy illustrates the need to involve all affected groups in the policy-making process. The "Sleepy Hollow Board of Education" early in the school year adopts a policy discontinuing social promotions of academically unqualified students. After a year of pressure and protest…

Explores issues of K-12 educators incorporating wide-area networking into the curriculum and becoming consumers and providers of materials on the Internet; factors include decision making, legal problems, and student behaviors. Describes a K-12 project called Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh. (Author/AEF)

Research suggests that federal legislation to resolve educational issues may be unrealistic and unworkable in practice. Parents and school officials accustomed to controlling educational decision making do not appreciate policy imposition from a distant bureaucracy; responses to policy may produce unequal or unfair outcomes when implemented at the…

Citing longstanding educational deficiencies in the Jersey City Public School System, the New Jersey State Board of Education unanimously voted to take control of the district on October 4, 1989. This paper studies the first year of New Jersey's takeover policy for failing school districts. Data were collected through interviews, direct…

To help New Jersey parents and other citizens increase their involvement in schools, this handbook describes school-site management, a form of decentralized administration that can help broaden effective citizen participation in educational management. Part 1 first defines school-site (or school-based) management--a type of school governance in…

The phenomenon of minimum competency testing (MCT) is explored, beginning with its origins in public concern for educational accountability. Three major themes appearing in the states enacting prescriptive legislation are described: state standards/state test (Florida); state standards/local test (Oregon); and local standards/local test…

The notion of intervention strategies is introduced in this paper to explain why and when certain change efforts are successful. It is argued that the choice of control points and the selection of control linkages are determined by characteristics of the task in the implementing agency. Many implementation failures can be attributed to the…

The conference's keynote address is presented by Bernard C. Watson. Papers include: Vantage from the State Department of Education, by Robert G. Scanlon (Pennsylvania); Minimum Competency: As the Public Sees the Question, by Jacqueline Grennan Wexler; Minimum Competency Testing (MCT): A Tripartite Response from the Profession, by W. James Popham;…

Legal issues of minimum competency testing derive from federal and state constitutional, statutory, and regulatory provisions, and from common law. Constitutional provisions for equal protection, due process, and freedom of belief and privacy, are primarily federal; education provisions are state mandated. Only four court cases have directly…

The handbook is designed to help Colorado school systems address the linguistic and educational needs of limited-English-proficient (LEP) students and to provide administrators, school boards members, and educators with resources for understanding state and federal requirements. It is intended to help design and establish local policies and…