This report sheds a new light on the history of the U.S. Department of Education (ED), its abuses of policy, and recommendations for a path forward. The report's evidence, and the long-term political dispositions of America's citizenry, supports the wholesale reform of ED, but not its elimination. The authors have structured their report in this…

This report provides findings on language access policies, plans, and procedures in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) agencies in four States at the State and local agency levels: (1) Massachusetts, (2) New Mexico, (3) North Carolina, and (4) Washington. The study team conducted case studies in each site--interviewing State and…

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) Language Study is providing the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) with a comprehensive understanding of the language landscapes that SNAP and NAP agencies operate in as well as the policy and operations landscapes for limited English proficiency (LEP)…

Owen-Smith et al. (this issue) answer the question about expanding funding for human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) research decisively and emphatically. They conclude that the U.S. federal government should expand funding in volume and scope, and stabilize it through regularity. According to Hurlbut and Robert, If the clear goal of policy should…

The economic stimulus enacted during President Obama's initial weeks included a down payment on his ambitious education reform agenda. By combining short-term policy with reform, the strategy gained his administration three advantages: a discretionary funding source with little Congressional scrutiny; flexibility in pursuing education reform goals…

The author analyzes the growth and nature of internal evaluation from the 1960s to the present and suggests that internal evaluation has been on the increase because of its perceived importance. Although the 1960s were characterized by a rich intellectual development of evaluation theory and practice, the fiscal conservatism of the 1980s ushered…

Public education is one of the central tasks of a democratic society, and the buildings that house this important task not only shape the way one teaches, but provide icons and symbols for the values people hold common as a society. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this context has placed school buildings squarely in a position of debate and innovation…

Compares the Reagan administration's campaign promises to its actual performance in handling women's issues. Administrative appointments, government programs for women in education, science, and business, federal laws and regulations, and social welfare programs affecting women are examined. (AM)

The Medicare Catastrophic Loss Prevention Act of 1987, a bill which would protect Medicare beneficiaries from catastrophic expenses associated with covered Medicare services is reported on in this document from the Senate Committee on Finance. The report opens with the Committee's recommendations that the bill pass as amended. The background and…

Reviews the Reagan administration's approach to maternal and child health policy. Analyzes the administration's legislative and regulatory efforts in this area and concludes that its goal has been to lessen the national commitment to maternal and child health at a time of heightened need for federal intervention. (CMG)

Public financial support for intellectual disability in the United States grew from 2.3 billion in 1955 to 82.6 billion in 2004, and the federal government emerged during this period as the principal provider of such support. Notwithstanding this unprecedented growth in financial support, many inequities persist today in the distribution of…

This report discusses: (1) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) policy requiring that foster care training costs be allocated proportionately between the Social Security Act Title IV-E foster care program and other programs; (2) adherence to this cost-sharing policy; and (3) the effect of cost-sharing on states' training programs. It…

Responding to an article from the April 1987 Phi Delta Kappan criticizing Chapter 1 structures, the author points out that radical changes will not improve the program, instead a broader "systems approach" for interpreting rules governing such programs is needed. (MD)

This paper assesses the rationale for legislated program consolidation, summarizing problems with the current structure of categorical programs and arguments for reform through consolidation, reviewing past consolidation proposals, discussing the likely effects of such proposals, analyzing the state, local, and federal responses that can be…

This National Council on Disability (NCD) annual progress report to the President and Congress covers the period December 2005 through December 2006. The report is divided into 13 chapters, each dealing with a major area of public policy. These subject-specific chapters are preceded by an introductory Major Trends section that identifies…