Revolving around whether schools should open before or after Labor Day are the issues of jobs, tradition, money, and local control. Presents the pros and cons being put forth in discussions in a number of states. (MLF)

Discussed are the pros and cons of compulsory school attendance: the impact on the state, the parent, and the child; judicial rulings; and options for providing alternative and flexible learning experiences. (KC)

Discusses authority's relevance to moral education. Suggests that the concept of authority has been neglected in theory and practice. Argues that no human interaction is possible without authority. Discusses authority's legitimacy and scope of authority in the context of compelling school attendance. Underscores authority's role in moral and…

Discusses the negative assumptions and outcomes of provisions in Britain's Education Act of 1997 dealing with expulsion of students. Presents some statistics on excluded children; discusses likely outcomes such as increased delinquency, parent-school acrimony, and disparity in schools. Describes the role of teachers' unions in drafting the bill…

British standards governing school attendance have been modified and strengthened by the 1993 legislation. The required education may be received outside the public school system, but alternative schools in the private sector remain subject to control or regulation. (77 footnotes) (MLF)

Violence and the fear of violence in the schools poses a serious threat to education. Various reports on the subject are discussed briefly, and changing school attendance laws is suggested as one possible remedy. (PP)

Discusses court cases and proposed legislation dealing with such issues as school prayer and the right of parents to educate students at home for religious reasons. (JM)

Summarizes home school legislation and case precedent in order to describe a national trend to limit state controls over private education. Concludes that the state's interests and parents' rights are more likely to be balanced if the state limits its evaluation to the product of education, not the process. (KO)

Two authors discuss contrasting methods of dropout prevention. Debates the effectiveness of coercion as opposed to positive incentives to keep students in school. (FMW)

School board members should undertake thoughtful and informed deliberations on the issues involved in home schooling. (MLF)

Arguments over student discipline tend to overlook that: most students are not at school because they choose to be. Compulsory education has not lived up to its promise. A viable alternative is to repeal coercive laws and to offer twelve years of free schooling, to be taken at any time. (KH)

Examines first the right of parents to decide educational issues that affect their children and then the bases for children's rights. Proposes a standard for insuring that children's interests are protected when conflicts erupt over an educational issue. (Author/MLF)

Examines state laws and the actions of various courts on home instruction and unauthorized educational programs. Suggests reforming the regulation of private education through legislative action that requires periodic testing as an alternative to compulsory school attendance. (Author/MLF)

Many parents critical of public education have removed their children from public schools and are schooling them at home. Home schooling has generated a number of lawsuits. Controversies have arisen over the definitions of "school" and of "equivalent instruction," parents' qualifications to teach, and religious exemptions from…

Maintains that many adolescents have rebelled against compulsory school attendance and proposes three alternatives: home-based educational work programs, on-the-job training programs through cooperation of schools and industry, and government sponsored work study programs. (ST)