Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) play a prominent role in the nation's higher education system. For example, 574 HSIs enrolled over 2 million Hispanic students in the 2021-2022 school year, representing 60 percent of all Hispanic students in college. Like most colleges, HSIs must continue to invest in their facilities and digital…

Public school facilities primarily serve an educational role, and they also serve a civic role as voting places and emergency shelters. School districts collectively spend tens of billions of dollars each year on facilities construction needs at the nearly 100,000 K-12 public schools nationwide. About half (an estimated 54 percent) of public…

This document records testimony from a hearing held on April 22, 2015 on the topic of challenges that are faced by Native American schools. Nearly a century ago the Federal Government made a promise to deliver to Native American children a quality education that just doesn't teach math and science, but preserves their customs and culture.…

This report is provided in response to a mandate by Congress in the Head Start Act, §650(b), as amended on December 12, 2007. The Act requires that the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services submit a report on the facilities of Indian Head Start agencies to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of…

The 2013 session of the 118th Indiana General Assembly adjourned sine die (with no appointed date for resumption) on Saturday, April 27, 2013. The legislature considered over 2,200 bills during the session, many of which addressed education policy and school governance, or were child-related legislation. This report is a summary of 12 key PK-12…

This Congressional testimony focuses on the challenges faced by the District of Columbia in modernizing its public schools. Specifically, it addresses: (1) increases in the cost of modernizing the schools; (2) delays in completing the schools; (3) quality inspection problems; and (4) concerns about managing asbestos hazards. The testimony…

This testimony provides an overview of health and environmental issues in U.S. schools and describes efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in concert with other federal agencies, to help schools address environmental issues. These include the Clear Skies Initiative, Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools, High Performance Schools,…

The author notes that controversies over construction bids and contracts continue to represent the largest number of property cases reported in this year's chapter. Most of these cases are routine disputes between colleges or universities and contractors over such issues as the return of bid bonds, recovery of additional costs for construction…

Describes structure and use of asbestos; diseases associated with asbestos exposure; legislation and regulations concerning asbestos; training requirements of individuals involved in asbestos abatement; sampling and testing whether a material contains asbestos; and liabilities. (MLF)

Compliance regulations for the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) are so complex that each school district must name an asbestos coordinator. Discusses requirements for the October 12, 1988, and July 9, 1989, deadlines and how to meet these requirements. (MLF)

An Illinois school district leased a vacant school building to a local hospital, and was then ruled by the county tax office to have lost the building's tax-exempt status and to owe property taxes. Districts interested in leasing school property are advised to hire an attorney who specializes in real estate. (MLF)

A U.S. Senate committee hearing received testimony on the Indian School Construction Act, which would establish a bonding authority for leveraging existing tribal education funds through bonds to fund tribal school construction, maintenance, and repair. The testimony from U.S. senators and representatives of the Department of the Interior and…

A Senate hearing was held regarding the current condition of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools. The BIA selection process for building and repairing these schools was resumed; and discussed innovative measures for financing BIA schools was discussed. This document includes testimony from the Director of the National Indian Education…

Legal issues in public use of educational facilities and property are examined in this paper, which focuses on the balance between government authority and individual rights of association and expression protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The Supreme Court's use of forum analysis to determine whether the government's interest in…

The Environmental Protection Agency's rule on local educational agency inspection for, and notification of, the presence of friable asbestos-containing material in school buildings included neither standards for the proper identification of asbestos-containing material and appropriate response actions with respect to friable asbestos-containing…