Historically, U.S. school districts have led schooling, while state education agencies (SEAs) have held a largely regulatory role in school improvement. Yet, a recent reform strategy, the "state takeover," allows an SEA to assume direct governance of a low-performing district -- potentially creating a much more active role for state…

In "Redefining the School District in America," Nelson Smith reexamines existing recovery school districts (RSDs)--entities in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Michigan charged with running and turning around their state's worst schools--and assembles the most comprehensive catalog of similar initiatives underway and under consideration…

States significantly increased buy-in from local teachers' unions in round two of the Race to the Top competition, but made far less progress in enlisting districts or expanding the number of students affected by the states' education reform plans. Those patterns emerged from an "Education Week" analysis of applications from 29 states…

This article analyzes the findings from a three-state study of teacher induction policy. It looks within and across Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin to explore the landscape and experience of teacher induction. Although the orientation and conception of each state's policy is similar, the states represent three different structural approaches to…

This technical brief describes state-level policies and procedural requirements for guiding teacher evaluation practices at the district level in the seven states served by the Midwest Regional Educational Laboratory: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Building on the Issues & Answers report "Examining…

This publication outlines the characteristics of the five kinds of Wisconsin school districts: the common school district, the union high school district, the city school district, the unified school district, and the city of the first class. The report discusses general characteristics, annual meetings, school board duties and powers, mechanisms…

The report examines systems developed by Indiana, Wisconsin, and Louisiana to monitor interagency coordination of educational related services for handicapped children. The background and development of special education legislation in each of the three states are reviewed along with the structure of the state education agency (SEA). Each state is…

This booklet summarizes results of a study on the role and activities of Cooperative Educational Service Agencies (CESAs) in Wisconsin. CESAs are regional voluntary educational service agencies established in 1965 to serve local Wisconsin school districts. Data for the study were gathered through interviews with the 19 CESA coordinators during the…

Despite their autonomy in school governance, school districts are creatures of state legislatures, and changes in school district organization are necessary to keep pace with changing needs. Accordingly, the types of Wisconsin school districts are described, and state statutes governing each type of district are provided. The first type--common…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The "2011 State…

During the 1990's, education shifted from a primarily local function, to one of give-and-take system of finance between local and state governments. Revenue limits are imposed on school districts with the primary purposes of limiting property tax increases and increasing equity in school spending. In turn, the state has agreed to fund two-thirds…

School district organization in Wisconsin was never intended to be permanent or static. Changes in school district organization are a normal, ongoing process necessary to keep pace with changing needs, expectations, and conditions. Wisconsin has four different types of school districts--common school districts, Union High school districts, unified…

Wisconsin has a local options competency-testing policy for public schools: participating districts receive state assistance, but are subject to regulations on test development and use. This paper examines influences on school district program adoption, focusing on local support for any testing program and superintendents' attitudes toward state…

This report reviews special education costs and funding for Wisconsin public school districts, as well as the funding relationship between special education and regular education. In addition, it compares Wisconsin's method of allocating categorical aid to methods that other states use in allocating special education funding, and presents survey…