This report presents the text of hearings on urban education and focuses on what makes urban schools effective instruments of learning and why urban school students consistently achieve above national norms on standardized reading, writing, and mathematics tests. Specifically considered are (1) the impact of the federal government's budget cuts on…

The report of the hearings before the House of Representatives subcommittee is concerned with progress being made by the District of Columbia to comply with the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Major statements are included from officials representing the General Accounting Office, and the District's Department of Human Services,…

Offers a historical overview of the role of social reformers in the formation of the New York City public school system in the early twentieth century. Considers the attitudes, motivations, and concerns of this group of largely middle and upper class men and women who had little direct involvement with public schools. (DMM)

Factors associated with state school finance court cases that are most pressing in an urban environment are how the fiscal capacity of a school district is determined, the greater concentration of students with a need for more costly programs, and the high costs of providing services in urban districts. (Author/MLF)

This report summarizes the response of a monitoring commission to the 1983-84 evaluation of the implementation of the Student Assignment Plan (SAP), that is part of a court-mandated school desegregation plan in Chicago (Illinois). Under the SAP, the Board of Education was required to ensure that all schools have at least 30 percent minority…

New Jersey Supreme Court, in "Abbott v. Burke (Abbott II)," held that state's Public School Education Act of 1975 was unconstitutional. Notes that initial impact of "Abbott II" is to put pressure on legislators to correct funding system; challenge will require educators to overhaul their patterns of behavior in administration,…

Hearings before the House of Representatives served as a public forum for representatives from the District of Columbia City Council, academia, local schools including the City of Baltimore, Maryland, and the private sector to share their experiences, successes, and concerns about the education of children in urban areas. The chairman of the…

The Subcommittee on the District of Columbia of the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight held a hearing to discuss an accurate census of the District of Columbia public schools and the system's enrollment. Subcommittee Chairman Thomas M. Davis (Virginia) noted that an accurate and reliable count of student enrollment is directly…

This report summarizes the response of a monitoring commission to the 1986-87 evaluation of the implementation of the Student Assignment Plan (SAP) that is part of a court-mandated school desegregation plan in Chicago (Illinois). Under the SAP, the Board of Education was required to ensure that no school had more than a 70 percent white enrollment…

This report summarizes the response of a monitoring commission to the 1987-88 evaluation of the implementation of the Student Assignment Plan (SAP), part of a court-mandated school desegregation plan in Chicago (Illinois). Under the SAP, the Board of Education was required to ensure that no school had more than a 70 percent white enrollment after…

This report summarizes the response of a monitoring commission to a 1986-87 report on the educational components of a court-mandated school desegregation plan in Chicago (Illinois). The Board of Education was required to alleviate the effects of both past and ongoing segregation by providing educational and related programs for predominantly Black…

This House committee staff report concerns the impact of educational policies and practices on at risk students and minority teachers. These two groups have been adversely affected by rapid changes in education. Demands for higher standards and expectations have not been matched with adequate resources to meet the special needs of these students…

Testimony given at a congressional hearing on the unique problems of urban and rural schools, the federal role in addressing these problems, and the availability of resources at state and local levels is presented in this report. Representative William Jefferson described the disadvantages of urban schools, compared to suburban schools, with…

This evaluation examines the implementation of the staff development components of a court-mandated school desegregation plan in Chicago (Illinois). Under the plan, the Board of Education was required to provide preservice and inservice training programs for administrators, teachers, and other school personnel, especially those involved in…

The focus of this hearing was on lessons learned in the District of Columbia public schools in the year preceding the hearing. In his opening remarks, Senator Brownback (Kansas) remarked that one of the first lessons is that the academic quality of the schools is not good enough and is in dire need of improvement. A second set of lessons focuses…