Highlights a comparison of a 30-year legacy of urban policy making with 25 years of policy making on environmental problems to demonstrate how weak policy development has been in dealing with the urban crisis. Several principles designed to guide future urban policies are discussed. (GR)

Three major areas of new technology appropriate for distance education are briefly described: satellite delivery, video teleconferencing, and computers and networking. Important considerations are offered to college and university trustees for media selection and policy formation. (MSE)

Presents interim findings from an impact analysis of Ohio's Learning, Earning, and Parenting (LEAP) Program. LEAP is a statewide program designed to encourage school attendance among pregnant and parenting teens on welfare. Suggests that LEAP has succeeded in its primary short-term goal of increasing the school enrollment and attendance of teen…

For nearly 40 years, the Delaware School Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) has been improving school health education and services in the state. The SHAC has recommended policies to the Delaware Board of Education and state legislature, conducted conferences and workshops, published information, and helped develop health education curricula.…

One of the principal drafters of Stanford University's regulation concerning verbal harassment on campus proposes an interpretation of the conflict between civil rights and civil liberties in this situation. Contrasts in the two approaches to injury and the public/private distinction are highlighted. The text of Stanford's regulation is appended.…

Rural school improvement requires that state educational policies empower rural educators to attempt innovative programs. After extensive grassroots input, the Alaska Legislature defined seven statewide educational needs relating to poor school performance. A Washington education reform bill allows schools to do anything not expressly forbidden by…

This essay reflects on the role of special educators in the education reform movement, stresses the need for ongoing dialogue in educational policy making, and counters concerns over the exclusion of special education from major reform reports with comments on the reform movement's vision of and commitment to educational equity and excellence for…

Findings from a state survey about practices in testing students of limited English proficiency (LEP) confirm a general lack of policies and guidelines relating to the standardized achievement testing of LEP students. Concern for LEP students in testing may reflect a general interest in bilingual education. (SLD)

A case study of site-based governance councils in Salt Lake City (Utah) is described. The study was a test of whether building-based councils actually enable teachers and parents to exert substantial influence on school policy. The reason why research findings did not fit expectations is discussed. (SLD)

Three articles analyze the following aspects of the world information economy: (1) the role of the Soviet Union's information system--VINITI--in the implementation of the State STI (Scientific and Technical Information) system; (2) Britain's information policies; and (3) Europe's expanding market for information technology. (MAB)

Practical advice to help librarians prepare for and face challenges to the content of their library collections includes suggestions for developing selection policies and networks of support, as well as a recommended course of action for librarians in the event of a challenge. (MAB)

Articles in this special issue use survey data to provide policymakers with validated indirect needs assessment models that will help them obtain information about populations requiring different levels and types of mental health services. The articles provide the basis for predictive needs assessment and explanatory models of resource allocation.…

Summarizes and analyzes the following issues in developing policy to address the problems of drug-exposed infants: (1) degree of harm; (2) identification; (3) interventions; (4) needs assessment; (5) child protection; and (6) drug treatment. Significant interventions, including expanded prenatal care and drug treatment programs, are proposed. (SLD)

Discusses U.S. technology policy and the transfer of scientific and technical information (STI). Results of a study of knowledge diffusion in the aerospace industry are reported, including data on aerospace information intermediaries, use of computer and information technologies, and the use of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)…

Provides a rationale for state government involvement in multicultural education policy development, and assesses current trends of state government promotions of multicultural education. Presents a framework for examining the issue, background information, a description of trends in state multicultural education policies, and conclusions about…