The roles and responsibilities of state, local, and the federal government are described in this paper on the organization of American education. Explanations are provided of how education in America is primarily a state and local responsibility and representative models of this system of organization are described. In terms of the federal…

Ontario public school systems are responsible for ensuring that Ministry of Education documents, such as subject guidelines, are implemented in their schools. This paper describes an implementation plan developed and used in Simcoe County by a large rural school board with modest program support staff. Four distinct phases characterize this…

In 1981, when Chapter 1 replaced Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I and with the advent of the effective schools movement, the Hawaii state administrators of Chapter 1 made a long term commitment to program improvement, especially in the area of instruction and quality delivery of services to the target students. In this program…

This study focuses on vocational education curriculum and staffing changes among California school districts as a result of 1983 state back-to-basics educational reform legislation (Hughes-Hart Educational Reform Act of 1983). Data were gathered from 1981-86, beginning with baseline data two years prior to, during, and two years after legislation.…

As part of a comprehensive study of all mandates placed by the state of Illinois on elementary and secondary education, an analysis was undertaken of the student transportation mandate in its historical perspective, inquiring into its original purpose, how well that purpose has been served, whether the mandate is still needed, and whether a…

The status of teacher career ladders in Utah is discussed from five different perspectives. Jim Wilson, representing the Legislative Research Analyst's Office and General Counsel of the Legislature, speaks about legislative intent from the past year and what legislators thought would happen and wanted to happen regarding career ladder bills which…

The purpose of this three-part report is to identify the competencies of high-performing principals, based on a study conducted by the Florida Council on Educational Management (FCEM). Part I reviews the background that led to the study of the principalship. It describes the factors leading to the creation of legislation that focused on the role…

This report examines how well Minnesota high school students are doing academically compared with their counterparts in other states. It also looks at curriculum requirements and the time students spend in high school. The report documents: (1) the number, type, and level of courses available to high school students; (2) schedules of instruction;…

This paper offers an action plan that facilitates the implementation of educational reform in New York State by taking into consideration the major recommendations of four recognized publications: "A Nation Prepared: Teachers for the 21st Century,""The Revolution That Is Overdue: Looking Toward the Future of Teaching and…

To determine the extent of state-mandated staff development activity in the states, a study involving the chief education officer from each of the 50 states was conducted, and the results are reported in this paper. The study and report focus on the following: (1) states mandating staff development programs; (2) states planning legislation…

The purpose of this study was to derive an operational definition of local control and to devise a model, the Local Control Index, for classifying degrees of local control by using the education codes of eight states--Arizona, California, Illinois, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, and Texas. The Local Control Index consists of four…

This collection of articles addresses ways in which community colleges can maintain institutional integrity while at the same time adapting the colleges' mission to a changing environment. The following articles are included: (1) "The Search for Mission and Integrity: A Retrospective View," by Jennings L. Wagoner, Jr.; (2) "Maintaining Open Access…

Seven small rural school districts (averaging less than 100 high school students each) in Lincoln County, Washington, joined to perform a vocational assessment of their districts. All grade 9-12 students were mailed questionnaires; 520 surveys were mailed and 212 were returned. Only 26% of the students indicated that they were thoroughly familiar…

Major local-, state-, and university-designed programs with the objective of fostering instructional effectiveness at the elementary school level are described in this paper. Instructional effectiveness is defined as a prerequisite to academic achievement in that it occurs when all students obtain at least minimum academic mastery as measured by…

Current sex equity programs and policies in several states provide instructive examples of the leadership that state education agencies (SEAs) can exercise on sex equity issues. Descriptions of state legislation and program activity related to sex equity in Massachusetts, Washington, Alaska, Minnesota, New York, Iowa, California, and Michigan…