In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Agostini v. Felton holding that Title I instructional services may be provided in religiously affiliated private schools without violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The U.S. Department of Education's interpretation and intended enforcement of this ruling are offered…

This fastback document explores ways to develop alternative high-school programs to help at-risk students. It focuses on the "school within a school" model where the emphasis is on a caring school climate and smaller class sizes. The booklet offers a step-by-step guide for developing an alternative school, which begins with determining the need…

This workbook is the first in a series devoted to all areas of charter-school development. It addresses the logistics of starting a school, such as drafting a charter, creating a vision and mission, accessing expert information, navigating the application process, acquiring a facility, establishing a legal entity, and contracting for services. The…

This document addresses nondiscrimination on the basis of age in programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. It consists of the amendments made in the notice of Final Regulations published in the Federal Register on November 13, 2000. Its purpose is to set out the Department of Education's rules for implementing the Age…

This paper examines the forces that affect school accountability. It presents the discussion in the context of the classic agency model, which is built around a principal-agent relationship. In these types of relationships, a principal attains certain goals through an agent, who acts on her behalf. Although ubiquitous in society, these kinds of…

This paper provides an overview of legal responsibilities of school districts relating to "Do Not Resuscitate" (DNR) orders for children who are medically fragile. It addresses the incidence of school children who are medically fragile and differences in state laws that affect DNR orders. Attitudes that are preventing school districts…

This book reports on the School Development Program (SDP) designed by James Comer. Known also as the Comer program, this reform effort assists underachieving urban schools by analyzing the school as a system to better understand the complex interactions occurring within this system. Favoring a variety of pedagogical approaches, the SDP focuses on…

This paper examines the history of school governance in the U.S. It discusses four major shifts in education governance that have occurred over the past 150 years, describing how control was firmly anchored in local communities throughout most of the 19th century. By the end of the century, Americans decided that schooling should serve public…

This report summarizes changes to existing federal education programs contained in the Improving America's Schools Act, the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, and the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. The publication looks at various programs that serve the broad educational priorities set forth in the Department of Education's Strategic Plan. The…

This publication contains statements from panelists at a seminar exploring recent campus conflicts over whether Christian student groups can bar gay and lesbian students from positions of leadership. The discussion centered on the decision of the Tufts University student judiciary to "derecognize" the Tufts Christian Fellowship (an…

University officials and faculty are frequently required to make decisions based on interpretations of disputed facts. By applying the concept of due process within the context of higher education, they can meet legal challenges of contract and constitutional law and the pedagogical demand for justice. To guide their efforts, decision makers can…

This book addresses the critical issues and challenges facing state and district policymakers as they work to develop school-based funding policies and related resource data systems. The text is divided into three sections. The first section provides a conceptual overview of the different issues involved in designing, implementing, and evaluating…

In 2001 the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation released the research report "Hostile Hallways: Bullying, Teasing, and Sexual Harassment in Schools." According to the report, in the eight years since the original AAUW study, "Hostile Hallways: The AAUW Survey on Sexual Harassment in America's Schools" (1993), not a lot…

In 2003, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 5135, which directed each public four-year college and university and the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) to develop policies to ensure that undergraduates complete their degree and certificate programs in a timely manner. These policies were to address students who do the…

The Hawaii State School Readiness Assessment is a critical component of the School Readiness Task Force's strategy to improve school readiness and student achievement. This tool provides annual school and system level accountability for Hawaii's investments in early childhood programs and services. This profile offers aggregated school level…