State plans for implementing air quality standards are evaluated together with problems in modeling procedures and enforcement. Monitoring networks, standards, air quality regions, and industrial problems are also discussed. (BL)

Presents the recommendations for changes in state policies on lifelong education proposed by four assemblies convened in North Carolina, Florida, California and New York. Recommendations relate to mission, equal opportunity, funding formulas, local flexibility, staff development, technological advances, cooperative and consortial efforts, linkages…

Describes the Florida Division of Vocational Education planning team that has been formed to plan for the future of vocational education in Florida. Reviews trends that will affect vocational education in the coming years. (LRA)

Discusses Illinois' activities and processes in developing a 5-year State plan as required by the Education Amendments of 1976. Focus is on vocational and technical education. (TA)

Reviews the history, development, implementation, and impact of the Model State Plan (MSP) for vocational rehabilitation of deaf clients. (TA)

Describes the development of a statewide strategy to improve resident outcomes in nursing facilities, and presents some evaluative data from this strategy. Results reveal that the partnership has resulted in state agency staff having information from analyses about resident needs. Suggests that other states should consider building partnerships…

Successful implementation of technology education requires a knowledge of the change process. Statewide curriculum change involves the teachers and administrators as well as students, parents, and other community groups. Rogers' model of the change process in organizations provides a framework for approaching this complex task. (JOW)

Examination of 32 college and 12 higher education system mission statements suggests they are effective in some situations but may be disadvantageous in others. Several different roles for the statements emerged: (1) goals clarification; (2) smoke screens for opportunism; (3) descriptions of status quo; (4) aspirations; and (5) marketing tools.…

This article focuses on the change in selected state-level school finance variables from 1970 to 2000, with particular attention to the changes in these variables and school finance litigation decisions in states with and without state-level tax and expenditure limitations (TELs) or supermajority requirements (SMRs). The magnitude of the decrease…

This commentary discusses Ron Wolk's essay "Think the Unthinkable." The need for variation in curriculum and approach to meet all students' needs is emphasized. The need for variation in what schools are, how they are organized, and what they present to and ask of students is an important theme in Ron's essay, as it is in much of the literature…

Connecticut's higher education accountability focuses on using measures of employment readiness and success, including employer satisfaction surveys.

States are facing the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Yet, despite these deficiencies in funds, state governors must assure their constituents that dangerous criminals will still be arrested, adjudicated and imprisoned. Experience shows that the best way to ensure public safety efficiently over the long run is to spend less on…

This article examines early implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act's (NCLB) accountability provisions. Theoretically, the author explains how executing education policy in the United States requires federal officials to employ tactics designed to assert control over state implementers while persuading them to adopt federal priorities as…

In this update, Linton provides a report on what transpired during the invitational technical assistance training meeting for State adult correctional education programs titled "Making Data Work for You," which was hosted by the Department of Education a year ago. As a key part of that training, States shared their efforts to utilize…

Efforts to infuse market forces into public education are based on the supposition that these forces can improve student outcomes. This assumption does not consider the politics of implementation. This article examines state-initiated school privatization and reveals factors that influence translation of theory to practice. The cases depict what…