The "friends" are the states, the Congress, and the executive branch. (IRT)

The differing roles of State and local supervisors of business education are described with emphasis on the interrelationships between the two. (JT)

Discusses the attempts of "literacy stakeholders" across Indiana to develop legislative proposals. Discusses early intervention literacy programs, a renewed investment in school library books, and adequate funding for the state's adult education/literacy programs. Notes that the legislature passed a bill funding such programs at a…

In 1996, South Dakota created the position of "chief executive officer" (CEO)--the lead administrator of a local school district without formal training in education. A survey completed by 126 certified superintendents and 29 self-reported CEOs compared the two groups' attitudes concerning their own professional development and the most…

Offers an historical analysis of schooling patterns in the Tullylish (Ireland) parish between 1860-1900 to provide understanding of the social forces that promoted denominationalism. Concludes that terms of religious tolerance were constructed by Protestant elites perpetuating Protestant privilege and excluding Catholics from full participation in…

Takeover artists are a rare breed. Persons hired to put bankrupt school systems back on the road to academic solvency need stamina, clout, and plenty of experience. For all their state-given powers, takeover superintendents must identify key constituencies, build bridges, and promote belief in change from within. (MLH)

Residential staff (n=156) of state schools serving hearing-impaired children were surveyed concerning perceived staff training needs. Demographic information was also compiled on residential staff, and analysis determined seven correlations between demographic characteristics and selection of training topics, such as gender and sex education,…

Local school boards have been bypassed by state-generated educational reforms and often impede progress toward decentralization. The Twentieth Century Fund/Danforth Foundation Task Force on School Governance advises states to abolish existing school boards and replace them with local education policy boards responsible for setting policy…

Addresses the educational and political conditions leading to state takeovers of local school districts. State intervention involves a complex interplay of issues related to authority, responsibility, and accountability. Although state takeovers are legitimate, they will not necessarily produce higher quality educational programs. The principal…

It is argued that traditional notions of state-local relations as a zero-sum game need recasting. It appears that local effects of state policy are greater than those predicted on the basis of state capacity and that localities often gain, rather than lose, influence as a result of state policymaking. (TJH)

Discusses responses of five (British) local education authorities to managing special education within the new policy context created by the Code of Practice, based on case-study evidence. A new, distinctive governance model has emerged. Consultation between central and local governments has created a favorable climate for developing special-needs…

Explores school districts' responses to state science standards and examines the ideas about science education that district policy makers construct from these standards. A cause of failing to implement state science standards, rarely examined in the literature, concerns the ways in which local implementers miss or misconstrue the intent of policy…

Explores the historical evolution of the school-state relationship, how educational reform movements of the past 30 years may undermine the alliance of school and state, and the challenges this development poses for analysts of education policy. (Author)

Examines how the local school district's nonmonolithic character undermines state-level efforts to create more coherent guidance for instruction of teachers. Two districts' responses to a state reading policy are examined to reveal that what the district does by way of enacting state policy is not always internally homogenous. (Author/MAK)

Examines systemic reform development from the perspective of local participants in nine states. Implementation varies with local technical capacity. State systemic reform agendas are frequently viewed as incompatible with pressing local issues. The most frequently criticized aspect of systemic reform is apparent lack of connection between state…