In August 1999, Allendale County (South Carolina) Schools were taken over by the state. The rural school district, which is remote, poor, and racially segregated, has consistently had the worst test scores in the state, and little was being done to improve the situation. The district's problems and beginning efforts to address them are described.…

Presents examples of how state and local governments, spurred by legal mandates, have cooperated in funding new school construction projects to replace their crumbling school facilities with inspirational learning environments. (GR)

School-age children spend a significant portion of their day at school where they can be exposed to asthma triggers, but little information exists regarding potential relationships between childhood asthma and school environmental factors. This study examined patterns of asthma hospitalization and possible factors contributing to asthma…

Although health, safety and risk education for school pupils has received growing attention in recent years, for the most part related education programmes and research aimed at assessing those programmes have focused on health education, with relatively little attention paid to the array of immediate safety risks that are confronting pupils…

This article presents a cross-section, 50-state analysis of school finance legislation from the 2000 session and a seven-year trend analysis, dating back to 1994. The framework for analysis was grounded in the theory of intergovernmental grants. Although the 2000 legislative session was an active one, the total number of bills passed represented a…

This paper forms part of a recent trend that aims to contribute to the writing of a more inclusive education history sensitive to the operation of gender. The author presents an analysis of educator activists in twentieth-century England that connects, rather than separates, the domains of education, labour history and politics. The paper also…

In recent years, open enrollment and school choice have been major issues in the debate over educational reform. Arizona is considering what role school choice should play in its efforts to improve education. Current state law allows school districts to enroll students from another district "upon terms such as it prescribes," but does…

This paper presents the insights of superintendents about the school restructuring process in Kentucky and its likely effects. Data were derived from a focus group held with 24 members of the Kentucky Educational Development Corporation (KEDC), and from a survey of 48 superintendents, of which 35 responded. A majority of respondents expressed…

The development and implementation of Kentucky's Program for Educationally Deficient School Districts is examined in this case study. Implemented in 1987, the program required districts to meet certain performance, planning, and reporting criteria. Districts failing to comply could be placed in categories of noncompliance. Data were derived from…

In 1984, the Council of State Governments undertook a study to assess states' intentions regarding implementation of the Commission on Excellence in Education's 1983 report "A Nation at Risk." The study described in this report follows up on the findings of the Council's 1984 study, identifying the areas where states have made progress…

In 1996, the Institute for Education and Social Policy at New York University began a 2-year policy study for the State Education Department (SED) of its Schools under Registration Review (SURR) process. The SED identifies and supports New York's low-performing schools for up to 3 years. Then schools that improve are removed from the SURR list,…

Although state takeover of low-performing schools is not a new phenomenon in American education, it has seldom been exercised. Takeover actions exist in 11 states--Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia--but only New Jersey and Kentucky have exercised steps leading to…

Hawaii's executive branch initiated on February 1, 1990, a large-scale plan to relieve the problem of "latch key children" with an afterschool supervised program. Since the legislature had not appropriated funds to establish the program, the governor chose to finance it from monies paid by the United States as compensation for federally…

Findings reported in this paper derive from data in state curriculum documents, reports, and phone interviews with state officials in New York, California, Florida, and Texas. Evidence from the burgeoning state-level curriculum control systems for high school mathematics and social studies in these states suggests that both advocates and critics…

A followup study of currently and previously enrolled students of the Michigan School for the Blind (MSB) and the Michigan School for the Deaf (MSD) is reported. Eligibility guidelines, services, enrollment, costs, and nature of the student body at each institution are described. Development and use of four questionnaires to evaluate eight…