This report was prepared by the Texas Education Agency in response to Section 39.183 of the Texas Education Code. In a phase-in approach written into law, the limit of 22 students to 1 teacher applied in the 1985-86 school year through the 1987-88 school year to kindergarten through grade 2 only. The law extended this limitation to kindergarten…

Historically states are seen as more comfortable with narrowly focused rules, regulation, and monitoring responsibilities than with broad change. Currently states face revolutionary new arrangements for financing education, overseeing federal commitments, and providing fair and meaningful standards for educational performance. The major…

In 1998, the citizens of Florida approved passage of Amendment VIII to the Florida Constitution, whereby the voters voluntarily gave up their right to elect a commissioner of education and a state board of education. In 1999, the standing commissioner of education appointed a blue-ribbon committee to review and recommend changes to the Florida…

This report examines issues concerning the provision of accommodations for students with disabilities participating in state and district assessments. The report considers what an accommodation is, what kinds of accommodations are available, who should make the decision regarding accommodations, when accommodations should be used, and how…

This guide is designed to provide Rhode Island educators and families with information about appropriate interventions, recommended referral procedures, recommended diagnostic procedures, and legal issues regarding students with attention deficit disorders. It begins by answering frequently asked questions about attentional disorders and…

Many Canadian provinces are looking to Alberta for guidance about charter schools. This case study examines the closure of one charter school to identify the obstacles other schools may face. This study uses critical policy analysis and the "politics of interpretation" to examine the political context of educational policy issues. While…

This document comprises the 12 issues for 2000 of the "Child Support Report," which explores problems related to child support enforcement, reports on federal and state government child support enforcement initiatives, and summarizes research related to child support. Featured regularly are editorials and information on events of…

This manual is intended to help special education teachers in Montana with the Child Study Team (CST) process. It provides answers and examples for general questions regarding student evaluation and eligibility for special education services and for completing the CST report. The guide begins by answering common questions about the CST process,…

This monograph is designed for New York parents and school personnel charged with administering the screening instruments for incoming kindergarten students to determine possible giftedness. It begins by explaining Article 65 of New York's Compulsory Education and School Census Law, Section 3208, which requires that parents be notified if their…

This report presents data from an annual study that collected information on teacher salary policies, salary schedules, actual salaries paid, and fringe benefits. Data came from the 1998-99 Illinois Teacher Salary Study, which involved superintendents of Illinois school districts and directors of special education and area vocational centers, and…

This handbook is a compilation of fiscal procedures and instructions to assist Illinois local education agencies in claiming reimbursement for special education services for the 1998-99 school year. It contains: (1) general instructions for completing the Special Education Pupil Reimbursement form; (2) instructions for filling out sections…

Because of the individual authority of each State for its own educational program, practices and policies differ widely among them in many respects. Yet in the midst of differences there are also common elements of development. The U. S. Office of Education, in presenting this series of monographs, has attempted to point out those common elements,…

This study examined the academic, personnel, and financial dimensions of state regulation, including changes since 1983; the relationship between state regulation, various state characteristics, and level of flexibility afforded universities; and the relationship between state regulation flexibility and campus characteristics, including…

The Illinois General Assembly adopted a bill designed to increase school district autonomy. Provides an overview of the waiver act and its regulations. Analyzes the school districts' waiver requests, specifically addressing physical education, corporal punishment, and the five-clock-hour school day. Discusses the act's implications for educational…

A new development in teacher education is the involvement of accrediting agencies, legislatures, and the federal government in mandating standards, curriculum, and assessment at all levels of education. The effects of this development on teacher education are examined, and changes needed within teacher education and administrator education…