This report discusses the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that require states to develop alternate assessments for students with disabilities who cannot participate in large-scale assessment programs. The report also profiles five state alternate assessment practices that have been developed or are emerging and…

Under the direction and leadership of the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education and the Alabama Department of Education, Workforce 21 was created as a response to the lack of skilled workers necessary to fill high-skill, high-wage jobs of the 21st century. More than 600 Alabamians representing industry, labor, parents, students,…

This document outlines the Strategic Planning Initiative (SPI) for New Jersey's Salem Community College. This is the first plan the college has authored in seven years. The report provides a theoretical framework for heterarchical planning, which allows for complexity and interrelations of structural analysis, and lateral decision making. The…

Educators are asked to provide technology education to all, but special consideration must be given to those in both developing and developed nations who have no access to current technology and thus are disenfranchised. In order to redress the issue of disenfranchisement, one must try to correct the social imbalances that have created it.…

This paper discusses the outcomes of a study that examined local response to the implementation of the least restrictive environment (LRE) provision for preschool children with disabilities within two counties in New York State during the 1994-97 school years. Open-ended interviews were conducted with four groups in each county: Committee on…

This monograph was created to help colleges and universities throughout the West strengthen their commitment to diversity. Twenty colleges and universities in four states--Idaho, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Oregon--participated in the Institute for Ethnic Diversity, with each campus, from large state research institutions to small community…

These two case studies were commissioned by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) as part of its Western Policy Exchange (WPE) Project, in an effort to understand the dynamics and perceived consequences of a "state roundtable" approach to fostering partnerships in education in order to advance systemic change and…

School policymakers are beginning to understand that a considerable amount of resources are expended on student support services and various education support programs. These resources are allocated because of the widespread awareness that more is needed than the typical teacher can provide if some students are to succeed at school. At the same…

This annual report of the New York State Forum for Information Resource Management begins with a section that summarizes key activities for 1999-2000, including partnerships with other organizations, efforts to promote effective technology workforce planning in New York State government, tracking information management developments related to…

Supported by the state governments of the South, the Southern Growth Policies Board creates strategies for regional economic development. Every 6 years, the Board's chairman (a state governor) appoints a blue-ribbon commission to analyze the condition of the South, develop regional objectives, and recommend approaches to regional problems. This…

The armed services prefer to recruit high quality youth because they perform better and have lower attrition rates. Yet competition for this group is increasing because of fundamental changes in the civilian opportunities that these youth face. One of the most dramatic changes is the enormous increase in the relative returns from attending college…

Informational, diagnostic, prescriptive functions of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are best served by governance structure composed of federal, state, and local members and a standing technical advisory board. Structure protects NAEP from undue federal influence and special interest groups, builds bridges to educators and…

The development since 1940 of support for nationally funded faculty development programs in the United Kingdom is considered, along with funding problems, program development and fragmentation, institutional attitudes and the implications for planning in the Australian context. (MSE)

Discusses various aspects of science, technology, and the scientific enterprise in the United States, addressing problems (energy, computers, education; engineering, government role, and others) which need to be considered in a world dominated by science and science-based technology. (JN)

A college president illustrates with specific recent university situations seven broad precepts for making policy decisions concerning faculty and retrenchment strategies: administrators must remember principles and traditions, faculty governance, the governing board, the media, the state legislature, younger faculty, and long-term consequences.…