The approval of Proposition 301 by Arizona voters in November 2000 was a significant step toward a new foundation for the state's economic future by providing a long-term funding stream for science and technology investments. This new sales tax enabled the state to create an economic development strategy appropriate for the knowledge economy. This…

Dual enrollment programs allow high school students to take college-level courses and receive credit at both institutions toward the completion of a college degree. Such programs are also referred to as concurrent enrollment, joint enrollment, or dual credit. This brief discusses the advantages and drawbacks of dual enrollment programs. Currently,…

The enabling legislation required a review of the Technology Workforce Development Grants program by an external expert evaluation team on a biennial basis. This program was designed to increase the number of engineering and computer science graduates and the number of collaborations among higher education institutions and private companies. At…

The movement to advance directors and administrators of early childhood programs is taking hold in many communities and states. Focusing on critical elements and updates from across the nation, this packet provides resources, prototype information, and guidelines for people in the process of setting up director credentialing programs. Sheets…

To provide a baseline for assessing how welfare reform affects child welfare agencies, this paper reviews the challenges that state child welfare systems face, and how states respond to these challenges. Information in this paper is based on studies of the 13 focus states included in the Urban Institute's New Federalism project. In each state,…

This Kids Count special report examines the relationship between poverty status and the number of children in Arkansas lacking health insurance. The report also presents information on two programs providing health care to Arkansas children whose parents lack insurance coverage, Medicaid and ARKids First. The report describes how these two…

This report looks at higher education policy issues that are taking shape at the state level and provides data on key trends and indicators. The first section presents findings from the 2001 State Issues Survey. Topics discussed include: fiscal issues; governance/management; economic development; academic issues; distance education; and…

The Healthy Start and Healthy Families programs offer children up to age 19, parents, and pregnant women in Ohio the health services families need, including doctor's visits, prescriptions, hospitalization, immunizations, prenatal care, eyeglasses, dental care, and mental health care. This tool kit was designed to help practitioners in programs…

The objectives of this paper are threefold. First, a model is proposed for unifying massive amounts of conceptual and numerical information flowing from the measures of the accountability movement in Ohio and the materials that are publicly available to educators. Second, this model is translated into useable forms of information that help…

This document gives an overview of the "Calling the Roll" program, a two-state study-circle program. Study circles employ a public-engagement model that fosters dialogue among diverse individuals and groups. This report explores how participation in study circles affects the education policymaking process, and it examines the process of…

This paper describes the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), the principal source of federal funding for child care subsidies for low income families and the principal source of federal funding for initiatives to improve the quality of child care in the states. Each state qualifies to receive an amount of federal funds under the CCDF each year…

This report contains profiles of the 145 schools in Utah that continued to receive funding as second- or third-year Centennial Schools during 1998-99. First enacted into law by the 1993 Legislature, the Centennial Schools Program has developed into a catalyst for change involving over 300 schools in 35 of the state's 40 school districts. The…

This policy brief highlights findings from an annual review of how far states' work on standards has progressed over the years and a determination of how much work remains to be done. Information was collected from state departments of education and interviews with state officials. Since 1995 there has been a steady rise in all aspects of…

This reference guide is designed to give educators and other interested persons a better understanding of the information contained in the score reports from the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, the key measuring stick of the state's school improvement strategy. To do this, the guide is organized around the four basic form types used in…

The Illinois Evaluation System has been designed to continuously evaluate the total occupational programs of local education agencies. Consisting of three phases, the system involves local planning, State review and evaluation of local planning documents, and on-site visitation to monitor any changes in local programs. (Author/DS)