This guide to the Nevada Mediation System for Early Intervention and Special Education is intended to assist families, school districts, and state agencies in resolving disputes regarding the provision of appropriate early intervention or special education and related services to children with disabilities. First, the mediation process is…

Despite the growing contributions of community college institutes and associations to educational research, most university-based colleges of education still minimize the value of this research and often contain only one professor whose primary interest and/or expertise is community colleges. To address this issue, researchers should make efforts…

This booklet provides an introduction for people working in organizations concerned with housing and homelessness about basic skills. It provides background on the link between poor basic skills and poor housing and information about ways in which people use basic skills in their daily lives. Two reasons for housing organizations to be involved…

The Committee on the Federal Role in Education Research (CFRER), convened by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), studied the structure, operations, and functioning of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) in the Department of Education and the organizations it supports, and reviewed the roles of other agencies and the…

Research coordinating units (RCUs) were created by Congress in 1968 through passage of the Vocational Education Act Amendments. RCUs were state-level agencies for coordinating research and development projects for occupational and vocational education. After RCUs were disbanded in 1984 under the Perkins Act, many of their former research and…

In response to the legislative mandate and the increasing need for timely and high-quality data by policymakers at various levels, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has initiated a number of actions, programs, and surveys to improve the amount and quality of education information. To improve the relevance of data, the NCES has…

This paper addresses the question of what role accrediting agencies should play in supporting the arts and sciences in higher education. It is argued that there is no current alternative for supporting the arts and sciences other than the historical one that already exists with the accrediting agencies. Also noted is that the arts and sciences are…

This handbook is designed as a tool and resource document for school and agency personnel involved in the school-to-work transition of persons with disabilities. It includes forms, checklists, and sample documents. After a brief overview describing why transition has become a national priority, an individualized 4-year transition process is…

A 2-year project designed to identify and meet the needs of America's independent scholars is described. Project objectives were to: increase visibility and support for independent scholarship; learn more about independent scholars and their activities and organizations; identify the main problems and needs of independent scholars; stimulate…

This handbook provides basic information on the roles, organizational issues, and program activities that will influence the effectiveness of private industry councils (PICs) set up under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) of 1982. Intended to guide PICs on the issues involved, it should be useful to members and staff of existing PICs and…

Background information on the relationship between educational laboratories, research and development (R&D) centers, and the National Institute of Education (NIE) is presented. Attention is directed to: (1) the authorizing legislation for and the subsequent creation of the laboratories and centers; (2) a chronology of selected major events…

The federal Guaranteed Student Loan programs provide low-interest, long-term loans to students with demonstrated financial need to help them pay for their postsecondary education. The number of loan defaults and the associated federal costs are increasing; this handbook is an effort to protect students, increase accountability, and reduce default…

This technical report is part of a series on AIDS/HIV (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome/Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and is intended to help link various legal advocacy organizations providing services to persons with mental illness or developmental disabilities. This report discusses strategies to utilize existing disability models for…

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) collects statistics on the condition of education in the United States, analyzes and reports the meaning and significance of these statistics, and assists states and local education agencies in improving their statistical systems. This publication contains a summary of all recent data collections…

Information was gathered about current state interest, activity, and concerns related to performance assessment for students. The Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing of the University of California (Los Angeles) conducted telephone interviews with directors of testing in each of the 50 states in the spring of 1990.…