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After Dobbs, religion, commonly seen as an argument against abortion, has been used to argue for the right to choose. In July 2022, a synagogue sued Florida, asserting that its ban on abortion after fifteen weeks violated Article 1, Section 3 of the Florida Constitution, which prohibits the penalization of free expression of religion. In September 2022, the ACLU argued that the state's abortion ban violated Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. And in October 2022, three Jewish women sued the state of Kentucky, alleging that its abortion ban violated the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This Note provides a guide to the merits and challenges of the argument that an abortion ban violates a state Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Although this Note focuses on how Jewish plaintiffs can raise such claims, the arguments outlined could be raised by individuals of multiple faiths. This Note contributes to a growing debate about religious arguments for the right to an abortion. And it is the first paper to outline how religious freedom claims to obtaining an abortion might fare under state RFRAs. The approach to RFRA outlined in this paper lays the groundwork for a rights-advancing framework of religious exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pell Grant is the foundational need-based student aid program in the United States, providing students of lower socio-economic status a pathway to afford college costs and educational expenses. Currently, over one-third of all U.S. undergraduate students receive Pell. This paper examines federal Pell assistance and institutional costs for students at the 38 publicly controlled regional Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), which serve high average percentages of low-income students and students of color. By deploying the University of Alabama Education Policy Center's new Mission-Driven Classification System to enrollment, tuition and fees, and other costs metrics along with federal Pell and student loan data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), a more direct apples-to-apples comparison of the 38 public regional HBCUs to the 182 public regional non-HBCU in the same 19 southern states, is revealed, as are comparisons to the universe of 461 public regional universities nationally. This paper finds that America's most financially disadvantaged students rely on Pell Grants to alleviate financial constraints at public regional HBCUs, where 55 percent of students are Pell recipients, a rate 24 percent higher than their non-HBCU counterparts. Moreover, the data underscore an opportunity for Congress to construct a meaningful federal role in higher education by providing stable and sustainable funding for the Pell Grant program.

Background: Police violence is increasingly recognized as an urgent public health problem. Basic questions about police violence, however, remain unanswered, including which types of law enforcement agency are responsible for fatal police violence deaths. Methods: We estimated the proportion of police violence deaths in the U.S. (2013–2022) that were attributable to local, county, state, federal, or tribal police agencies, using mapping police violence data. We examined proportions overall, by decedent race/ethnicity, and by state. Results: Nationally, 60% of decedents were killed by municipal, 29% by county, 8% by state, and 3% by federal, police, with < 1% killed by tribal or other officers. These proportions varied by race/ethnicity, with 56% of Native American decedents killed by municipal police compared to 70–75% among other racially minoritized people. While municipal police were responsible for most deaths in most states, in the Southeast, county police predominated. In some Northeastern states (and Alaska), state police were responsible for > 40% of deaths. Conclusions: We identify wide geographic & racial/ethnic variation in the agencies responsible for fatal police violence. Findings suggest that the budgetary and infrastructural shifts required to prevent fatal police violence need to occur at multiple levels of government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presenters at the State of the States Roundtable session at the 2014 National Education Finance Conference in Louisville were invited to submit their papers for publication. These papers address the following topics: (1) State issues affecting P-12 and/or higher education funding; (2) Funding priorities/trends for P-12 and/or higher education; (3) Changes to funding formula for P-12 and/or higher education; and (4) Impact on school district or higher education budgets. States represented in this section include Alabama (Brenda Mendiola and Philip Westbrook), Arkansas (Steve Bounds), Colorado (Spencer C. Weiler and Gabriel R. Serna), Florida (Brittany Larkin, Jasmine Ulmer, and R. Craig Wood), Illinois (Joel R. Malin and Rene J. Noppe, Jr.), Indiana (Matthew R. Della Sala and Marilyn A. Hirth), Kentucky (Tyrone Bynoe), Nebraska (Barbara Y. LaCost), New Jersey (Luke J. Stedrak), New York (Osnat Zaken), North Carolina (Lisa G. Driscoll and Jim R. Watson), Ohio (Randall S. Vesely), South Carolina (Matthew R. Della Sala and Robert C. Knoeppel), Tennessee (Betty Cox), Texas (Ken Helvey and Dennis Womack), Virginia (William Owings, Leslie S. Kaplan, and Richard G. Salmon), and Wisconsin (Faith E. Crampton). (Individual state sections contain references.)

Presenters at the State of the States Roundtable session at the 2014 National Education Finance Conference in Louisville were invited to submit their papers for publication. These papers address the following topics: (1) State issues affecting P-12 and/or higher education funding; (2) Funding priorities/trends for P-12 and/or higher education; (3) Changes to funding formula for P-12 and/or higher education; and (4) Impact on school district or higher education budgets. States represented in this section include Alabama (Lenford C. Sutton), Arizona (Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos and David Martinez), Colorado (Gabriel R. Serna and Spencer C. Weiler), Florida (Brittany Larkin, Jasmine Ulmer, and R. Craig Wood), Indiana (Marilyn A. Hirth and Edward Eiler), Kentucky (Tyrone Bynoe), Michigan (Brett A. Geier), Mississippi (Luke J. Stedrak), Nebraska (Barbara Y. LaCost), Nevada (Deborah A. Verstegen), New York (Osnat Zaken), North Carolina (Lisa G. Driscoll and Jim R. Watson), Ohio (Jacob T. Akin, Carlee Poston Escue, and Randall S. Vesely), Oklahoma (Stephen C. Ballard, Stephoni Case, and Jeffrey Maiden), South Carolina (Matthew R. Della Sala and Robert C. Knoeppel), Utah (Kim Campbell, Cade Charlton, John Maynes, and Richard West), Virginia (William Owings, Leslie S. Kaplan, and Richard G. Salmon), Wisconsin (Faith E. Crampton), and Washington, D.C. (Sarah Irvine Belson and Thomas Husted). (Individual state sections contain references.)

Objectives: We study interpretable recidivism prediction using machine learning (ML) models and analyze performance in terms of prediction ability, sparsity, and fairness. Unlike previous works, this study trains interpretable models that output probabilities rather than binary predictions, and uses quantitative fairness definitions to assess the models. This study also examines whether models can generalize across geographic locations. Methods: We generated black-box and interpretable ML models on two different criminal recidivism datasets from Florida and Kentucky. We compared predictive performance and fairness of these models against two methods that are currently used in the justice system to predict pretrial recidivism: the Arnold PSA and COMPAS. We evaluated predictive performance of all models on predicting six different types of crime over two time spans. Results: Several interpretable ML models can predict recidivism as well as black-box ML models and are more accurate than COMPAS or the Arnold PSA. These models are potentially useful in practice. Similar to the Arnold PSA, some of these interpretable models can be written down as a simple table. Others can be displayed using a set of visualizations. Our geographic analysis indicates that ML models should be trained separately for separate locations and updated over time. We also present a fairness analysis for the interpretable models. Conclusions: Interpretable ML models can perform just as well as non-interpretable methods and currently-used risk assessment scales, in terms of both prediction accuracy and fairness. ML models might be more accurate when trained separately for distinct locations and kept up-to-date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Cohort studies must implement effective retention strategies to produce internally valid and generalizable results. Ensuring all study participants are retained, particularly those involved in the criminal legal system, ensures study findings and future interventions will be relevant to this group, who are often lost to follow-up: critical to achieving health equity. Our objective was to characterize retention strategies and describe overall retention among an 18-month longitudinal cohort study of persons on community supervision prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We implemented various retention strategy best-practices (e.g., multiple forms of locator information, training study staff on rapport building, study-branded items). During the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed and describe new retention strategies. We calculated overall retention and analyzed differences between those retained and lost to follow-up by demographic characteristics. Results: Prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, 227 participants enrolled across three sites (N = 46 North Carolina; N = 99 Kentucky; N = 82 Florida). Of these, 180 completed the final 18-month visit, 15 were lost to follow-up, and 32 were ineligible. This resulted in an overall retention of 92.3% (180/195). While most participant characteristics did not differ by retention status, a greater proportion of those experiencing unstable housing were lost to follow-up. Conclusion: Our findings highlight that when retention strategies are flexible, particularly during a pandemic, high retention is still achievable. In addition to retention best-practices (e.g., frequent requests for updated locator information) we suggest other studies consider retention strategies beyond the study participant (e.g., paying participant contacts) and incentivize on-time study visit completion (e.g., providing a bonus when completed the study visit on time). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as theoretical framework and methodological tool, the present paper critically examines the legislation that has established English as official language in 30 states. This study captures the motivation and rationale of the policies, their stated outcomes and educational implications. The analysis situates the discourse embedded in official language policies within its socio-historical context and the conceptualization of race and language in the US. The results indicate that official English legislation responds to a conservative raciolinguistic ideology that seeks to reaffirm the hegemony of English as a mechanism of internal colonization. Official English attempts to establish monolingual educational and governmental practices that serve as an instrument to protect the status quo and, thus, perpetuate the privilege of whiteness and the subordination of immigrants, and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).

Spurred by the 1986 IDEA reauthorization, the movement toward collaborative, or blended, preservice early childhood personnel preparation now spans an impressive 30-year history. In this paper, we trace the evolution of blended preparation by applying a conceptual framework that situates the development of blended program identity within a socio-cultural context over time. In detailing the events of the past 30 years, we provide a historical perspective of the blended approach in practice by highlighting key aspects of the historical and emerging literature base. We argue that just as contextual circumstances served as a catalyst to the initiation of the blended movement, the contemporary socio-cultural context, particularly the onset of the groundbreaking 2020 EI/ECSE Personnel Preparation Standards coupled with the 2020 ECE Standards, provides an exciting new catalyst with the potential to reinvigorate the blended preparation movement now and in the future. We conclude with recommendations based on lessons learned from this history to support the continuation and evolution of the blended preparation approach.

In February 2015 a large group of scholars, researchers, and practitioners interested in P-20 finance issues gathered in St. Louis, Missouri, for the National Education Finance Academy's annual conference, on February 25-27, 2015 to discuss, among multiple topics, the state of P-20 finance in all 50 states. There were 35 states represented in the round table session and representatives of 30 of those states submitted their manuscripts to the "Journal of Education Finance" for publication. This is the third year that JEF has published the State of the States manuscripts as a service to those interested in trends around P-20 finance and the 28 states represents the highest number of states included in the report to date. However, it is the intention to have all 50 states represented by 2016 and individuals interested in representing currently unrepresented states should contact Drs. Weiler and Hartman. Presenters at the 2015 National Education Finance Academy's State of the States Round table session were directed to address the following topics: (1) Funding priorities/trends for P-12 and/or higher education (2) Changes to the funding formula for P-12 and/or higher education; (3) Pressing issues affecting P-12 and/or higher education funding; (4) Exclusive to P-12: Diverting funds from public school districts; and (5) Exclusive to Higher Education: Trends in state funding for public institutions. The following information summarizes some of the more prevalent trends observed in the submissions. The following manuscripts are presented here listed alphabetically by state: (1) Alabama (Brenda Mendiola and Philip Westbrook); (2) Arizona (Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos and David Martinez); (3) Arkansas (Dongfang Liu and Chao Liu); (4) California (Henry Tran); (5) Florida (Megan Lane, Jolande Morgan, and R. Craig Wood); (6) Georgia (Brittany Larkin); (7) Hawaii (Christine Kiracofe); (8) Illinois (Kelly H. Summers and Christine Kiracofe); (9) Kansas (Thomas A. DeLuca); (10) Kentucky (Tyrone Bynoe); (11) Louisiana (David G. Buckman); (12) Maryland (Sarah Irvine Belson and Thomas Husted); (13) Michigan (Brett Geier and Dennis McCrumb ); (14) Minnesota (Nicola A. Alexander); (15) Montana (Lou L. Sabina); (16) Nebraska (Barbara Y. LaCost); (17) Nevada (Deborah A. Verstegen); (18) New Jersey (Luke J. Stedrak and Robert Kelchen); (19) New Mexico (Joshua M. Cohen); (20) New York (Osnat Zaken); (21) North Carolina (Lisa G. Driscoll and Jim R. Watson ); (22) Ohio (Carlee Escue Simon); (23) Pennsylvania (Tim Shrom and William Hartman); (24) South Carolina (Misty B. Soles and Robert C. Knoeppel); (25) Tennessee (Betty Cox); (26) Texas (Ken Helvey); (27) Virginia (William Owings, Leslie S. Kaplan, and Richard G. Salmon); (28) Wisconsin (Faith E. Crampton); and (29) Wyoming (Kelly H. Summers). References are provided with each individual paper.

Antibiotic resistance is a global concern for human, animal, and environmental health. Many studies have identified wastewater treatment plants and surface waters as major reservoirs of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and genes (ARGs). Yet their prevalence in urban karst groundwater systems remains largely unexplored. Considering the extent of karst groundwater use globally, and the growing urban areas in these regions, there is an urgent need to understand antibiotic resistance in karst systems to protect source water and human health. This study evaluated the prevalence of ARGs associated with resistance phenotypes at 10 urban karst features in Bowling Green, Kentucky weekly for 46 weeks. To expand the understanding of prevalence in urban karst, a spot sampling of 45 sites in the Tampa Bay Metropolitan area, Florida was also conducted. Specifically, this study considered tetracycline and extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBLs) producing, including third generation cephalosporin, resistant E. coli, and tetracycline and macrolide resistant Enterococcus spp. across the 443 Kentucky and 45 Florida samples. A consistent prevalence of clinically relevant and urban associated ARGs were found throughout the urban karst systems, regardless of varying urban development, karst geology, climate, or landuse. These findings indicate urban karst groundwater as a reservoir for antibiotic resistance, potentially threatening human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes predictors of secondary traumatic stress and burnout in a national sample of helping professionals, with a specific focus on the unique responses of child welfare (CW) workers. Specific worker and exposure characteristics are examined as possible predictors of these forms of occupational distress in a sample of 669 professionals from across the country who responded to mailed (e-mail and post) invitations to participate in an online survey. Email and home mailing addresses were secured from licensure boards and professional membership organizations in six states from across the country that had high rates of child related deaths in 2009. Respondents completed the Professional Quality of Life IV (Stamm, 2005) to ascertain compassion fatigue (CF) and burnout symptoms. Being male, young, Hispanic, holding rural residence, and endorsing a lack of religious participation were significant predictors of secondary traumatic stress. Similarly, being male and young predicted high burnout rates, while actively participating in religious services predicted lower burnout. CW worker job status as a professional was significantly more likely to predict CF and burnout compared to all other types of behavioral healthcare professionals. Based on the findings from this study, this paper proposes strategies for enhancing self-care for CW workers, and describes the essential elements of a trauma-informed CW agency that addresses secondary traumatic stress and burnout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typically, when a community's historical materials encounter a large academic library's archives, the engagement is transactional: they sign forms, they hand over their archives, and we assure them that their materials will be valued by researchers. These procedures make assumptions about comfort with gift agreements (what if communities seek compensation?) or value ascribed to academic researchers (what about other kinds of information seekers?). These approaches may work for communities who have only been extolled and affirmed by the formal archive, but other communities need a different approach. We argue that community archives are strengthened with the strategic support of institutions, and institutional aspirations thrive with the inclusion of community voices and practices. In this paper, we use examples from the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries and its community partners to demonstrate how putting work with community-based collections in sharp relief with the practices of institutional repository reveals the fundamentally white supremacist foundation of archival studies and gives us an opportunity to imagine what is required for sustainable repair and healing.

Student affairs professionals are concerned about the access and success of diverse groups of students in U.S. higher education, but systematic barriers continue to confront one understudied population of college students. Justice-involved people--those who have experienced the criminal justice system--face unique challenges on our campuses but are often ignored in discussions of access, retention, and success. To raise awareness about the barriers these student face, this paper offers a descriptive examination of the federal, state, and institutional policies that target justice-involved college students, including policies related to admissions, financial aid, campus housing, student employment, student athletics, and others. Analysis suggests these policies are significant barriers to student success because they prevent students from accessing important services and programs and are harmfully stigmatizing. Recommendations are offered to student affairs professionals on supporting justice-involved college students to overcome the barriers.

This paper describes a development process which builds upon the strengths of community service learning and community development by providing teenagers a chance to get involved in the community while providing a valuable service leading to local action. The strategy focuses on building partnerships among students, teachers and local leaders to learn about community leadership, conduct a community needs assessment survey, and address a local need through a community development process. Experience from projects in Florida and Kentucky suggests that this strategy can help youth get involved in the community while providing a sounder basis for the community to act on its needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change education in the southeastern United States can be challenging. Due to economic factors, as well as the conservative political and faith perspectives typical of the region, high proportions (40%) of the population are not engaged, not convinced, or doubt Earth's climate is changing or that climate change has anthropogenic causes. Finding ways to bring such people into the climate change conversation is a crucial first step. This paper describes a public dialogue approach that brings together scientists with heterogeneous groups of faith, leisure/outdoor, educator, and agriculture communities to promote perspective sharing in an open and safe environment. It also describes the research we conducted on participants' experiences. Participants' postdialogue responses showed that they rated their learning about policies that might address climate change more strongly than their learning about climate science or the impacts of climate change. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of postdialogue evaluations found that three factors explained 63% of the variability in the data and represented substantively distinct components of participants' experiences: (1) feeling respected, (2) learning about climate science and policy content, and (3) learning about faith-based and other new and different perspectives about the issue. Qualitative findings supported quantitative results, suggesting that respondents felt comfortable speaking freely about their views on climate change, politics, and religion and that they valued engaging with diverse groups to have an open discussion about climate change. The dialogue approach has potential to depolarize climate change discourse through relationship building so that diverse communities can engage in productive and civil conversations expressing multiple perspectives.

Background: Opioid-related injuries and deaths continue to present challenges for public health practitioners. Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) are a prevalent policy option intended to address problematic opioid pain reliever (OPR) prescribing, but previous research has not thoroughly characterized their unintended consequences. Objectives: To examine state actors' perceptions of the unintended consequences of PDMPs. Methods: We conducted 37 interviews with PDMP staff, law enforcement officials, and administrative agency employees in Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey, and Ohio from May 2015 to June 2016. Results: We identified six themes from the interviews. Perceived negative unintended consequences included: access barriers for those with medical needs, heroin use as OPR substitute and related deaths, and need for adequate PDMP security infrastructure and management. Perceived positive unintended consequences were: community formation and problem awareness, proactive population-level OPR monitoring, and increased knowledge about population-level drug diversion. Conclusions/Importance: State actors perceive a range of both negative and positive unintended consequences of PDMPs. Our findings suggest that there may be unintended risks of PDMPs that states should address, but also opportunities to maximize certain benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On February 24, 2017, all of the authors of the state-of-the-state manuscripts published in the "Journal of Education Finance" met in Cincinnati, Ohio, to participate in a roundtable discussion focused on recent legislative actions in 38 states. A majority of those papers were revised to reflect a final report on legislative actions impacting the funding of P-12 and higher education. Overall, adequate funding for education continues to be an issue many states are struggling with. There is reason to be hopeful, as several states have seen increases in per pupil funding and teacher salaries. When facing funding shortfalls, some states have begun considering alternate sources of funding for public education. In complicated fiscal times like these, it is anticipated that an increasing number of states will look to novel forms of raising revenue for public schools. The following contents are included: (1) The Good, the Bad, and the Alarming: Commentary on the 2017 State of the States Submissions (Brittany Larkin, Christine Kiracofe, and Spencer Weiler); (2) Alabama (Philip Westbrook and Brenda Mendiola); (3) Alaska (Amy Dagley); (4) Arizona (David G. Martinez and Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos); (5) Arkansas (Steve Bounds); (6) California (Henry Tran); (7) Colorado (Gabriel R. Serna and Spencer C. Weiler); (8) Connecticut (Lesley A. DeNardis); (9) Florida (Megan Lane, Jolande Morgan, and R. Craig Wood); (10) Georgia (David G. Buckman and Tommy Jackson); (11) Illinois (Christine Kiracofe); (12) Indiana (Scott Rodger Sweetland); (13) Kansas (Thomas A. DeLuca); (14) Kentucky (Tyrone Bynoe); (15) Louisiana (Arvin Johnson, Venice M. Adams, and David G. Buckman); (16) Massachusetts (Tyrone Bynoe); (17) Michigan (Brett A. Geier); (18) Minnesota (Nicola A. Alexander); (19) Mississippi (Spencer D. Stone and Joshua A. Money); (20) Nebraska (Barbara La Cost); (21) Nevada (Deborah A. Verstegen, Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos, and David Martinez); (22) New Hampshire (F. Frank Ayata and Jeremy M. Anderson); (23) New Jersey (Luke J. Stedrak); (24) New Mexico (David G. Martinez and Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos); (25) New York (Osnat Zaken); (26) North Carolina (Walter Hart, Jim R. Watson, and Lisa G. Driscoll); (27) Ohio (Barbara M. De Luca, Krystel H. Chenault, and Randall S. Vesely); (28) Oklahoma (Jeffrey Maiden and Channa Byerly); (29) Oregon (Michael C. Petko); (30) Pennsylvania (Jeremy Anderson and F. Frank Ayata); (31) Tennessee (Lisa G. Driscoll and Betty Cox); (32) Texas (Ken Helvey); (33) Virginia (William Owings and Leslie S. Kaplan); (34) West Virginia (Drew Milligan); (35) Wisconsin (Michael C. Petko); and (36) Wyoming (Joshua M. Cohen). [For the previous year, see EJ1170086.]

The enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been expected to improve the coverage of health insurance, particularly as related to the coordination of seamless care and the continuity of elder care among Medicare beneficiaries. The analysis of longitudinal data (2007 through 2013) in rural areas offers a unique opportunity to examine trends and patterns of rural disparities in hospital readmissions within 30 days of discharge among Medicare beneficiaries served by rural health clinics (RHCs) in the eight southeastern states of the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) Region 4. The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to examine rural trends and patterns of hospital readmission rates by state and year (before and after the ACA enactment); and second, to investigate how contextual (county characteristic), organizational (clinic characteristic) and ecological (aggregate patient characteristic) factors may influence the variations in repeat hospitalizations. The unit of analysis is the RHC. We used administrative data compiled from multiple sources for the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services for a period of seven years. From 2007 to 2008, risk-adjusted readmission rates increased slightly among Medicare beneficiaries served by RHCs. However, the rate declined in 2009 through 2013. A generalized estimating equation of sixteen predictors was analyzed for the variability in risk-adjusted readmission rates. Nine predictors were statistically associated with the variability in risk-adjusted readmission rates of the RHCs pooled from 2007 through 2013 together. The declined rates were associated with by the ACA effect, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and the percentage of elderly population in a county where RHC is located. However, the increase of risk-adjusted rates was associated with the percentage of African Americans in a county, the percentage of dually eligible patients, the average age of patients, and the average clinical visits by African American patients. The sixteen predictors accounted for 21.52 % of the total variability in readmissions. This study contributes to the literature in health disparities research from the contextual, organizational and ecological perspectives in the analysis of longitudinal data. The synergism of multiple contextual, organizational and ecological factors, as shown in this study, should be considered in the design and implementation of intervention studies to address the problem of hospital readmissions through prevention and enhancement of disease management of rural Medicare beneficiaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores what lessons we can learn from the experiences of states that instituted NCLB-like accountability systems prior to 2001 (here called first-generation accountability systems). We looked at the experiences of three smaller states (Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina), four larger ones (California, Florida, New York, Texas), and two large districts (Chicago and Philadelphia). We analyzed evaluative reports and policy documents as well as interviews with state officials and researchers. We condensed the material into eight lessons: sanctions are not the fallback solution; no single strategy has been universally successful; staging should be handled with flexibility; intensive capacity building is necessary; a comprehensive set of strategies seems promising; relationship-building needs to complement powerful programs; competence reduces conflict; and strong state commitment is needed to create system capacity. (Contains 19 footnotes, 2 tables, and 1 figure.)

A capstone experience, as an exit degree requirement, allows Master of Public Administration (MPA) students to build quasi-experimental practices by applying learned knowledge and skills throughout their curriculum in the United States. Accredited MPA programs have implemented their capstone courses differently to achieve required standards. Small programs have faced more challenges in organizational capacities than big programs. Although no consensus on standard capstone course components has been made, this study intends to discuss feasible capstone formats for small programs by reviewing the relatively small accredited MPA programs. The majority of the comparable programs have adopted the professional paper model with different course structures. In response to the program reviews and the pilot experience, three components are suggested to redesign a capstone course for small programs: faculty-directed; group-based; and project-focused. The capstone pilot experience has confirmed that ownership by the involvement of many faculty and external inputs in designing the course is critical to implement successful capstone experiences for small programs.

There is a pervasive and ongoing perception that leadership preparation is a problem. Important questions remain about the intentions, capacity, and impact of state departments of education engaged in leadership preparation program redesign. In this essay, I take up several issues concerning this state policy work, including whether a one size fits all approach to redesign is appropriate, whether the approaches taken by states have had the intended impact on preparation and leadership practice, and whether state departments of education have the capacity to shoulder the responsibility of translating and implementing policy as well as supporting preparation program redesign.

This study describes predictors of secondary traumatic stress and burnout in a national sample of helping professionals, with a specific focus on the unique responses of child welfare (CW) workers. Specific worker and exposure characteristics are examined as possible predictors of these forms of occupational distress in a sample of 669 professionals from across the country who responded to mailed (e-mail and post) invitations to participate in an online survey. Email and home mailing addresses were secured from licensure boards and professional membership organizations in six states from across the country that had high rates of child related deaths in 2009. Respondents completed the Professional Quality of Life IV (Stamm, 2005) to ascertain compassion fatigue (CF) and burnout symptoms. Being male, young, Hispanic, holding rural residence, and endorsing a lack of religious participation were significant predictors of secondary traumatic stress. Similarly, being male and young predicted high burnout rates, while actively participating in religious services predicted lower burnout. CW worker job status as a professional was significantly more likely to predict CF and burnout compared to all other types of behavioral healthcare professionals. Based on the findings from this study, this paper proposes strategies for enhancing self-care for CW workers, and describes the essential elements of a trauma-informed CW agency that addresses secondary traumatic stress and burnout. (Contains 5 tables.)

In the postbellum southern U.S., African Americans were steadily disenfranchised, a modern publicly financed universal school system with racially segregated schools was created, and public school monies were allocated so that white pupils received substantially more than black pupils. An earlier paper (Ng and Halcoussis 2003) established a statistical relationship between black voter participation, the prevalence of black children and the degree of fund diversion. This article extends the analysis by examining the effect of land distribution, political participation, and tax incidence on black and white student expenditures. A positive statistical relationship is found between black per student expenditures and counties with higher political participation. A negative statistical relationship is found between black per student expenditures and counties where large tenant plantations are more prevalent. This establishes that both voting power and the source of school funding also played important roles in the existence and extent of racially based school fund diversion. (Contains 4 tables and 11 footnotes.)

Reactions to the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and debate over the president's replacement nomination, Judge John Roberts, Jr., of the D.C. Circuit, dominated this summer's Supreme Court recess. Subsequently, after Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's death on September 3, 2005, President Bush nominated Roberts for the chief justice slot. In the 2004-2005 term, O'Connor provided the deciding vote in many of the 13 capital cases the Court decided, and her opinions have been described as a kind of "bridge" over the wide gulf between the Court's left and right factions in this area. In this article, the author reviews some of the landmark cases handled by the Supreme Court under the jurisprudence of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The author also provides his views on some of the Supreme Court's decisions. (Contains 21 notes).

Since the inception of Standards for Technological Literacy (STL) in 2000 by the International Technology Education Association (ITEA), a number of changes have occurred in technology education programs at the state level. With the release of the latest standards publication, Advancing Excellence in Technological Literacy (AETL) (ITEA, 2003), there has been a somewhat renewed commitment to implementing the standards in STL, with the perception that this new document will provide some of the support necessary for implementation and help answer some of the questions about accountability for the programs. In this article, three perspectives on this are voiced. The first two perspectives come from two administrators, one in Florida and one in Utah. The third, and final perspective, comes from a teacher in Kentucky.