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This paper examines the political and economic dimensions of state takeover of local school districts in a theoretical framework that reveals the intergovernmental tensions evident in restoring local control after a contentious period of state intervention. Over the course of the past fifteen years, state takeover has generated not only the strongest resistance from local officials of any policy innovation to reinvigorate the performance of local education agencies within the American public education system, but also the most diverse set of results in the duration and extent of state involvement at the district level. What accounts for this variation? And, more importantly, what does the emergence of state takeover signify for the future of the intergovernmental system in the context of American public education? In this paper, the authors present preliminary findings from a national quantitative analysis of local school districts that have been subject to state takeover and have since regained local control, as well as empirical case studies of two states, Alabama and Kentucky, where state authorities have restored local control in at least eleven local school districts. An analytical consideration of the effects of state takeover on decision-making authority at the district level, fiscal and resource allocation, and the consequences of local capacity and local culture demonstrates that 1) local autonomy is conditional based on acceptable performance as defined by the state, 2) the sequential progression of state takeover in reforming the mode of local governance as well as the variable nature of duration necessitate more consideration by policymakers seeking to enhance performance accountability, 3) economic factors may have less to do with the return of local control than politics, and 4) the significance of unemployment and debt measures in contributing to the duration of state takeover has the potential to fundamentally reshape our understanding of intergovernmental relations and state policy leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: This paper is part of a larger project on agenda setting in the American federal system and the development of the federal education agenda since 1965. Two questions motivate this paper, one theoretical and the other empirical. First, how does federalism affect the federal agenda? And second, what explains the development of federal involvement in K-12 education policy since the passage in 1965 of the first Elementary and Secondary Education Act? The paper links concepts from the literatures on agenda setting and federalism to develop a theory that explains how policy entrepreneurs across levels of government interact and affect one another's agendas. The analysis presented here examines how in the United States, a nation historically wedded to local control of education, the federal government has significantly expanded its role in the nation's schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important developments in the recent politics of education reform has been the rise of a new group of education reform advocacy organizations (ERAOs) that are working to mobilize parents behind school reform at the district and state levels. The past two years have witnessed an unprecedented wave of state education reforms to increase accountability for student achievement, improve teacher quality, turn around failing schools, and expand school choice, much of this fiercely opposed by the teachers unions. The ERAOs and their efforts to organize parents have played an important role in pushing for these changes in state capitols, and they clearly are reshaping the politics of school reform in the United States in important ways. Despite the increasing number and activity of ERAOs, we know relatively little about them and how they operate. This paper will offer an in-depth examination of ERAOs and what we can learn from their efforts to engage parents in school reform and from other grassroots community organizing experiences. Including academic research, a brief literature review, and field-based case studies and interviews, this paper will assess the circumstances necessary for parent empowerment campaigns to be successful and the factors that may hinder engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a framework based on Hirschman's theory of exit, voice, and loyalty to explain intra-district inequality in resource allocation within public school districts. Within this framework, the ability of wealthy families to employ an exit strategy from public schools is a key element to explaining intra-district inequality. It predicts that there is an important class of cases in which rational, district-level school leadership targets educational resources in order to retain wealthy students and the support of their families. The empirical analysis tests these predictions using financial and education data on California schools (2000-2001) and demographic data from California school districts (Census 2000). The paper finds strong empirical support for the theory's predictions. The logic of exit in the context of the basic political economy of American schools also provides an insight on "systemic power" in local politics (Stone 1980). That is, it identifies institutional features of American cities and school systems that explain why strategic leaders cater to the interests of a select group of constituents. Second, the paper's findings hold important policy implications for school districts interested in equalizing resources across schools. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central puzzle of the paper is why did the suburban schools systems in Fairfax and Montgomery counties choose to implement policies shifting resources to schools with greater numbers of racial and ethnic minorities at a time of shrinking budgets, when in all likelihood this would alienate their middle-class constituencies? Moreover, why did they choose these policies when they were not under any political pressure to do so? The choice of policy seems to run counter to any interest-based theory of politics. The research presented here finds that bureaucracies have their own internal norms or professional ethos which may lead bureaucrats to espouse policy change preceding any external political pressure; indeed, these bureaucrats may try and mobilize pressure for policy change themselves. Thus, a kind of ?bureaucratic incorporation? of newcomers can take place, driven by professional norms and ethos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses recent efforts to improve K-12 education in California, the state with the largest population of K-12 students (6.1 million), the highest percentage of students receiving Limited English Proficiency services (24.5 %) and a high percentage of stu-dents eligible for free and reduced price meals (46.6 %). California is compared to the five states with next highest K-12 enrollments (Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, and Pennsylvania) and its three contiguous states (Arizona, Nevada and Oregon). Special attention is paid to the impact of a law suit, Williams vs. State of California, upon education politics and policy making in that state. This suit claims that California unconstitutionally fails to provide adequate resources to its schools, especially in the areas of instructional materials, qualified teachers and school facilities. At least five major policy approaches are seeking to improve K-12 education today: (1) standards (applied to schools for learning outcomes by grade and subject and to students for mastering these materials, most notably in high stakes examinations for high school graduation), (2) parental/student choice (in the form of charter schools and vouchers), (3) reformed governance of schools (including most notably large city mayors taking over public schools), (4) increased school accountability (especially as seen in the national No Child Left Behind Act), and (5) claims for ?adequacy? tests for school financing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How, precisely, does governance matter for the production of state education policy? In this paper I explore that question using the analytical framework described in Lynn, Heinrich, and Hill (2000; 2001) and Hill (2004). Specifically, I study how variation in state governing arrangements and other relevant factors influence the quality of state policies in two important areas: standards and accountability, and teachers. The analysis relies on a panel dataset of the American states from 1997-2004. Overall, I argue that the institutional links between governors, state boards, and chief state school officers, the fiscal federalism of education, and state political environments noticeably influence the quality of state policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that political conflict over educational policy at the local level is cultural in its origins and represents a deep division in American society about the values that should be taught in the public schools. The research focuses on a single case study of a recall election in the Orange Unified School District that occurred in June, 2001. The recall was successful in removing a conservative majority from the Board of Trustees. The conservatives had originally captured a majority in 1993 and set the policy agenda in the District for eight years. The research shows how a successful coalition to remove the Board was mobilized and how the election outcome resulted in a change in educational policy. the single case study is compared to other recall elections in Orange and San Diego Counties. The research shows that much of the conflict was about the very legitimacy of public education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Federal education politics have been peculiar during the past twelve years. There was a sudden and unexpected consensus- congressmen and presidents held that students in America’s public schools were learning less than they should. Moreover, the left and the right agreed that the proper policy response to this public problem was to raise education standards. Accordingly, recent years brought five major federal policy initiatives to raise education standards: America 2000, Goals 2000, the 1994 Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), Voluntary National Tests (VNT’s), and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 (NCLB). Yet, for all the effort the policies have failed. America 2000 and VNT’s did not pass Congress; and Goals 2000, the 1994 Reauthorization of the ESEA, and NCLB have had negligible effects on standards. Research Question: Why have the efforts to make federal policy to raise education standards failed? Hypothesis: National politicians do not object to standards per se. In fact, they avidly support standards. However, a deep-rooted political division has confounded the efforts to create effective national standards policy. The sources of the present political divide in federal education politics are twofold. First, the tradition of local control of schooling limited the politically feasible extents of raising educational standards through federal policy. In short, conservatives have denied the federal government direct means for raising standards, forcing policymakers to use indirect and ineffective approaches. Second, liberals believe that academic under-achievement is largely a function of school funding. They have, therefore, refused to accept higher standards without federal action to equalize school funding and resources. Doing this though, would not only be expensive, but it would also be a dramatic invasion of local control, which, as noted above, conservatives stand firmly against. Source Materials: This paper draws on a larger study that utilized primary source documents, including transcripts of congressional hearings on education bills and floor debates, the presidential platforms of the major parties, and interviews with policymakers. These were supplemented with secondary sources (newspapers, Congressional Quarterly, National Journal, texts, etc.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With federal funds accounting for only seven percent of public elementary and secondary education revenue, funding responsibility for K-12 education is split primarily between state and local governments. Since the 1980s, state governments have generally assumed primary fiscal responsibility, with local governments supplying the rest of the necessary revenue (Wong 1999). There is, however, noticeable variation in the level of funding responsibility across the fifty states. This paper performs an empirical examination of the effects of this variation in state funding responsibility for K-12 education, considering the impact of this variation on equity and innovation. We also pay attention to the state-house political party dynamics that may play a mediating role in this relationship, and we consider the effect of funding responsibility on achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars and policy makers in the U.S. have long been concerned about achievement gaps between ethnic minorities and white students. The notorious black-white test score gap of a full standard deviation has received special attention (Jencks and Phillips 1998). Although the consensus is strong that such gaps exist and ought to be significantly narrowed if not eliminated, there is little agreement regarding which public policies are likely to be most effective in closing minority student achievement gaps.     In this paper we examine the question of what policy-influenced characteristics of teachers appear to hold the most promise to boost achievement among various disadvantaged groups and whether such achievement gains are likely to come at the expense of other subgroups of students. We pay especially close attention to the question of teacher race and ethnicity and explore what implications teacher race has for the academic achievement of various student groups. We are particularly interested in exploring whether or not teachers of minority races boost the achievement of students of their race, thus demonstrating a [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the Cumulative General Social Survey (GSS) survey data and find that American confidence in schools declined markedly between 1973 and 2010. Those whose confidence declined the most were white, elderly men. In order to determine if this lost confidence was due to poor student performance, we examined NAEP math and reading scores (1978-2008). We found evidence of strong improvements across students of all ages and racial groups. Finally, we re-estimated the NAEP gains by using two different statistical methods that control for changes in the demographic composition of the American student body. We find that failure to control for these factors causes researchers to underestimate NAEP gains by more than 40%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For some years, the U.S. Congress has been working on the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which would create the possibility for young undocumented immigrants to obtain temporary residence in the United States. This paper looks at how this project fundamentally changes the relationship between American institutions of government on the one hand, and undocumented immigrants on the other. Beyond the change in status of undocumented youth from objects to subjects of the law, and their recent emergence as political actors, the consideration of the DREAM Act leads us to reopen the debate on the concept of collective representation in the U.S. Congress, and how it can be used as a tool in the mobilization and greater representation of the interests of immigrants in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines New Jersey's experiences with implementing No Child Left Behind to better illuminate the impact that the law is having on education reform in the state. The implementation of NCLB has been decidedly mixed as the state has struggled to comply with the law while preserving its robust tradition of local control of schools. The NJDOE initially failed to provide clear and timely AYP determinations or adequate guidance and supervision regarding NCLB's sanctions and remedies for underperforming schools. The unusually small size of districts in NJ has combined with the lack of an inter-district choice law and a difficult charter conversion process to make school choice virtually non-existent in the state. Districts and schools have used their considerable discretion over the SES process to constrain the entrance and expansion of private SES providers and the utilization of these services by students. The NJDOE has provided unprecedented guidance to failing schools and districts but whether or not the CAPA process will generate substantial and lasting student achievement gains remains to be seen. Thanks to NCLB, equity has now been joined with accountability in New Jersey, but it appears that the state must increase its oversight further to ensure that schools are effectively deploying their resources to enhance student achievement and educational opportunity. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than a decade, advocates across the United States have pressed for universal access to high quality preschool. Although policy evaluation of such programs has been overwhelmingly favorable about both their cost effectiveness and the educational impact, advocates= influence on policies at the state level has been decidedly mixed. Almost surprisingly, the states that have led the way with generous and innovative programs are generally not those who are usual policy innovators nor those who have particularly well funded or inclusive public school programs at any other level. Moreover, although more than two thirds of US states have some kind of preschool program, these programs vary tremendously in terms of their universality, their standards for quality, and even the locus of their administration. In this paper, we explain the influence of state level variables as well as advocates= political strategies on the resulting policies. After a brief review of the origins of the press for universal pre kindergarten, we describe the range of programs across the states, paying particular attention to successful campaigns for new programs in Georgia, Oklahoma, and Florida. We then provide an overview of advocacy strategies advocates have employed across the United States, emphasizing differences in the nature of the preferred program, the social construction of the target population, and political advocacy strategy. Using a combination of comparative analyses across the 50 states and detailed case studies in a few critical states, we present several distinct pathways to educational reform. Controlling for demographic and budgetary variables at the state level, we assess the impact of different political strategies on the ultimate policy outcomes. Paradoxically, we find that elite oriented strategies produce more comprehensive and generous programs than ones that emphasize democratic politics. We discuss why, and conclude with advice for advocates. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foundations do not have authority to propose a bill, sign a bill into law, or hand down a court ruling. However, they wield significant power in the education policymaking arena. Here, we investigate the efforts of foundations to influence school choice policy, focusing particularly on efforts in California and New York. According to our findings, foundations that support school choice advocacy - by engaging in it directly or by funding the efforts of others - are particularly active in the policymaking process at the problem definition, agenda-setting, and policy implementation stages. As well as doing much to promote the creation of a public climate that is supportive of education vouchers, foundations have played a crucial role in protecting school choice policy successes. Thus, their efforts to support the charter school movement have helped ensure that, in the space of a decade, charter schools have become an accepted part of the educational landscape, at the local, state, and national levels. At all times, foundations and their allies supporting school choice have had to find ways to pursue their policy goals in the face of fierce opposition from the more established, embedded advocacy coalition representing the traditional public education system. We propose that foundations be viewed as politically-attuned organizations that have considerably more influence in education policymaking than has generally been acknowledged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing policy responsiveness, the degree to which public policies correspond to citizen preferences, is a central challenge to political scientists. Despite extensive study, one aspect of policy responsiveness remains largely unexplored: the degree to which policy responsiveness is enhanced or diminished by various institutional arrangements. We examine how the correspondence between local educational spending levels and citizen preferences varies by three aspects of institutional design: fiscal independence, referendum requirements, and rules of electoral representation. Using data on over 9000 US school districts we show that reforms resulting from Civil Rights Movement challenges to electoral systems were successful in improving the policy responsiveness of districts with even small minority populations. In addition, we show that one innovation championed by the Progressives - fiscal independence - lessens policy responsiveness while another such reform - the referendum - strengthens the opinion-policy linkage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the study conducted that examines the impact of work of conservative interest groups, policy planning institutes, and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) on public higher education pronouncements and policy enactments at both the national and state levels. Topics discussed include general implications for the American political system, changing trends of conservative reform of higher education, and collective bargaining and budgeting in higher education.

The article offers information on the state of early childhood education and care (ECEC) in the U.S. It is said that it is necessary to know the role that deeply held beliefs and values play in policy decision making in order to understand the method of ECEC policy provision and policy changes in liberal welfare states.

The article examines the effectiveness of state-level cut scores that operationalize proficiency under No Child Left Behind Act in the U.S. It analyzes whether funding level at the state level brings higher expectations for students. The mathematical targets set by states to identify students in reading and mathematics are highlighted.

A tension between accountability and federalism is a distinguishing feature in educational policy. Accountability favors clear lines of authority and responsibility, while federalism is characterized by multiple and interdependent levels of government. This tension is further complicated by the different forms of accountability. Accountability involves account-giving in which information is presented regarding the actions of an individual or organization to achieve a particular goal. Viewed as a policy design, five key elements constitute an accountability system: goals, actors, accounts, consequences, and venues. Of particular note are different venues - legal, administrative, political, market, professional, network - that provide institutional settings in which accountability policies are constructed. Different accountability designs are possible depending upon the goals identified, actors involved, accounts used, consequences set, and venues employed. The development of accountability systems is assessed through a federalism lens with separate attention to federal, state, and local perspectives. At the federal level, the Not Child Left Behind Act and recent waivers to that act set the stage for accountability. At the state and local level, a review of accountability systems in five states and five school districts supports this assessment. Intergovernmental dialogues will continue as accountability systems evolve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on educational equality in the U.S. A critical response to sufficientarian concept of educational justice is offered. The author argues that withdrawal from the ideal educational equality is not motivated sufficiently. It is also stated that the argument for sufficientarian concept of educational justice has failed on its own terms.

The article focuses on the concept of revitalizing democracy related to civic education in the U.S. and Europe. It mentions that the declining participation of citizens in democracy is a theme for policy-makers and academics in liberal democracies. It states that civic education is related to institutional structures.

The article focuses on the politics of education and training focused on industrial economies. It presents information on national skills in domestic production strategies. It offers information on the rise in international trade and global disaggregated production since 1980. It offers information on globalization, business lobbies, and education reforms in the U.S.

The article explores why U.S. states vary in their provision of public preschool and how political leaders effectively initiate reform on this issue. It provides a general background on the development of the public preschool debate. It traces some basic dimensions of policy variance, including program origins, extent of access, funding and quality standards. It looks at the ways in which advocates discussed public preschool and traces the relationship of this framing to policy outcomes.

The article examines how Americans construct and reconstruct the meaning of educational equality and how, alongside a range of other factors, those meanings shape the educational policymaking process. It focuses on Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972, a statute that prohibits gender discrimination in education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. It also examines how operational definitions of equality emerged in debates over equality reforms in public education.

Debates over sex education policy in the United States between supporters of abstinence-only and comprehensive programs reflect a deeper issue about who takes responsibility for care, when, how, and why. In this article, I explore the question who cares by comparing abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education curricula and build on Joan Tronto's idea of privileged irresponsibility to examine responsibility as a conceptual site where power intersects with care. Three specific claims arise from this analysis that speak to central issues in the public ethic of care. First, I contend that the biological act of sex should be recognized as a basic human need essential to understanding the moral subject and a political community's relationships as fully as possible, a goal of the feminist ethics of care. Second, I identify, what I call, the double burden of moral responsibility as a necessary, though previously unseen, component of privileged irresponsibility that addresses issues of care and equality. Finally, I illustrate how morality functions in the decision-making processes central to deliberative democracy in order to suggest that work on public care attend to this often unseen dimension of politics. Comparing the ideological commitments to responsibility in approaches to sex education policy ultimately reveals the need to move beyond personal and social to collective responsibility to advance institutionalizing care in a way potentially transformative of democratic politics. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) holds the distinction of being both the most extensively studied pediatric mental disorder and one of the most controversial. This is partly due to the fact that it is also the most commonly diagnosed mental disorder among minors. On average, 1 in every 15 to 20 children in the U.S. has been diagnosed with the disorder and 1 in every 20 to 25 uses a stimulant medication—often Ritalin, Adderall, or Concerta—as treatment. The biggest increase in youth diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed a stimulant drug occurred during the 1990s, when the prevalence of physician visits for stimulant pharmacotherapy increased five-fold. This unprecedented increase in U.S. children using psychotropic medication triggered an intense public debate. When the 1990s began, most schools across the country had only a handful of (if any) children diagnosed with ADHD and using stimulants. By 2000, every classroom in the United States had, on average, at least 1 to 2 such students treated for the disorder. Currently, almost 8 percent of youth aged 4 to 17 years have a diagnosis of ADHD, and approximately 4 percent both have the diagnosis and are taking medication for the disorder. RESEARCH QUESTIONS: ADHD has been present under different diagnostic labels in the U.S. for at least seventy years, so what accounts for the rapid growth in diagnoses, stimulant treatment and the disorder's popular acceptance within the past twenty years? To what extent have the evolution of ADHD and stimulants been unique compared to other mental disorders and forms of pharmacotherapy? And why did stimulant use by children become so controversial yet commonplace? FINDINGS: As this book attempts to explain, the massive increase in the number of U.S. children diagnosed with ADHD and using stimulants stemmed from: a confluence of trends (clinical, economic, educational, political), an alignment of incentives (among clinicians, educators, policy makers, health insurers, the pharmaceutical industry), and the sizeable growth in scientific knowledge about ADHD and stimulants that converged in the first half of the 1990s. Growing political movements advocating for children's welfare and mental health consumers, along with the decreasing stigma associated with mental disorders, led to three seemingly minor changes—to disability, special education, and Medicaid policies—in the early 1990s that helped trigger the surge in ADHD diagnoses and related stimulant use.DISCUSSION: The use of stimulant medication for the management and treatment of ADHD has vocal supporters and critics alike, and as our book describes, the history of the diagnosis and treatment of the disorder reveal numerous controversies. Today, however, the controversy is not focused as much on whether or not ADHD is a "real" disorder. It is widely recognized as such. If controversies about ADHD continue, then, they are less focused on the existence of the disorder than on some of the consequences of the disorder. For example, what are the policy implications? What are the implications of the increase in the use of stimulant medication in recent years? How do ADHD and the use of stimulants fit with concerns about "cosmetic psychopharmacology"? The enduring controversy about ADHD in the public arena reflects the discomfort about what happens when the science is translated into policies and rules that govern how children will be treated. A diagnosis of ADHD is not simply a private medical finding; it carries with it a host of public ramifications... ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars and practitioners are well aware that public policy-the laws, regulations, and programs instituted by governments-establishes the ground rules for educational entrepreneurship. But the actual policy landscape-the political and policy context within which educational innovators must operate as they attempt to bring new approaches to bear in providing schooling-has received little scholarly attention. This chapter surveys the politics and policies of entrepreneurship in the United States and examines how and why states differ in the kinds of obstacles and incentives which they have created for educational entrepreneurs. It focuses on charter schooling, teacher and principal licensure, and supplemental services and concludes with an analysis of the effect that accountability reforms, and the federal No Child Left Behind law, may have on promoting new approaches to schooling. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While minority students in America still are more likely to be educated in school districts that have lower funding levels than districts with fewer minority students, states have taken different approaches to altering the financial support for minority school districts. Today, 20 states provide more funding to high minority school districts, while 30 states provide less funding to these districts in contrast to low minority areas of the state. We are able to show that variations in these funding patterns are strongly linked to the composition and orientation of the state governments, and indirectly to the opinions of the state's citizenry. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As education policy gains national attention, our system of intergovernmental governance and management faces the challenge of institutional redesign. Two sets of policy developments tend to contribute to new ways of thinking about the organization of public education. While one policy trend is related to the changing federal role following the passage of No Child Left Behind, the other comes from state and local sources. In light of these developments, I will propose a framework that specifies the new directions in education policy. I argue that the interplay of accountability and experimentation has faciliated several types of management models and governance arrangements. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the bureaucratic consequences of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and charter schools in the U.S. It applied the theory of coping organizations developed by professor James Q. Wilson in order to analyze the effects of NCLB and charter schools. It also analyzed the link between student demographic characteristics, school leadership and the outcomes of NCLB and charter school reforms.

The article presents a historical perspective of secularism in the U.S., France, and Turkey. The article focuses on the five most publicly debated state policies on religion in schools such as the prohibitions on students' religious dress and symbolism in public schools, the proscriptions on student-led prayer in public schools, restrictions on private religious education, the presence of religious instruction in public schools, and the public funding of private schools run by religious groups.

Due to the advocacy and organizing of business elites, governors, and conservative intellectuals, education reform emerged on state-level policy agendas beginning in the late 1970s. Although the movement had strong national backing, the opportunities for major changes in the organization of educational governance were strongly shaped by state-level characteristics, most notably, by state racial demographics. Indeed, as this study demonstrates, states with more diverse populations were at significantly greater risk of adopting a greater proportion of the reform policies examined here. The analysis suggests that race played a much larger role in shaping the actual implementation of reform than was previously realized, and that other oft-cited explanations - such as economic conditions, human capital endowments, and public demand - actually played a very small role in this development. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]