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In 1989, national attention was given to the unusual amount of cooperation and social connections among key policy actors in a major school-finance lawsuit in Kentucky. The case resulted in a judicial ruling declaring the entire state's school system unconstitutional. Accounts of this ruling attributed the unprecedented decision partly to relational ties between the judge and the plaintiff juries. This paper discusses findings of a study that examined: (1) finance reform actors' social network structure; and (2) how this network influenced the trial court judge's decision. Log-linear analysis was used to test the statistical significance of the distribution of mutual ties as a measure of subgroup cohesiveness. Descriptive techniques suggest that the social structure of the finance reform initiators' network was highly mutualistic. The block image matrix shows that plaintiffs not only sought advice from various key resources (education policy consultants, themselves, the trial court's select committee, and the judge), but that those key resources also sought advice from plaintiffs. Key actors could monitor information flow and perhaps strategically frame their legal arguments and political interests to achieve self-interested goals. Defense actors were isolated from the rest of this network. Implications are discussed. Included are 6 figures, 4 tables, and two appendices: sources establishing advice relationships among policy actions in Kentucky; and the "GLIM" Statistical Computing Program used to test log-linear models of Kentucky school finance reform. (Contains 87 references.) (MLH/Author)

This study by the Accelerated Schools Project at Stanford University explores the factors that were prominent in district office support of school reform. The paper details findings from case studies conducted between 1995 and 1997 of three district offices that have been supportive of Accelerated Schools and school restructuring. For the study, three subquestions were developed based upon the philosophy of the Accelerated Schools model and previous surveys: (1) What were the roles of school-site and district-office personnel with respect to school reform?; (2) What activities did the district office conduct to support school reform?; and (3) How can the decision-making processes between the district office and school sites be characterized? The three districts that were a part of this study were located in suburban settings. The findings, presented in light of recent advances within neoinstitutional theory, suggest that a theory of organizational maintenance and change may be applied to understanding how district offices may support the long-term success of Accelerated Schools as well as school restructuring in general. Furthermore, results show the importance of recognizing that such change depends on elements beyond the school site. Propositions for future research are suggested. (Contains 32 references and 4 appendices.) (RJM)

For over 10 years, the accelerated schools movement has worked to implement a cohesive philosophy and process for change in over 1,000 schools in 41 states. This paper describes the characteristics of accelerated schools and details the influences that districts have on them. It demonstrates how districts influence the success or failure of accelerated-school efforts by portraying instances of district support, as well as neglect and inadvertent sabotage. The paper next describes the genesis and history of school districts, and uses sociological social-movement (resource mobilization) and institutional theories to understand why the central focus of most districts has consistently been on compliance and control. The following conditions suggest that fundamental district reform may now be possible: (1) an articulated vision of change; (2) a network of agents who can effectively advocate for change at multiple levels; and (3) a shift in the institutional environment. The paper concludes by presenting the first pieces of the vision of a "new" school district that supports accelerated and other restructuring schools--cultural and functional match with its schools. (Contains 57 references). (LMI)