Resources, Data on Disability Issues

KIDS COUNT DATA BOOK The Annie E. Casey Foundation's 19th annual "Kids Count Data Book" is a national and state-by-state profile of the well-being of America's children that ranks states on 10 key measures and provides data on the economic, health, education, and social conditions of America's children and families. This year's Data Book essay, "A Road Map for Juvenile Justice Reform," outlines key action steps and model programs with the potential to change the reality and prospects for the nearly 100,000 youth confined in U.S. juvenile facilities on any given night. More information on the Data Book and the Essay can be found at http://www.kidscount.org/datacenter/databook.jsp

THE SCHOTT 50 STATE REPORT ON PUBLIC EDUCATION AND AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES A new take on the troubling story of poor educational outcomes for black males comes from the Schott Foundation for Public Education in a report titled "Given Half a Chance: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males." It is, says Schott, a "drastic range of outcomes." Part of the picture: graduation rates below 50 percent nationally for black male students, excess referrals to special education programs, and disproportionately high rates of suspension and expulsion. The report, which provides details for 25 states and the District of Columbia, highlights the comparatively poor record of large urban school systems representing 40 percent of the black males in public schools. Black male students tend to fare better in states and areas with lower black populations, where schools are often more diverse and have more resources, the report says, while nationally, the graduation rate for black males trails the rate for white mails by 28 percentage points. The report can be found at http://www.blackboysreport.org

NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS This descriptive report presents initial findings on parents' and families' involvement in their children's education from the Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey (PFI) of the 2007 National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES). It also incorporates basic demographic information about the population of students in kindergarten through 12th grade, their parents'/guardians' characteristics, and the characteristics of the households in which they live. Topics covered include parent reports of their involvement in activities at school, their involvement with homework, school communication practices, schools' provision of information on select topics, parent satisfaction with various school characteristics, expectations for their children's educational attainment, and family plans to help pay for postsecondary education. This report can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008050