technical assistance activities were effective only in States where there is a commitment by the State to school desegregation both in terms of a clear State policy and specific goals and objectives for its enforcement. Two of the thirteen Title IV SEA units visited had such an operational commitment to desegregation and those were judged as the most effective by all measures of effectiveness that were used.

The new regulations provide substantial points in the criteria for awards for the SEA commitment to desegregation and require a minimum of 60 out of 100 total points for funding.

Training Institutes (TIs) for race desegregation tend to provide specialized activities relating to the training of school personnel. TIs essentially structure themselves to meet specific district needs. TIS can be effective if the district has a favorable desegregation environment but have no leverage and are not effective in less amenable districts. As noted at the start of this section, the new regulations direct TI services only to districts with recently adopting desegregation plans and require that training be related to desegregation.

The evaluation found that the success of the former program of direct grants to LEAS for race desegregation was dependent upon a favorable desegregation environment within the district. Without such a commitment the advisory specialist lacked influence to deal with desegregation issues. Criteria for the new discretionary LEA awards for race desegregation are not specified in detail in the new regulations.

Ongoing and Planned Evaluation Studies

None.

Sources of Evaluation Data:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Crocker, S., et al. Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Review of Program Operations (2 volumes). Santa Monica, California: Rand Corporation, 1976.

King, N.J., Thomas, M.A., & Graubard, M.H. Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Expansion of Program Responsibilities. Santa Monica, California: Rand Corporation, 1977.

Mogin, B. The State Role in School Desegregation. Menlo Park, California: Sanford Research Institute, 1977.

Title IV and School Desegregation: A Study of a Neglected Federal Program. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1973.

For further information about program operations,

Contact: Delia Alpert
202-245-8840

For further information about studies of program effectiveness,

Contact: Robert L. York

202-245-7997

The purpose of the Special Projects Act is: (1) to experiment with new educational and administrative methods, techniques, and practices; (2) to meet special or unique education needs or problems; and (3) to place special emphasis on national education prorities. To fulfill this purpose, the Commissioner is authorized to make contracts with public and private agencies, organizations, associations, institutions, and with individuals.

This program is also under the authority of the General Education Provisions Act, section 422(a). One purpose of section 422(a) of the General Education Provisions Act fulfilled by this program is: to prepare and disseminate to States and school districts information concerning education programs. To carry out this and other purposes of the act the Commissioner is authorized to make contracts with State and local education agencies, other agencies and institutions, and to the general public.

A variety of sub-programs are authorized by the Special Projects Acts; some are legislatively mandated and some may be established at the discretion of the Commissioner of Education. The Packaging and Dissemination Program falls into the second category. Its purpose is to improve the quality of education by

1/ This program was formerly called the Packaging and Field Testing Program In 1975 it was under the authority of the Cooperative Research Act, P.L. 531. It is currently under the authority of the Special Projects Act of P.L. 93-380 and does not have a separate authorization.

2/ The National Diffusion Network, established in 1974 under the authority of ESEA, Title III, was added to the Packaging and Dissemination Program in 1977. Since 1977 this program has been under the authority of the Special Projects Act, P.L. 93-380, and the General Education Provisions Act, Section 422(a), with no separate authorization level.

promoting the widespread dissemination and use of successful or exemplary educational practices and projects which were developed with the support of Federal educational funds and which have been certified as effective. The major objectives of the Program are:

(1) to disseminate exemplary educational practices and projects to interested school districts through the provision of materials and personal assistance;

(2) to study alternative dissemination procedures and techniques in order to improve the way in which school districts learn about and implement exemplary projects; and

(3) to provide training and assistance in the dissemination skills required to encourage and assist interested school districts in the selection and implementation of an appropriate exemplary project.

Program Operations:

Three complementary activities, which contribute to the common objective of encouraging the dissemination and implementation of exemplary practices, are funded by the program: packaging activities, dissemination activities and evaluations and studies of the dissemination process. The purpose of the packaging component of the program is to prepare descriptive materials that support the successful implementation of exemplary projects in new communities. (A project may qualify as exemplary if it was developed with the support of Federal education funds, and if it has been approved by the Joint Dissemination Review Panel, a NIE-OE committee of experts who review evidence of the effectiveness of potential exemplary projects.) Two types of packaging activities are currently supported. In one type, school districts that have developed an exemplary project prepare materials of their own to assist other interested communities in the implementation of that project. In addition, OE has funded independent contractors to develop descriptive materials about some exemplary projects. The materials developed in this way are called Project Information Packages (PIPs). Each package provides a comprehensive description of the key management and instructional elements of a particular exemplary project and is designed to minimize the amount of additional technical assistance required during implementation.

The dissemination component of the program has two purposes: to make educators aware of exemplary projects, and to provide personal assistance in the selection and implementation of such projects in new communities. These purposes are accomplished primarily through the activities of the National Diffusion Network, a national delivery system designed to assist in the spread of exemplary projects. Through competitive procurement procedures, the Network provides contracts to local developers (called DeveloperDemonstrators) who operate their projects as demonstrations and who are funded to provide materials, training and assistance to school districts that

want to adopt their projects. In addition, individuals (called State Facilitators) are funded as dissemination agents to make school districts in their States aware of alternative exemplary approaches and to help interested districts identify and obtain assistance from project developers in implementing a project to meet specific local needs. The Network is responsible for the dissemination of all projects approved by the Dissemination Review Panel, including PIPs. However, during the school year 1976-77, when Network funding was temporarily interrupted, eight contractors (called Diffusion Contractors) were funded to disseminate the packaged projects nationwide until Network funding was restored. Currently project developer sites funded through the Network are disseminating 12 compensatory education PIPs and are supplementing the packaged materials with personal assistance at project implementing sites.

In addition to the activities described above, this program provides a dissemination support service element and a dissemination evaluation component. Under the support service component, two field-based units have been established to produce materials (e.g., catalogs of exemplary projects, filmstrips and handbooks) and to provide training and assistance to NDN participants managing and conducting dissemination activities.

In the evaluation component of the program, studies are conducted of all packaging and dissemination activities. The purpose of these studies, designed by OE and conducted by independent contractors, is to learn from, improve upon, and provide alternatives to current program strategies.

Program Scope:

To date, three sets of Project Information Packages have been developed. The first set, describing six exemplary compensatory education projects, were developed in FY 74, field tested, evaluated and revised in FY 75 and FY 76, disseminated nationwide by eight Diffusion Contractors in school year 1976-77, and are currently being disseminated by the National Diffusion Network. second set of six compensatory education packages was developed during 1975-76 year, a third set of four bilingual packages was developed. With support from Title VII of ESEA, these are being field tested in 20 school districts during school years 1977-78 and 1978-79.

In FY 1978 a number of awards were made to continue the National Diffusion Network operations. Facilitator projects were funded in 50 States, (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands). and 98 exemplary project developers were funded to provide materials, assistance and training to school personnel implementing their project. In addition, two field based technical assistance contracts provided materials, training and support services to NDN participants (Facilitator and Developer projects). Compensatory education projects, for which Project Information Packages (PIPs) had been previously developed, were funded to participate as