THE RECORD

FEBRUARY 1, 1977

NO. 36

LYNDON B. JOHNSON SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

EDITOR Hoyt H. Purvis

RESEARCH PROJECTS EXAMINE STAFFING EQUAL EDUCATION

The Record continues a series of reports on 1976‑77 Policy Research Projects

FEDERAL IMPACT ON EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY

Federal policies and administrative procedures relating to equal educational opportunities are being studied by one of the 10 Policy Research Projects currently underway at the LBJ School.

The project is an inquiry into policies and procedures dealing with:

Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

Bilingual and bicultural programs

Emergency School Aid Act

Policies of the HEW office for Civil Rights

Directives of federal court orders.

The project, with 19 student participants, is being directed by Professor Beryl Radin. Professor John Gronouski also serves as a project faculty member and in the fall semester Professor Mark Yudof of the School of Law was on the project faculty.

The project will look at the subject from the perspective of six communities. It will not attempt to deal with all aspects of these policies or practices. Rather, it will focus on the policies and practices when two or more of them appear to be in conflict with or interact with one another. While the study will focus on issues from the perspective of the local school district, it is not intended as an evaluation of the implementation of the federal programs by particular school districts. The community perspective is designed to give a bottom‑up look at separate federal policies and programs at the point where they are implemented within a single local education effort.

"The goal of the project is to develop a set of recommendations for possible changes in federal policies and practices. As such, it will focus on legislative authority, administrative regulations and other policy statements, and organizational and administrative directives. The primary audience for the effort is twofold: the relevant Congressional committees and officials in HEW —particularly in the federal education program," Radin said.

Case studies will be conducted in the six communities. These case studies will be based primarily on interviews with local school officials (superintendents, members of school boards, other administrative staff members); members of citywide advisory committees (including the committees specified in federal programs, groups established by court action, and other local groups); and analysis of existing reports and documents already developed by the local district or, if appropriate, related to federal court action.

Interviews will be conducted with officials in HEW and in the Office of Education in Washington and in the relevant regional offices. There will also be analysis of documents that detail federal policies and practices on the relevant programs.

Among the issues included in the study are:

1. The use of Title I and bilingual monies when a school district is under court order—the problem of the money following the child to a new school.

2. The relationship between programs supported by Title I, bilingual, and ESAA.

3. The ability of a local district to use ESAA funds when it is under court order, when voluntarily undertaking desegregation, or when it is in neither condition.

4. The relationship of directives from the Office for Civil Rights to directives from OE programs officials involved with Title I, ESAA, and bilingual programs.

5. The administrative procedures used in the allocation of funds and involving the process of applying for the funds.

The study will include attention to a number of generic issues which have been raised involving federal programs. These include coordination between agencies as it relates to the effectiveness of programs at the local level; the development of prescriptive federal regulations; the paperwork and reporting requirements; and the approval procedure for federal programs.

It will also attempt to examine the programs in the context of several other policy questions of concern to education policymakers. These include examination of policies for desegregation; policies focused on special needs and compensation; policies that are regulatory in nature; policies that are tied to grant programs; strategies that are based on categorical programs; and strategies that rely on open‑ended funding patterns.

Radin reports that the project recently received additional Ford Foundation funds for travel costs.

STAFFING THE JOHNSON ADMINISTRATION

The Policy Research Project on Staffing the Johnson Administration has selected several agencies for intensive study and project participants will soon begin field interviews.

The group is concentrating on several aspects of the political appointment process under President Johnson. One is the Johnson White House office staff and its role in the nomination and appointment process, coupled with an analysis of the influence of Congress, interest groups, and certain key individuals. Second is the political executive group (those nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate) as a whole—their characteristics and attributes.

Faculty members on the project are Professors Richard Schott (director) and Dagmar Hamilton. Schott said, "The agencies we have selected for intensive study are the Office of Economic Opportunity, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, and the secretaries of the departments." Thus far the group has been visited by John Macy and Walter Jenkins in connection with the operations of the White House in the selection process. Students and faculty have also been engaged in archival research in the LBJ Library on a variety of issues and individuals.

One aspect of the study focuses on Johnson's personal style and how he approached the political appointments process. "We have learned from our initial research that Johnson probably had the most active and personal involvement of all modern presidents in this process," Schott said.

The project will consider Johnson's view of the role of the president, of the White House Office and his immediate staff in the appointments process; his view of his relations with federal departments and agencies; and his personal involvement in appointments. Also to be considered are his use of outside confidants, the way in which interest groups sought access to him (and gained that access) in pressing their requirements, and the role in appointments of individual members of Congress.

Schott said, "Our research to date suggests that there were certain key individuals in the White House Office upon whom Johnson relied at different stages of his administration. Earlier on, he relied heavily on Ralph Dungan and Walter Jenkins, after that upon Marvin Watson and to some extent on Bill Moyers, and somewhat later, Joe Califano."

A mailed survey will be conducted to gather information on the political executive group. It will include normal demographic data but will also search for patterns in the appointments process—for example, career backgrounds, how the individual was contacted, whether the individual had placed his or her own name in nomination, reasons why the candidate was attracted to the position, the amount of negotiation or bargaining involved, reasons for resignation if the appointee had resigned, etc. After identifying these patterns the project plans to select certain members from among the sample group for in‑depth interviews to develop case studies.

"On the Record"

. Dr. Alan K. Campbell is scheduled to assume his duties as dean of the LBJ School on February 1.

On Wednesday, February 9 Dean Campbell will give a schoolwide seminar in the East Campus Lecture Hall at 4:30 p.m.

The seminar will be followed by a reception in the Great Hall of the LBJ Library at 6 p.m.

Faculty, staff, students, and alumni are invited to the events.

. Two LBJ School faculty members have been named to a coordinating committee for a Mexican‑U.S. Border Research Program, recently established at UT‑Austin. Professors Jared Hazleton and Sidney Weintraub will serve on the coordinating committee. Dr. Stanley R. Ross is coordinator for the program.

. The regular Start‑Off‑The‑Week‑Right alumni gathering will be held as usual on the second Monday of the month (February 14) at Scholz' after 5 p.m.

. Hoyt Purvis, director of publications, recently conducted a two‑day "effective writing workshop" for the State of Arkansas Department of Local Services in Little Rock. Two LBJ School graduates, Herman (Mike) Schwartz and Mark Hendrickson, are employed by the department.

. On February 23 Dr. Norman Hackerman, president of Rice University, will meet with the Science and Public Policy topical seminar taught by Jurgen Schmandt and Marlan Blissett.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION MEETING

The LBJ School Alumni Association Board is interested in meeting with the class of 1976 and the soon‑to‑be graduates of 1977. A meeting has been rescheduled for February 8 at 7 p.m. in the Student Lounge of the LBJ School. Everyone is urged to attend.

The board members want to explain what the Alumni Association is, to explain its goals, such as establishing a placement network, and to get comments from the two classes on how the association can work to aid alumni and the School.

ARTICLE RESULTS FROM INDEPENDENT PROJECT

An article on "Title XX and Public Participation" by Frances Zorn, Leilani Rose, and Dr. Beryl Radin was published in the fall, 1976, issue of Public Welfare. A second part will appear in the next issue.

The article grew out of an independent project carried out by Zorn and Rose under the supervision of Professor Radin last year at the LBJ School. The two were members of the School's 1976 graduating class.

The article assesses response of the states to the opportunity to incorporate public participation into social services planning. The assessment was undertaken through a questionnaire and follow‑up examination of states' actual plans. Twenty‑three states and the District of Columbia supplied information on their systems for securing public participation. Activities, which varied widely across the country, are covered in the second part. The first part provides an overview of issues and a conceptual framework for considering participatory systems.

The authors conclude that the manner in which participatory procedures are defined and structured by the state will determine whether public input is weak or vigorous. "Genuinely useful public participation will occur when a variety of individuals and interests are carefully informed about program issues and actively brought into the planning process at an early stage. Where participation is effectively restricted to providers and other organized groups while the public and services clients are not kept informed and involved, the value of participation will be weakened to the detriment of social programs which will then not accurately reflect public needs and concerns."

FOREST POLICY BOOK BY SPURR PUBLISHED

The University of Washington Press has published American Forest Policy in Development by Stephen H. Spurr, professor of public affairs and botany.

The hard‑bound volume is based on the George S. Long lecture series which Spurr delivered at the University of Washington.

Spurr, a forest ecologist with wide experience in teaching, research, and administration, brings together a wide scope of non‑technical information on current forestry practices and knowledge. Looking to the future, he examines issues concerning timber policy that have been debated within and between Forest Service, industry, and conservation groups for years.

Spurr assesses the maximum biological productivity of our forests if present silvicultural knowledge and technology were widely practiced. He outlines the basic principles that should govern congressional and executive actions to encourage management of forest lands, both public and private.

The book also provides a pragmatic assessment of the extent to which our forests will actually produce timber for industrial use. The questions that are raised and the background that is provided give the reader a factual overview for considering how American forest policy should develop in the future.

Noting the probable increase in the price of timber products, Spurr says that development will certainly contribute to an increased cost of living and thereby to inflation. "On the other hand, one can argue that the balancing of supply and demand through the price mechanism will prove healthiest to our economy in the long ran. Higher prices for timber products will create more incentive for investment in growing trees for timber and a greater likelihood that we shall achieve a higher level of annual production in managing timber as a renewable natural resource. After all, that should be our ultimate goal."

The book sells for $6.95.

Also published recently was a report on Biological Productivity of Renewable Resources Used as Industrial Materials. The National Academy of Sciences report was made by a panel of the Committee on Renewable Resources for Industrial Materials (CORRIM) of the Commission on Natural Resources, Natural Resources Council. Professor Spurr served as chairman of the panel.

The report is part of an analysis of renewable resources in the United States, which includes identifying the optimum production and use of such resources, and examining the role of science in technology in increasing their production and use.

The report deals with the United States timber supply, inventory, and potential and with agricultural production of industrial materials.

HOBBY CITES NEEDS FOR PARKS, RECREATION

Lieutenant Governor William P. Hobby says Texas has unmet needs for parks and recreation, even though it has a dedicated fund for state parks and, since 1965, has allocated more than $38 million in federal matching funds to local governments for park development.

He made that observation January 25 at a workshop on the future of the Texas State Park System held under auspices of the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

"Inflation and price escalation have hit land and water areas particularly hard," Governor Hobby said, noting that the cost of acquiring and developing park and recreation areas in the future will increase dramatically.

"We are losing our coastlands, our rivers, our forests, our mountains, and our plains to ever‑growing development," he went on. "There are parks, recreation, and preservation needs that cannot be ignored."

Yet, he cautioned that even though every effort should be made to meet park needs, "every need is wrapped in cost and the question of who pays the bill."

He explained that only since 1965 has the Texas State Park System made the necessary progress to begin to meet its responsibilities of providing non‑urban outdoor recreation, and to preserve and interpret the state's outstanding natural features and historical heritage.

Governor Hobby said Texas since 1960 has received almost $66 million in federal funds for park improvements or acquisition of new recreation areas, and more than half of that has been allocated to local governments.

[news item]

Jim Oliver assistant director of the Legislative Budget Board will speak at a brown‑bag luncheon Tuesday, February 1 in the Student Lounge. His topic will be the decision‑making process of the LBB.

VEATCH STUDYING TEACHING OF ETHICS

Dr. Robert Veatch, associate for medical ethics at the Institute of Society, Ethics, and the Life Sciences at the Hastings Center, Hastings‑on‑Hudson, N.Y., will be at the LBJ School on February 1‑2.

Veatch is studying the place of teaching of ethics in public policy curricula. The LBJ School is one of 10 educational institutions being studied.

Dr. Henry David is chairing a faculty group working with Dr. Veatch. Other members of the group are Professors Marlan Blissett, Emmette Redford, and Lodis Rhodes.