51.   If the state board agrees, a special election would be held in the area that state education officials determine would be affected by the breakup.

52.   In an earlier ruling in the case, Prado dismissed MALDEF claims that state education officials had intentionally discriminated against minorities with TAAS.

53.   In an interview, he said he would probably take such a complaint first to the state education commissioner.

54.   In August, state education officials relented.

55.   In Kentucky, a voucher-like law allows families to leave failing public schools and enroll in good public schools, taking state education dollars with them.

56.   In New York, Richard P. Mills, the state education commissioner, prohibited a group of high schools from continuing to use alternative evaluations.

57.   In February, Starr appeared in the Wisconsin Supreme Court to argue in support of a local law that permits state education vouchers to be used in religious schools.

58.   In theory, charter schools are formed by parents or other nonsectarian groups under sponsoring agreements with local school boards or a state education department.

59.   Interviews with state education superintendents and commissioners.

60.   Jean Scott, a state education department consultant who worked on the report, said it was impossible to determine a margin of error for the entire report.