SCHOOL DISTRICTS MATTER - LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AUTHORITIES AND STATE INSTRUCTIONAL POLICY

Local school districts do not figure prominently in contemporary schoo l reform efforts that are primarly centered at the state and school le vels of the system. This article explores ways in which school distric ts matter in current instructional reform efforts. The article examine s how two local school districts responded to an expanding state role in instructional policy making, documenting the way in which instructi onal policy making at the state and district levels expanded in tandem , frequently attempting to guide the same aspects of teachers' work. F urther, the case studies illustrate that state and local policies do n ot always support similar notions about instruction.