High school students from throughout California have begun a campaign to curb drunken driving by teenagers in the state.
A group of 60 students met in the state Capitol last month with Sen. Quentin Kopp, the sponsor of legislation to lower the allowable blood-alcohol content for teenage drivers, and other lawmakers and advocates.
The gathering was aimed at introducing the students to the legislative process and instructing them in lobbying, grassroots politics, and working with the news media. The students are expected to generate support for the measure in their schools and communities when they return home.
The proposed measure would be one of the strictest in the nation, according to John C. Millen, the director of media relations for the Farmers Insurance Group, one of the conference’s sponsors.
The bill would reduce the allowable blood-alcohol content for drivers under age 21 from 0.05 percent to 0.00 percent, a level that would prohibit driving after any drinking.
Continuing its examination of little-known sectors of postsecondary education, the National Center for Education Statistics has published a new report on less-than-four-year institutions.
The study found that 5.7 million students, or about a third of those enrolled in postsecondary institutions, are enrolled in such schools, which include public and private two-year colleges, private nonprofit training institutions, and for-profit schools.
For-profit institutions, which account for 70 percent of the total of the 9,576 less-than-four-year institutions, enroll about 14 percent of the students in such institutions.
Copies of the study, “Students at Less-Than-Four-Year Institutions,’' are available for $4.25 each from New Orders, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15250-7954. The stock number is 065-000-00541-7.
The Council of Chief State School Officers has published a policy statement outlining strategies for fostering collaboration among agencies responsible for social services for children and youths.
The policy statement, adopted last year, calls for a variety of steps, including state standards of well-being and achievement for all young people.
The statement is available free of charge from the C.C.S.S.O.'s Resource Center for Educational Equity, 1 Massachusetts Ave., N.W., Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20001-1431. -R.R.
