Brenda J. Turnbull

Issues in Federal Technical Assistance Policy

Many federal education programs support technical assistance to state departments of education, school districts, and schools. This article, drawing primarily from a study of nine assistance programs, analyzes the standard operating procedures now associated with most of the technical assistance supported by the U.S. Department of Education. The nine programs examined include (a) Chapter 1 technical assistance centers and rural technical assistance centers; (b) Indian education technical assistance centers; (c) migrant education program coordination centers; (d) Title VII evaluation assistance centers; (e) Title VII multifunctional resource centers; (/9 desegregation assistance centers; (g) drug-free schools and communities regional centers; (h) special education regional resource centers and federal resource center; and (i) vocational education curriculum coordination centers. Issues explored include the role of technical assistance centers, coordination and collaboration, and federal management and oversight of technical assistance programs. The article concludes with a series of recommendations to be carried out in conjunction with reorganizing of technical assistance programs.