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The Food Safety Modernization Act, signed into law on Jan. 4, 2011, represents the most significant revision of food safety laws in the United States in more than 70 years. The legislation carried with it new mandates for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, including comprehensive, prevention-based approaches across all aspects of the food supply system. Such a prevention-based approach will require food facilities to evaluate hazards in their operations and establish procedures to prevent contamination. The law also requires the FDA to establish safety standards for production and harvesting of fruits and vegetables based on science. In addition to enhanced prevention and surveillance tools, the FDA will also have mandatory recall authority for all food products.

Many states have introduced performance measures into their higher education funding formulas to create institutional incentives to improve productivity. To date, however, only Tennessee has completely rewritten its college funding system to place outcomes at the center of the formula. In doing so, the state has crafted a program that allows state funding and state policy to be closely aligned across the diversity of publically funded post-secondary institutions in the state.

Last-minute Congressional action seems poised to stop interest rates on subsidized federal Stafford loans from doubling from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1. The legislation, passed along with a the extension of the highway bill that faced the same deadline, pays for the $6 billion cost of the plan by shortening the eligibility time for the subsidy (to six years for programs intended to be finished in four years, and three years for those intended to be finished in two), as well as through new fees on federally-insured pensions and changes in how companies calculate money set aside for...

The race to education reform in Tennessee was several years in the making, but broke into a sprint at the end. The Tennessee General Assembly convened for a special session Jan. 12 to consider education reforms in advance of an application deadline for the federal Race to the Top competition, a $4.35 billion education grant program included in the 2009 stimulus package. Three days later, legislators approved the governor’s changes to improve the state’s chances for a first round award. The changes affect teacher evaluation and tenure, teacher preparation programs and the state’s authority to intervene in poorly performing schools.

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), including autism and Asperger syndrome and the less common Rett syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder, are complex pervasive developmental disabilities that result in potentially significant impairment in social interaction and communication, restricted or repetitive movement or the exhibition of unusual behaviors or interests. The causes of autism still are undetermined, and assigning responsibility for the rapid rise in the incidence of ASD is not entirely possible. Autism seems to have a strong genetic component, although the mechanism for inheritance—predisposition, mutation, or multigene interaction, among others—remains unexplained. Determining the cause of the rise in the number of autism cases is of significance for policymakers because it has implications for future policy directions.

The maintenance challenges for school facilities can vary significantly by a range of factors, including the age of the building, level of use, the time since last renovation or major systems overhaul, local climate, and the type of building. Nonetheless, there is a universal need for school administrators and facilities staff to monitor the condition of school buildings. The reality, however, is that maintenance is often inconsistent or occasional, and monitoring of building conditions is irregular. Typically, state policies favor new construction over maintenance. This is not universally the case, and a handful of states have policies in place that promote and encourage building maintenance. Among these policies are state maintenance allotments and building inspection programs, particularly tied to school and district school facility plans. Requiring schools to set aside a percentage of their budget for maintenance and repair is a more active step in ensuring school facilities investments are cared for over the long haul.

The Black Belt is a string of counties that stretches from east Texas, through the deep South, and up into eastern Virginia. While definitions vary, the region typically is considered to encompass upwards of 623 counties across 11 states, mostly rural, crossing several smaller regions, including parts of the Mississippi Delta, Coastal Plain, and the Piedmont. Booker T. Washington famously used the term “black belt” in his 1901 work Up from Slavery, noting the earliest meaning may have been a reference to the dark, rich soil of the region, but also acknowledging the later racial distinction of where black residents exceeded whites. The Black Belt also is home to more poverty, substandard housing, unemployment and underemployment than any other region in the country. Educational attainment is lower in the Black Belt as well, particularly among the black population, and there is an exceptionally high number of female-headed households. Financial institution penetration in the region is low, even when compared to other rural communities. Health services are sparse and the ratio of residents to primary care providers is unusually high. Each of these factors contributes to the next and creates a circle of interdependence that is confounding in its complexity. This Regional Resource examines some of the key obstacles to access to capital in the Black Belt, as well as emerging financing tools that may help this often-overlooked region. It also discusses ways in which state government can foster greater investment in this part of the country, and highlights a handful of successful programs that may serve as examples.