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Public Health
Area of medicine that addresses the protection and improvement of citizen health and hygiene through the work of government agencies
Pandemic
An outbreak of a disease that spreads across a large geographical area and affects a high proportion of the population
Obesity
The medical condition of being excessively overweight; defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of more than 25
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
The original federal assistance program for women and their children, started under Roosevelt's New Deal
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
The next-generation welfare program (passed in 1996) that provides federal assistance in the form of block grants to states, which have great flexibility in designing their programs
Abstinence
Refraining from sexual activity, usually intercourse
Medicare
The federal health insurance program for elderly citizens
Entitlement Program
A government-run program that guarantees unlimited assistance to those who meet its eligibility requirements, no matter how high the cost
Poverty Line, or Poverty Threshold
An annual income level, set by the federal government, below which families cannot afford basic necessities.
Managed Care
An arrangement for the provision of healthcare whereby an agency acts as an intermediary between consumers and healthcare providers
State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
A joint federal-state program designed to expand healthcare coverage to children whose parents earned income above the poverty line but still were too poor to afford insurance.
No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
Federal law enacted in January 2002 that introduced new accountability measures for elementary and secondary schools in all states receiving federal education aid.
Common School
In a democratic society, a school in which children of all income levels attend at taxpayer expense.
State Board of Education
Top policymaking body for education in each of the fifty states, usually consisting of appointees selected by the governor.
Back to Basics
A movement against modern education "fads" advocating a return to an emphasis on traditional core subjects such as reading, writing, and arithmetic
Standards
In education, fixed criteria for learning that students are expected to reach in specific subjects by specific grade years.
High-Stakes Standardized Testing
Testing of elementary and secondary students in which poor results can mean either that students fail to be promoted or that the school loses its accreditation.
Department of Education
A state-level agency responsible for overseeing public education.
Teacher Licensure Procedures
The processes states use to qualify teacher candidates to work in school district; requirements for licensing typically include attainment of certain academic degrees, work experience, and adequate performance on adult standardized tests.
Accreditation
A certification process in which outside experts visit a school or college to evaluate whether it is meeting minimum quality standards
Local Education Agency (LEA)
A school district which may encompass a city, a county, or a subset thereof
School District
A local administrative jurisdiction that hires staff and reports to a school board on the management of area public schools
School Board
An elected or appointed body that determines major policies and budgets for a school district
Capital Outlays
A category of school funding that focuses on long-term improvements to physical assets.
Successful Schools Model
An education model that uses observed spending levels in the highest-performing schools as the basis from which to calculate necessary spending in other, lower-performing schools
Criterion-Referenced Test
A standardized test designed to gauge a student's level of mastery of a given set of materials.
Norm-Referenced Test
A standardized test designed to measure how a student's mastery of a set of materials compares with that of a specially designed sampling of students determined to be the national "norm" for that age group
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
The only regularly conducted, independent survey of what a nationally representative sample of students in grades four, eight, and twelve know and can do in various subjects; known as "the nations' report card."
Trend in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)
A regularly updated study launched by the United States in 1995 that compares the performance in science and mathematics of students in forty-six countries.
General Equivalency Diploma (GED) Program
A program offering a series of tests that an individual can take to qualify for a high school equivalency certificate or diploma.
Site-Based Management
A movement to increase freedom for building administrators such as school principals to determine how district funds are spent at individual schools
Standards Movement
An effort to create benchmarks of adequate learning in each subject for each grade level so that students and teachers can be evaluated on the mastery of this predetermined material
Goals 2000
The Educate America Act, signed into law in March 1994, which provided resources to states and communities to ensure that all students could reach their full potential.
Kentucky Education Reform Act
The 1990 law passed in response to court findings of unacceptable disparities among schools in Kentucky, considered the most comprehensive state school reform act to date
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
Federal law passed in 1965 as part of President Johnson's Great Society initiative; steered federal funds to improve local schools, particularly those attended primarily by low-income and minority students
Charter Schools
Public schools, often with unique themes, managed by teachers, principals, social workers, or nonprofit groups. The charter school movement was launched in the early 1990s
School Voucher Movement
Movement dating to the 1950s to allow taxpayer dollars to be given to families to use at whatever public, private, or parochial schools they choose.
Homeschooling
The education of children in the home; a movement to grant waivers from state truancy laws to permit parents to teach their own children
Teachers' Unions
Public-sector unions that organize employees at all educational levels to form state and local affiliates. In the United States, the two major teachers' unions are the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, both headquartered in Washington, D.C.
National PTA
Umbrella organization founded in 1897 consisting of state-based and school based parent-teacher associations of volunteers who work to improve and support schools
Metropolitan Area
A populous region typically comprising a city and surrounding communities that have a high degree of social and economic integration.
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
An area with a city of 50,000 or more people together with adjacent urban communities that have strong ties to the central city.
Megaregion
An urban area made up of several large cities and then surrounding urban areas that creates an interlocking economic and social system.
Edgeless Cities
Office and retail complexes without clear boundaries
Sprawl
The rapid growth of the metropolitan area, typically as a result of specific types of zoning and development.
Zoning Laws
Regulations that control how land can be used.
Low-Density Development
Development practices that spread (rather than concentrate) populations across land.
Leapfrog Development
Development practices in which new developments jump - or leapfrog - over established developments, leaving undeveloped or underdeveloped land between developed areas.
Impact Fees
Fees that municipalities charge builders of new housing of commercial developments to help offset the costs of extending services.
Car-Dependent Living
A situation in which owning a car for transportation is a necessity; an outcome of low-density development.
White Flight
A demographic trend in which the middle and upper classes leave central cities for predominantly white suburbs.
Exurbs
Municipalities in rural areas that ring suburbs. They typically serve as bedroom communities for the prosperous, providing rural homes with easy access to urban areas.
Reform Perspective
An approach to filling gaps in service and reducing redundancies in local governments that calls for regional-level solutions.
Urban Growth Boundary (UGB)
A border established around urban areas that is intended to control the density and type of development.
Regional Council
A planning and advisory organization whose members include multiple local governments. Regional councils often are used to administer state and federal programs that target regions.
Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
A regional organization that decides how federal transportation funds are allocated within that regional area.
Smart Growth
Environmentally friendly development practices, particularly those that emphasize more efficient infrastructure and less dependence on automobiles.
Interjurisdictional Agreement (KJA)
A formal or informal agreement between two or more local governments to cooperate on a program or policy.
City-County consolidation
The merger of separate local governments in an effort to reduce bureaucratic redundancy and service inefficiencies.
Annexation
The legal incorporation of one jurisdiction or territory into another.
Gentrification
The physical rehabilitation of urban areas, which attracts investment from developers and drives up property values.
Public Choice Model
A model of politics that views governments and public services in market terms; governments are seen as producers of public services and citizens are seen as consumers.
Tiebout Model
A model of local government based on market principles wherein a metro area is made up of a series of micropolitical jurisdictions that, on the basis of their services and costs, attract or repel certain citizens.
Rural Flight
The movement of youth and the middle class from rural areas to more urban areas.
Municipalities
Political jurisdictions, such as cities, villages, or towns, incorporated under state law to provide governance to defined geographical areas; more compact and more densely populated than counties.
Counties
Geographical subdivisions of state government.
County Commission System
A form of county governance in which executive, legislative, and administrative powers are vested in elected commissioners.
Council-Executive System
A form of county governance in which legislative powers are vested in a country commission and executive powers are vested in an independently elected executive.
Commission-Administrator System
A form of county governance in which executive and legislative powers reside with an elected commission, which hires a professional executive to manage the day-to-day operations of government.
Cities
Incorporated political jurisdictions formed to provide self-governance to particular localities.
Townships
Local governments whose powers, governance structure, and legal status vary considerably from state to state. In some states, townships function as general-purpose municipalities; in others, they are geographical subdivisions of counties with few responsibilities and little power.
Mayor
The elected chief executive of a municipality
City Council
A municipality's legislature.
City Manager
An official appointed to be the chief administrator of a municipality
Mayor-Council System
A form of municipal governance in which there is an elected executive and an elected legislature.
Strong Mayor System
A municipal government in which the mayor has the power to perform the executive functions of government.
Weak Mayor System
A municipal government in which the mayor lacks true executive powers, such as the ability to veto council decisions or appoint department heads.
Wards
Divisions of municipalities, usually representing electoral districts of the city council.
Council-Manager System
A form of municipal governance in which the day-to-day administration of government is carried out by a professional administrator.
City Commission System
A form of municipal governance in which executive, legislative, and administrative powers are vested in elected city commissioners.
Town Meeting Form of Government
A form of governance in which legislative powers are held by the local citizens
Special District
A local governmental unit created for a single purpose, such as water distribution
Dillon's Rule
The legal principle that says local governments can exercise only the powers granted to them by state government.
Home Rule
The right of a locality to self-government, usually granted through a charter.
Charter
A document that outlines the powers, organization,, and responsibilities of a local government.
General Act Charter
A charter that grants powers, such a s home rule, to all municipal governments within a state.
Special Act Charter
A charter that grants powers, such as home rule, to a single municipal government.
Ward, or District, Election
An election in which voters in a municipal ward vote for a candidate to represent them on a council or commission.
At-Large Election
An election in which city or county voters vote for council or commission members from any part of the jurisdiction.
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