|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Issues & Research » Education » Education Program: Weekly News Clippings
|
|
|
|
This Week in Education - February 25 - March 3, 2010
|
Highlighted Bills of the week
(Bill summaries, in part or all, provided by State Net)
Connecticut – H 5360 Pending: Concerns children in the recession; implements the recommendations of the task force on children in the recession. Relates to early childcare and education, as well as homeless students.
New Mexico – S 85 To Governor:
Creates the School Leadership Institute and administratively attaches it to the Higher Education Department. Requires that the Institute to provide a comprehensive and cohesive framework for preparing, mentoring and providing professional development for principals and other leaders. Required the Institute to offer the following programs: (1) licensure preparation for aspiring principals; (2) mentoring for new principals and other public school leaders; (3) intensive support for principals at schools in need of improvement; (4) professional development for aspiring superintendents; and (5) mentoring for new superintendents. Requires the Institute to partner with state agencies, institutions of higher education, and professional associations to identify and recruit candidates for the Institute.
|
Stimulus and the states
Few States to Qualify for Grants (Wall Street Journal)
The idea is to reward states that show the greatest willingness to push innovation through tough testing standards, data collection, teacher training and plans to overhaul failing schools. The Department of Education turned to a panel of outside judges to help pick finalists and winners according to an elaborate scoring system, and on Thursday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan will announce finalists for the first of two rounds of funding. Administration officials declined to comment, but people familiar with the deliberations said as few as five states could actually qualify when the first round of winners is announced in April.
Utah considers removing charter school cap (The Salt Lake Tribune)
Utah has joined a number of states that have worked in recent months to drop enrollment caps on charter schools to try to win federal Race to the Top money. On Wednesday, the Senate Education Committee approved SB188, which would remove Utah's limits on charter school enrollment growth. Now, charter school enrollment in Utah may grow each year only by a number equal to 1.4 percent of total school district enrollment as of the previous school year. SB188 would remove that limitation and instead would base charter school enrollment growth each year on how much money lawmakers appropriate.
Charter school bill passes Oklahoma House committee (Tulsa World)
A charter school bill deemed vital to the state's effort to win federal Race to the Top dollars passed the House Common Education committee Wednesday morning. House Bill 2753 by Rep. Lee Denney, R-Cushing, lifts the current restrictions that limit charter schools to three each in Tulsa and Oklahoma counties. It also requires charter high schools to meet state graduation mandates, something current law leaves up to the schools themselves.
Leadership
Obama focuses on school dropouts (The Boston Globe)
President Barack Obama is offering $900 million in grants to states and school districts to turn around low-performing schools -- but recipients would have to take drastic action, such as replacing principals, reopening schools as charter schools or closing them outright.
Best Practices in the Middle Grades Identified (Education Week – subscription may be needed)
Using students’ test scores as one part of evaluations for teachers, principals, and superintendents is associated with better academic performance at schools serving the middle grades, a report released this week has found. Linking students’ test scores with evaluations was one of the “best practices” that high-performing schools serving students in grades 6 to 8 have in common, the report found. The practices were true of high-performing schools regardless of whether they enrolled primarily students from low-income families or mostly from middle-income families.
Charter Schools
Utah Legislature: House OKs college charter schools (Deseret News)
The Utah House of Representatives gave its approval Wednesday for colleges and universities to authorize charter schools. Before Wednesday, charter schools could only be approved through a school district or the State Charter School Board. SB55 would allow colleges to delve into K-12 education. All authorizers must defer final approval to the State Board of Education.
House approves rules on virtual charter schools (The Statesman Journal)
The House has approved a bill increasing restrictions on virtual public charter schools. House Bill 3660 requires virtual charter schools to use the same accounting systems as other public schools; requires teachers and administrators to hold appropriate Oregon licenses; and requires teachers and students to meet twice a week, either in person or through conference calls. It also extends an enrollment freeze enacted by the 2009 Legislature. It calls for more study, with further legislation in the 2011 session.
Lack of charter schools in W.Va. examined (Associated Press/The Charleston Gazette)
Supporters of charter schools in West Virginia say there are 80 million new reasons why creating such institutions makes sense. The state is waiting to hear the fate of its application to the federal Race to the Top program, in which West Virginia is vying for $80 million to fund its ongoing efforts to improve education.
McDonnell, school groups reach charter school deal (The News & Advance)
The McDonnell administration and state education groups have fashioned a compromise on charter school legislation that would leave final approval with local school boards and give one of the governor’s marquee initiatives a better shot at passage. But there’s no guarantee that the bill, even with newfound consensus, will survive the legislative process. The measure is slated to come before the Democrat-controlled Senate Education and Health Committee on Thursday.
Is there a place for special ed in charter schools? (Houston Chronicle)
More than a decade into Texas' charter school movement, some politicians want to expand the nontraditional campuses to tap into an underserved market: children with special needs. One of the state Senate's interim charges, released last month, is to study the feasibility of opening charter schools for students with disabilities such as autism.
No action on charter schools bill (Omaha World-Herald)
Charter schools in most states are urban creations, set up to provide options for students from inner-city areas and offer choices to all students within large districts. A charter school bill introduced by State Sen. LeRoy Louden of Ellsworth would make Nebraska unique. It would allow for the creation of charter schools in rural areas to serve children who might otherwise be spending hours each day on a bus.
As U.S. Aid Grows, Oversight Is Urged for Charter Schools (New York Times)
The Obama administration plans to significantly expand the flow of federal aid to charter schools, money that has driven a 15-year expansion of their numbers, from just a few dozen in the early 1990s to some 5,000 today. But in the first Congressional hearing on rewriting the No Child Left Behind law, lawmakers on Wednesday heard experts, all of them charter school advocates, testify that Washington should also make sure charter schools are properly monitored for their admissions procedures, academic standards and financial stewardship.
Group: Law needs to change for Wyo. charter schools to progress (Wyoming Tribune Eagle)
Changes are needed in Wyoming law to allow more charter schools, says the new director of a group dedicated to those facilities. Kari Cline is now the executive director of the Wyoming Association of Public Charter Schools. The purpose of the nonprofit organization is to advance the charter school movement in Wyoming.
School Choice
Legislature to consider dramatic expansion of vouchers (St. Petersburg Times)
About 25 of the 70 students at Gulf Coast Christian School in St. Petersburg have a big chunk of their tuition paid for by taxpayers, courtesy of a private-school voucher that's worth $3,950. Plenty of other families want to enroll, but they can't afford the difference between the voucher and tuition, which ranges from $4,650 to $5,500.
Expansions of State Voucher Programs Gain Momentum (Education Week – subscription may be needed)
The momentum in Florida to expand one of that state’s voucher programs is a subtle but significant sign that such programs, which have been anathema to many Democrats, are beginning to win bipartisan support in a number of states. State lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in Florida are already voicing support for new legislation that would increase the value of the state’s tax-credit vouchers, which are funded by private corporations that, in exchange for their contributions, receive dollar-for-dollar tax credits.
Teaching
Ringing the Bell for K-12 Teacher Tenure Reform – a report from the Center for American Progress
The issue of teacher tenure, or “continuing contracts,” has received less attention despite its potential importance to efforts to improve teacher quality.
Progress Slow in City Goal to Fire Bad Teachers (The New York Times)
The Bloomberg administration has made getting rid of inadequate teachers a linchpin of its efforts to improve city schools. But in the two years since the Education Department began an intensive effort to root out such teachers from the more than 55,000 who have tenure, officials have managed to fire only three for incompetence.
P-12
Utah Legislature: Reading requirement bill draws heated debate in Senate (Deseret News)
A bill that would require schools to hold students back if they can't read well is drawing heated debate in the Senate. "Children who are behind in the early grades stay behind and don't catch up," said bill sponsor Sen. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights. SB150 would require first, second and third graders to read at or above grade level prior to advancing.
New annual statewide school testing system on hold (The Journal Sentinel)
Nearly six months after the state announced it was scrapping its annual test for public school students, efforts to replace it with a new assessment are on hold and state officials now estimate it will take at least three years to make the switch. The reason for the delay is tied to what is happening in the national education scene.
Former 'No Child Left Behind' Advocate Turns Critic (National Public Radio)
In 2005, former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch wrote, "We should thank President George W. Bush and Congress for passing the No Child Left Behind Act ... All this attention and focus is paying off for younger students, who are reading and solving mathematics problems better than their parents' generation." Four years later, Ravitch has changed her mind.
Post-Secondary Education
Bill would scrap limits on tuition increases (Denver Post)
The state budget crisis leaves lawmakers with little choice but to let some state colleges and universities increase tuition without legislative approval, Gov. Bill Ritter said Thursday, reversing his position on the issue.
Plan gives high-school students a jump on college (The Arizona Republic)
A state lawmaker is proposing a new diploma that would allow high-school students to attend community colleges or technical schools as early as their sophomore year. Rep. Rich Crandall, R-Mesa, said the Grand Canyon Diploma would address the problem of high-school students who meet the AIMS test standards early and simply coast toward graduation.
Colleges outline massive cuts to help balance state budget (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Georgia's colleges and universities would have to lay off thousands of employees, severely limit incoming freshman classes and eliminate popular programs that extend far beyond campus confines if the state's higher education system is forced to cut nearly $600 million from its budget.
Pennsylvania, 16 other states to try to boost college graduation (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
Pennsylvania and 16 other states have formed an alliance to improve college completion rates, officials said Tuesday… To boost graduation rates, Pennsylvania in recent years simplified the process for transferring college credits so students can avoid retaking courses if they change schools.
Dropouts
To reduce dropouts, Obama proposes $900M for schools (USA Today)
President Barack Obama on Monday addressed the nation's school dropout epidemic, proposing $900 million to states and school districts that agree to drastically change or even shutter their worst performing schools. Obama's move comes as many schools continue to struggle to get children to graduation, a profound problem in a rich, powerful nation. Only about 70% of entering high school freshmen go on to graduate. The problem affects blacks and Latinos at particularly high rates.
Oklahoma Senate bill aims to reduce dropouts (The Oklahoman)
Goals for high school graduation rates would be set for school districts under a bill that passed the Senate on Tuesday. Senate Bill 2139 by Sen. John Ford, R-Bartlesville, would require school districts to improve their annual graduation rate by 20 percent every two years.
Education Finance
Gov. Jennifer Granholm says she will shut down government to preserve school funding (The Grand Rapids Press)
Gov. Jennifer Granholm drew an early line in the sand with state legislators Wednesday, saying she is willing to shut down the state government this fall before agreeing to cuts in education.
Vermont lawmakers evaluate school-consolidation plans (The Burlington Free Press)
A Democratic state senator and a Republican House member have reached the same conclusion: The time has come to reorganize the Vermont’s school districts to achieve financial savings and better outcomes. Sen. Bob Hartwell, D-Bennington, points to the hundreds of school governing units in the state: 262 school districts, 35 union school districts, four unified school union districts, two interstate school districts and three independent technical-center districts, plus 46 supervisory unions.
School systems sue state (Evansville Courier & Press)
Broadly questioning the fairness of how Indiana funds elementary and secondary education, three school districts sued the state Tuesday. Their hope is that the amount of money received per student for suburban schools is raised closer to that seen by their urban and rural counterparts.
K-12 Cuts Loom Again as States' Fiscal Woes Continue (Education Week – subscription needed)
Budget pressures still have a tight grip on most of the states and are already leaving governors and lawmakers little choice but to cut as they prepare, debate, and settle on new funding for public schools. About half the states are poised to slash spending on K-12 education in fiscal 2011, while another handful are expected to keep funding level for public schools, said Daniel G. Thatcher, a fiscal and education policy associate at the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures.
|
This Week in Education - February 25 - March 3, 2010
|
Highlighted Bills of the week
(Bill summaries, in part or all, provided by State Net)
Connecticut – H 5360 Pending: Concerns children in the recession; implements the recommendations of the task force on children in the recession. Relates to early childcare and education, as well as homeless students.
New Mexico – S 85 To Governor:
Creates the School Leadership Institute and administratively attaches it to the Higher Education Department. Requires that the Institute to provide a comprehensive and cohesive framework for preparing, mentoring and providing professional development for principals and other leaders. Required the Institute to offer the following programs: (1) licensure preparation for aspiring principals; (2) mentoring for new principals and other public school leaders; (3) intensive support for principals at schools in need of improvement; (4) professional development for aspiring superintendents; and (5) mentoring for new superintendents. Requires the Institute to partner with state agencies, institutions of higher education, and professional associations to identify and recruit candidates for the Institute.
|
Stimulus and the states
Few States to Qualify for Grants (Wall Street Journal)
The idea is to reward states that show the greatest willingness to push innovation through tough testing standards, data collection, teacher training and plans to overhaul failing schools. The Department of Education turned to a panel of outside judges to help pick finalists and winners according to an elaborate scoring system, and on Thursday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan will announce finalists for the first of two rounds of funding. Administration officials declined to comment, but people familiar with the deliberations said as few as five states could actually qualify when the first round of winners is announced in April.
Utah considers removing charter school cap (The Salt Lake Tribune)
Utah has joined a number of states that have worked in recent months to drop enrollment caps on charter schools to try to win federal Race to the Top money. On Wednesday, the Senate Education Committee approved SB188, which would remove Utah's limits on charter school enrollment growth. Now, charter school enrollment in Utah may grow each year only by a number equal to 1.4 percent of total school district enrollment as of the previous school year. SB188 would remove that limitation and instead would base charter school enrollment growth each year on how much money lawmakers appropriate.
Charter school bill passes Oklahoma House committee (Tulsa World)
A charter school bill deemed vital to the state's effort to win federal Race to the Top dollars passed the House Common Education committee Wednesday morning. House Bill 2753 by Rep. Lee Denney, R-Cushing, lifts the current restrictions that limit charter schools to three each in Tulsa and Oklahoma counties. It also requires charter high schools to meet state graduation mandates, something current law leaves up to the schools themselves.
Leadership
Obama focuses on school dropouts (The Boston Globe)
President Barack Obama is offering $900 million in grants to states and school districts to turn around low-performing schools -- but recipients would have to take drastic action, such as replacing principals, reopening schools as charter schools or closing them outright.
Best Practices in the Middle Grades Identified (Education Week – subscription may be needed)
Using students’ test scores as one part of evaluations for teachers, principals, and superintendents is associated with better academic performance at schools serving the middle grades, a report released this week has found. Linking students’ test scores with evaluations was one of the “best practices” that high-performing schools serving students in grades 6 to 8 have in common, the report found. The practices were true of high-performing schools regardless of whether they enrolled primarily students from low-income families or mostly from middle-income families.
Charter Schools
Utah Legislature: House OKs college charter schools (Deseret News)
The Utah House of Representatives gave its approval Wednesday for colleges and universities to authorize charter schools. Before Wednesday, charter schools could only be approved through a school district or the State Charter School Board. SB55 would allow colleges to delve into K-12 education. All authorizers must defer final approval to the State Board of Education.
House approves rules on virtual charter schools (The Statesman Journal)
The House has approved a bill increasing restrictions on virtual public charter schools. House Bill 3660 requires virtual charter schools to use the same accounting systems as other public schools; requires teachers and administrators to hold appropriate Oregon licenses; and requires teachers and students to meet twice a week, either in person or through conference calls. It also extends an enrollment freeze enacted by the 2009 Legislature. It calls for more study, with further legislation in the 2011 session.
Lack of charter schools in W.Va. examined (Associated Press/The Charleston Gazette)
Supporters of charter schools in West Virginia say there are 80 million new reasons why creating such institutions makes sense. The state is waiting to hear the fate of its application to the federal Race to the Top program, in which West Virginia is vying for $80 million to fund its ongoing efforts to improve education.
McDonnell, school groups reach charter school deal (The News & Advance)
The McDonnell administration and state education groups have fashioned a compromise on charter school legislation that would leave final approval with local school boards and give one of the governor’s marquee initiatives a better shot at passage. But there’s no guarantee that the bill, even with newfound consensus, will survive the legislative process. The measure is slated to come before the Democrat-controlled Senate Education and Health Committee on Thursday.
Is there a place for special ed in charter schools? (Houston Chronicle)
More than a decade into Texas' charter school movement, some politicians want to expand the nontraditional campuses to tap into an underserved market: children with special needs. One of the state Senate's interim charges, released last month, is to study the feasibility of opening charter schools for students with disabilities such as autism.
No action on charter schools bill (Omaha World-Herald)
Charter schools in most states are urban creations, set up to provide options for students from inner-city areas and offer choices to all students within large districts. A charter school bill introduced by State Sen. LeRoy Louden of Ellsworth would make Nebraska unique. It would allow for the creation of charter schools in rural areas to serve children who might otherwise be spending hours each day on a bus.
As U.S. Aid Grows, Oversight Is Urged for Charter Schools (New York Times)
The Obama administration plans to significantly expand the flow of federal aid to charter schools, money that has driven a 15-year expansion of their numbers, from just a few dozen in the early 1990s to some 5,000 today. But in the first Congressional hearing on rewriting the No Child Left Behind law, lawmakers on Wednesday heard experts, all of them charter school advocates, testify that Washington should also make sure charter schools are properly monitored for their admissions procedures, academic standards and financial stewardship.
Group: Law needs to change for Wyo. charter schools to progress (Wyoming Tribune Eagle)
Changes are needed in Wyoming law to allow more charter schools, says the new director of a group dedicated to those facilities. Kari Cline is now the executive director of the Wyoming Association of Public Charter Schools. The purpose of the nonprofit organization is to advance the charter school movement in Wyoming.
School Choice
Legislature to consider dramatic expansion of vouchers (St. Petersburg Times)
About 25 of the 70 students at Gulf Coast Christian School in St. Petersburg have a big chunk of their tuition paid for by taxpayers, courtesy of a private-school voucher that's worth $3,950. Plenty of other families want to enroll, but they can't afford the difference between the voucher and tuition, which ranges from $4,650 to $5,500.
Expansions of State Voucher Programs Gain Momentum (Education Week – subscription may be needed)
The momentum in Florida to expand one of that state’s voucher programs is a subtle but significant sign that such programs, which have been anathema to many Democrats, are beginning to win bipartisan support in a number of states. State lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in Florida are already voicing support for new legislation that would increase the value of the state’s tax-credit vouchers, which are funded by private corporations that, in exchange for their contributions, receive dollar-for-dollar tax credits.
Teaching
Ringing the Bell for K-12 Teacher Tenure Reform – a report from the Center for American Progress
The issue of teacher tenure, or “continuing contracts,” has received less attention despite its potential importance to efforts to improve teacher quality.
Progress Slow in City Goal to Fire Bad Teachers (The New York Times)
The Bloomberg administration has made getting rid of inadequate teachers a linchpin of its efforts to improve city schools. But in the two years since the Education Department began an intensive effort to root out such teachers from the more than 55,000 who have tenure, officials have managed to fire only three for incompetence.
P-12
Utah Legislature: Reading requirement bill draws heated debate in Senate (Deseret News)
A bill that would require schools to hold students back if they can't read well is drawing heated debate in the Senate. "Children who are behind in the early grades stay behind and don't catch up," said bill sponsor Sen. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights. SB150 would require first, second and third graders to read at or above grade level prior to advancing.
New annual statewide school testing system on hold (The Journal Sentinel)
Nearly six months after the state announced it was scrapping its annual test for public school students, efforts to replace it with a new assessment are on hold and state officials now estimate it will take at least three years to make the switch. The reason for the delay is tied to what is happening in the national education scene.
Former 'No Child Left Behind' Advocate Turns Critic (National Public Radio)
In 2005, former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch wrote, "We should thank President George W. Bush and Congress for passing the No Child Left Behind Act ... All this attention and focus is paying off for younger students, who are reading and solving mathematics problems better than their parents' generation." Four years later, Ravitch has changed her mind.
Post-Secondary Education
Bill would scrap limits on tuition increases (Denver Post)
The state budget crisis leaves lawmakers with little choice but to let some state colleges and universities increase tuition without legislative approval, Gov. Bill Ritter said Thursday, reversing his position on the issue.
Plan gives high-school students a jump on college (The Arizona Republic)
A state lawmaker is proposing a new diploma that would allow high-school students to attend community colleges or technical schools as early as their sophomore year. Rep. Rich Crandall, R-Mesa, said the Grand Canyon Diploma would address the problem of high-school students who meet the AIMS test standards early and simply coast toward graduation.
Colleges outline massive cuts to help balance state budget (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Georgia's colleges and universities would have to lay off thousands of employees, severely limit incoming freshman classes and eliminate popular programs that extend far beyond campus confines if the state's higher education system is forced to cut nearly $600 million from its budget.
Pennsylvania, 16 other states to try to boost college graduation (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
Pennsylvania and 16 other states have formed an alliance to improve college completion rates, officials said Tuesday… To boost graduation rates, Pennsylvania in recent years simplified the process for transferring college credits so students can avoid retaking courses if they change schools.
Dropouts
To reduce dropouts, Obama proposes $900M for schools (USA Today)
President Barack Obama on Monday addressed the nation's school dropout epidemic, proposing $900 million to states and school districts that agree to drastically change or even shutter their worst performing schools. Obama's move comes as many schools continue to struggle to get children to graduation, a profound problem in a rich, powerful nation. Only about 70% of entering high school freshmen go on to graduate. The problem affects blacks and Latinos at particularly high rates.
Oklahoma Senate bill aims to reduce dropouts (The Oklahoman)
Goals for high school graduation rates would be set for school districts under a bill that passed the Senate on Tuesday. Senate Bill 2139 by Sen. John Ford, R-Bartlesville, would require school districts to improve their annual graduation rate by 20 percent every two years.
Education Finance
Gov. Jennifer Granholm says she will shut down government to preserve school funding (The Grand Rapids Press)
Gov. Jennifer Granholm drew an early line in the sand with state legislators Wednesday, saying she is willing to shut down the state government this fall before agreeing to cuts in education.
Vermont lawmakers evaluate school-consolidation plans (The Burlington Free Press)
A Democratic state senator and a Republican House member have reached the same conclusion: The time has come to reorganize the Vermont’s school districts to achieve financial savings and better outcomes. Sen. Bob Hartwell, D-Bennington, points to the hundreds of school governing units in the state: 262 school districts, 35 union school districts, four unified school union districts, two interstate school districts and three independent technical-center districts, plus 46 supervisory unions.
School systems sue state (Evansville Courier & Press)
Broadly questioning the fairness of how Indiana funds elementary and secondary education, three school districts sued the state Tuesday. Their hope is that the amount of money received per student for suburban schools is raised closer to that seen by their urban and rural counterparts.
K-12 Cuts Loom Again as States' Fiscal Woes Continue (Education Week – subscription needed)
Budget pressures still have a tight grip on most of the states and are already leaving governors and lawmakers little choice but to cut as they prepare, debate, and settle on new funding for public schools. About half the states are poised to slash spending on K-12 education in fiscal 2011, while another handful are expected to keep funding level for public schools, said Daniel G. Thatcher, a fiscal and education policy associate at the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|