Education Program
This Week in Education
February 14 - February 20, 2008
Highlighted Bills of the Week
(Powered by State Net)
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Utah HB 81 (Location-Senate)
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This bill creates the Performance Incentives for Teachers Task Force. HB 81 establishes the membership of the task force and provides for compensation of legislative members and outlines the duties of the task force provides for staffing of the task force. This bill requires the task force to give a final report to the Education Interim Committee. |
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New Mexico SJM 3 (Signed)
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Senate Joint Memorial requesting the Office of Education Accountability of The Department of Finance and Administration, The Public Education Department and The Higher Education Department to develop a plan to enhance the recruitment, preparation, mentoring, evaluation, professional development and support for school principals and other school leaders. The plan include such components as a review of successful strategies used in other states for the identification and recruitment of individuals with leadership potential; an examination of whether existing requirements for school administrator licenses limit the pool of potential school leaders; and the development of ongoing procedures to monitor, coordinate and strengthen professional development for school leaders, with a focus on professional development for principals of schools in need of improvement. |
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This Week in Education
February 14 - February 20, 2008
K-12
Oxnard slaying prompts diversity education bill
Prompted by the fatal classroom shooting of an Oxnard student that prosecutors allege was a hate crime, a state legislator Monday announced plans to introduce a bill to expand diversity education in California schools. Assemblyman Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park), chairman of the Assembly Select Committee on Hate Crimes, said his bill would supplement existing criminal statutes regarding crimes against victims based on their race, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation.
Curriculum bill clears committee
Legislation that would establish statewide school curriculum standards cleared an Iowa Senate committee on Tuesday, despite concerns from some officials about whether teacher training and testing would be adequate to reach the goals. The Senate Education Committee passed Senate File 3097 after an hour long debate on the measure, which would further break with Iowa's tradition of local control over curriculum decisions.
Study: Texas school system fosters low graduation rates
A study by Rice University and the University of Texas at Austin shows that Texas' public school accountability system, the model for the national No Child Left Behind Act, directly contributes to lower graduation rates.
Public: Faith trumps science: Proposed teaching standards are at odds with what most Floridians believe
Florida parents don't have much faith in evolution. Only 22 percent want public schools to teach an evolution-only curriculum, while 50 percent want only faith-based theories such as creationism or intelligent design, according to a new St. Petersburg Times survey.
Longer school days a hot idea facing big obstacles in Mass
Expanding the school day has long been seen as a way to give the neediest students more class time and activities, and improve academics for all students. But Massachusetts is the only state funding longer days in multiple districts, though New York and Rhode Island are considering doing the same.
Preschool standards bill stalls
Legislation allowing the state education Department to devise standards for preschool programs in South Dakota has stalled. The House Education Committee was unable to kill the bill Tuesday, and it couldn't muster the votes needed to change it to a mere study of preschool issues,
Why Arts Education Matters (EdWeek)
As the country contemplates reauthorization of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, political and policy leaders must recognize that an education in and through the arts, as a central part of a total school program, allows schools to better address these challenges than a curriculum that defines success as aptitude in literacy and math only.
Leadership
Sign of times at schools: Superintendent wanted
No matter the reason, a superintendent's departure typically kicks off a long, arduous, and expensive process to find a replacement. Mike Gilbert, field director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, which serves as a consultant for local districts, said the average search takes months and can cost $25,000, between advertising, background checks, and travel expenses for likely candidates.
Bill to appoint school superintendents passes committee
All school superintendents would be appointed and all school board members would be elected under a bill passed out of the Senate Education Committee this morning. There was no opposition to Senate Bill 2149 in a voice vote in committee. Similar legislation has passed out of the Senate panel in the past, but faced heated debate on the chamber floor and in the House.
Lawmaker revives school board debate
A Maryland lawmaker is reviving debate over how members of Baltimore County’s school board are selected, with a proposal to re-establish a nominating committee and reduce the panel’s size.
School Choice
Settlement opens door to charter schools in L.A.
More Los Angeles campuses will have to make room for charter schools, even if some teachers are forced to give up their classrooms and become roving instructors, under a litigation settlement approved by the Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday.
STEM
Bill Underway to Develop Idaho Broadband Network
An education bill passed out of committee on Monday is intended to provide high-speed Internet access throughout Idaho, including currently underserved areas, and eventually to provide such access to industry and to state government itself.
Education, technology, and the 2008 campaign: Here's a look at where the candidates stand on issues that matter to eSchool News readers
As the campaign picture continues to become clearer, it’s time to take a closer look at the positions of all three candidates on issues relating to education and technology.
Teacher
Legislation would set base salaries for teachers
One bill, HB1262, would set $28,000 as the base pay but would move the floor to $39,000 by 2015. The level of base pay would increase for more experienced teachers who can show they're worth their salt. HB1268 would establish a $30,000 base in 2013. School districts would have to incrementally increase their base salaries over the next five years, and they could tap a state fund that was set up last year to give extra money to teachers. School districts that choose the program must contribute $1 to salaries for every $4 they receive from the state.
Post-Secondary Education
Bill would widen right to organize: Graduate students, teaching assistants and contractual faculty want to form
Graduate-student leaders and labor activists squared off against university administrators yesterday over a bill before the General Assembly to grant teaching assistants and contractual faculty the right to form unions. The debate in a House of Delegates committee centered - as it has in other states - on the question of whether giving graduate-student employees the same collective bargaining rights as other state workers would undermine the educational relationship between professors and students.
Textbook disclosure bill passed: Legislature finalizes bill without price disclosures
A bill aimed to garner more disclosure from textbook publishers passed the Arizona House Higher Education Committee yesterday, but not without an amendment that some say takes away from what the bill really aims to accomplish. HB 2230 would require textbook publishers to give faculty information on price and changes from previous editions of textbooks so faculty can make more informed decisions when choosing textbooks for students.
Education Finance
Senate panel passes property tax reform bill
A senate panel today passed an amended version of Gov. Mitch Daniels’ property tax reform package. By a bi-partisan vote of 9-0, the Senate Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy sends to the floor a bill that offers $600 million in new relief and puts cuts, caps and government spending controls in place.
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