Education Program
This Week in Education
April 3- April 9, 2008
Highlighted Bills of the Week
(Powered by State Net)
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Nebraska LE 1157 (To Governor) |
LE 1157 changes the current assessment system to provide for statewide assessments in reading and mathematics to be administered in seven grades, rather than three. The bill also establishes an additional statewide science assessment. The science assessment is to begin in 2011-12 and be given in at least three grades. LB 1157 provides that the State Board of Education shall not require school districts to administer assessments other than required state assessments. The bill also eliminates the requirement for educational service units to conduct an annual peer review of local assessments and for school districts to develop assessment portfolios. A technical advisory committee is established to review the statewide assessments plan and instruments. |
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Colorado HB 1386 (Introduced)
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This bill creates the school leadership academy program ("program") within the department of education ("department") to provide comprehensive leadership and professional training to qualified persons for leadership positions in public schools. HB 1386 creates the school leadership academy board ("board") within the department. Establishes duties of the board. Requires the board to report annually to the commissioner of education and the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate. Establishes the minimum contents of the report. In addition, HB 1386 establishes the principal academy within the program for professional and leadership training of principals and potential principals. Specifies minimum curricula that shall be included in the training provided by the principal center. Allows the department to fairly and equitably limit the number of participants in the program. Requires the department to consult with educational stakeholders in developing and implementing the curriculum provided by the principal center. |
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This Week in Education
April 3- April 9, 2008
K-12
Disabled Athletes to Get Equal Opportunities in Md.
The Maryland General Assembly passed a bill (MD S 849) Monday night that will require county boards of education to allow students with disabilities to have equal opportunities to participate in physical education programs and on mainstream athletic teams.
Assemblyman Bob Huff´s Parental Rights Legislation Killed by Committee
Two bills introduced by Assemblyman Bob Huff that would have overturned a contentious section of the Education Code and required parental notification when sexual orientation or gender identity issues were to be discussed in public schools were rejected in the Assembly Education Committee on a party-line vote of 3-6.
Ohio bill would require parents to volunteer at school or pay fine
A bill introduced in the Ohio legislature would require parents to donate at least 13 hours to their school district each year or pay the price. And, if parents failed to pay up, the fine could be deducted from their state income tax refunds.
New Agreement Is Reached in Hartford Desegregation
Schools in Hartford and 22 of its suburbs would be encouraged to open more classroom seats to children from outside their neighborhoods in order to increase racial diversity, under a tentative settlement reached Friday in a decades-old desegregation case. The settlement, which still requires the approval of Connecticut legislators and the state court handling the dispute, outlines a five-year plan whose goal is to get at least 41 percent of Hartford’s minority students into schools where enrollments are no more than three-quarters minority.
Our view: Time to give control of local schools back to local communities
Minnesota Senate Republicans are calling for a decisive end to our state's participation in No Child Left Behind and have drafted legislation that would allow Minnesota to opt out of this federal mandate. There is growing bipartisan support for this measure in St. Paul.
Leadership
School Leadership’s Unfinished Agenda: Integrating Individual and Organizational Development (EdWeek)
The principal is crucial to school success, and professional learning communities are more effective than individual professionals working in isolation. In doing so, we should remember that the danger in the half-truth is not just that it is incomplete or misleading, but that its proponents are unaware that it is not true.
Principal’s Fast Ouster a Mystery
The superintendent and the school board of this town in northern Westchester, which has evolved from countryside to suburb in two generations, have dismissed John F. Sullivan, the principal of its high school.
Dismantling failing schools right way to stem dropouts
The devastating news that three-quarters of students who enter freshmen classes in Detroit Public Schools aren't around on graduation day would be even more horrific had it fallen on deaf ears, as have past reports on the performance of Detroit schools. But new school Superintendent Connie Calloway got out in front of the report from America's Promise Alliance with a surprise announcement that the district will dismantle five of the city's worst performing schools and replace them with smaller, innovative programs.
State schools' chief urges districts to consider renewable energy (EdWeek)
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Suellen Reed kicked off the Indiana Department of Education's yearlong "Learn Green, Live Green" initiative this month. Reed said some districts are already tapping into renewable energy, and saving taxpayer money in the process.
K-12 Governance
Senators approve education shake-up
The Vermont Senate has passed SB 371 that would eliminate the state Board of Education and elevate the education commissioner to a cabinet-level secretary, appointed by the governor.
The education commissioner now is appointed by and under the control of the state Board of Education, which the governor appoints.
Veto sets stage for renewed battle over school consolidation law
The governor’s veto of the changes to the school consolidation law on Monday and the quick vote in the Senate that sustained that veto have left some in Augusta and beyond scratching their heads. It also has set the stage for another battle over changes to the law as the legislative session winds down.
School Choice
Public school choice bill fails to win support
A bill to require public schools to offer more choices for students but make transfers between districts optional died in a House subcommittee Tuesday.
Waiting for the ‘Tipping Point’: Why school choice is proving to be so hard (EdWeek)
The old arguments in support of school choice are still right: Choice can make parents full partners in education and drive innovation. Without it, public education is frozen in place by laws, contracts, and adult entitlements. But arguing for public school choice in the form of charter schools or voucher programs is not the same thing as claiming that any program offering choice will deliver all of the concept’s potential benefits.
Charter schools owe Texas $26M for overstated admissions numbers
Texas charter schools have reaped $26 million in undeserved state money by filing incorrect student attendance reports, according to state financial records.
Colleges in Missouri are recruiting home-schooled students
Home schooling in the U.S. has begun to catch the eye of universities nationwide. In the past 10 years, the number of children home schooled has increased from an estimated 850,000 to nearly 2 million. Many are bright, well educated and well socialized, and universities are courting them more rigorously every year. Colleges in Missouri and elsewhere are beginning to realize the potential of bringing students like these into their institutions.
Charter Schools To Receive Multimillion-Dollar Boost
Charter schools that have been struggling to find homes in New York will receive a boost today from the Bush administration, in the form of a multimillion-dollar grant.
Amended charter school bill worries supporters
A bill designed to make it easier to create charter schools over the objections of local leaders passed the Georgia Senate on Wednesday. But the vote was not necessarily good news for supporters.
STEM
Doyle OKs aid for virtual schools :Legislation caps enrollment, requires program audit
The new law guarantees the online schools can open this fall. Their future was in doubt after an appeals court ruled in December that one school - the Wisconsin Virtual Academy run by the Northern Ozaukee School District - did not qualify for state aid of $5,845 per student.
Post-Secondary Education
Kaine signs bills aimed at mental health reform
Governor Timothy Kaine has signed a slew of bills designed to improve treatment of people with mental illness following the Virginia Tech shootings.
Lawmakers looking to overhaul higher ed
Higher-education officials and state lawmakers are fighting over who should run the $816-million state college system, a battle that centers on leadership and money rather than educational quality.
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