This Week in Education
August 14- August 20, 2008
Highlighted Bills of the Week
(Powered by State Net)
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California- (AB 1112)- Assembly Education Committee |
Adds the acquisition and construction of residential rental property to be used to house teachers and employees of a school district or community college district to the purpose for which a district is authorized to issue bonds. |
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Louisiana -(HB 672)- Enacted |
Renames provisions of law providing for the rights of teachers to the Teacher Bill of Rights; provides that teachers have a right to immunity and legal defense; provides that a beginning teacher has the right to receive leadership, including the assignment of a mentor to help him or her become a competent professional in the classroom; requires school boards to post the rights in schools and to provide a copy to parents or legal guardians; requires municipalities to post such rights on a website. |
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This Week in Education
August 14 - August 20, 2008
K-12
Program targets ninth-graders
A committee of the state’s top school board voted Tuesday to expand Louisiana’s bid to trim the rate of high school dropouts by launching innovative classes for ninth-graders.
Official puts stress on career education
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has widely promoted career technical education and pushed to increase funding for high school job training. Recent legislation has redirected job-training funds into high schools from adult education programs.
Exit Scramble (EdWeek.org)
States that rushed to tie high school graduation to passing a high-stakes test now face pressure to come up with alternatives, even as critics warn against a dilution of standards.
Homeless students can ride buses
The state will provide school buses and city bus passes to transport homeless children to school under a court settlement intended to give homeless families full access to the public education system. The state Department of Education has already complied with a federal court ruling by hiring liaison personnel to assist homeless families in navigating the paperwork and regulations involved in getting a child into school.
Report Fuels Four-Day Week Debate
The trend of the four-day school week is growing in Louisiana and nationwide -- especially in rural areas -- but the concept is not catching on in larger areas such as Baton Rouge, local and state education officials agree. Attorneys felt they convinced at least some jurors of the rightness of their free speech claims. The school board's attorney said the result leaves the ban against the Confederate flag in place.
K-12 Governance
Many N.J. superintendents due six-figure retirement deals
More than 30 New Jersey school administrators could be due six-figure retirement packages at a time the state is trying to rein in administrative costs, according to data the state released Wednesday.
Rendell names Torsella to head state education board
Gov. Rendell has picked Joseph Torsella, the president and chief executive officer of Philadelphia's National Constitution Center, to head Pennsylvania's State Board of Education.
Leadership
Jindal cites $3.4 million grant to get principals
Gov. Bobby Jindal and higher education leaders on Tuesday announced a new $3.4 million grant to recruit and retain school principals.
Coach-principals named
The "principal coaches," who were publicly introduced yesterday, were selected on the basis of growth in student performance at their schools, their experience as mentors, and the respect they have earned among their peers and among parents. Not all of them preside over high-achieving schools; one is the principal of a school labeled "persistently dangerous" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
School Choice
Ga. agencies preparing to impose sharp budget cuts
Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox is preparing to slash roughly $153 million, which could sap funding for a teacher mentoring program, new charter schools and graduation coaches aimed at reducing dropout rates.
D.C. School Choice Program Offers Few Options
Earlier this month, parents of students in 81 low-performing D.C. public got a packet in the mail announcing that federal law entitles them to transfer their children to a stronger school. The notice goes out every August, required under the federal NCLB law. But in a system filled with failing schools, parental choice can be a hollow proposition. Perhaps that's why officials reported Friday that they had received just 34 applications for transfer. The deadline is tomorrow.
Home-schooler wants to play, too
The Tim Tebow bill is an effort to allow home-schoolers in Alabama to play high school sports in public schools. This legislation was submitted to the Alabama Senate and House of Representatives in 2006. Each year the bill has stalled in the education committee.
Tax-favored scholarship donations start small
A law enacted in May creates scholarships, funded by "tax-favored" donations, for students to attend private school. As of last week, just 59 taxpayers had asked the Department of Revenue for the required pre-approval to make tax-favored donations totaling just under $160,000. The approval is required because House Bill 1133, the legislation creating student scholarship organizations, caps the total annual tax loss at $50 million.
More African-Americans Being Home Schooled
For some, the term "homeschooling" might evoke images of conservative Christian families or isolated rural areas. But according to the National Center for Education Studies, the number of African Americans being home schooled is growing.
TEACHERS
Algebra 1 requirement highlights teacher shortage
Now that the state has mandated Algebra 1 for all eighth-graders within three years, a deeply entrenched problem has become even more urgent: California does not have enough qualified teachers of mathematics.
Bill would unionize lay teachers
Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Luzerne, sponsored the bill that sparked more than four hours of debate before the House Labor Relations Committee. Supporters of the bill say it would ensure teachers at religious schools are always treated fairly by giving them the same legal protections as their public-school counterparts.
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