 This Week in Education
May 8 - May 14, 2008
Highlighted Bills of the Week
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Florida (HB 669)- Enrolled
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House Bill 669 creates the “Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act.” The bill prohibits the bullying or harassment of any public K-12 student or employee during a public K-12 education program or activity; during a school-related or school-sponsored program or activity; on a public K-12 school bus; or through a public K-12 computer, computer system, or computer network. The Department of Education (DOE), by October 1, 2008, must adopt a model policy prohibiting bullying and harassment. By December 1, 2008, each school district is required to adopt a bullying and harassment policy in substantial conformity with DOE’s model policy. For the 2009-2010 school year, the bill directs that a school district’s Safe Schools funding is contingent and payable to the district upon DOE’s approval of the district’s bullying and harassment policy. The bill specifies that DOE shall approve a district’s policy if it is in substantial conformity with DOE’s model policy. Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year, a school district’s annual allocation of Safe Schools funding is contingent and payable to the district upon the district’s compliance with requirements for submitting reports of bullying and harassment to DOE as part of the district’s reports of safety and discipline data. |
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Maine (LD 63/HB 61)
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Chaptered- Directs the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education, within existing resources, to gather information pertaining to ways to establish and fund after-school programs; directs the departments to seek input from the Maine Afterschool Network and report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs by a certain date. |
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This Week in Education
May 8 - May 14, 2008
K-12
Immigration raid: State agency gathered student data last month
School officials in early April were served with a 21-point subpoena from Iowa Division of Labor Services seeking the records of Postville middle and high school students and information about some school employees, the district's superintendent said.
Discipline's cost
Tens of thousands of students are being suspended in Maryland for relatively minor infractions each year, the result of zero-tolerance discipline policies that critics say are harming some of the most vulnerable children. One in 11 students in the state was suspended last year - enough to fill every seat in Anne Arundel County's public schools. The rates were much higher for African-Americans, special-education students and boys - who were twice as likely as girls to be sent home.
To Curb Truancy, Dallas Tries Electronic Monitoring
Educators are struggling to meet stricter state and federal mandates, including those of the No Child Left Behind Act, on attendance and graduation rates. The Dallas school system, which, like other large districts, has found it difficult to manage the large numbers of truant students, is among the first in the nation to experiment with the electronic monitoring.
Schools face sanctions under landmark law: No Child Left Behind sets goals for school districts to show improvement
Nineteen of the district's 21 schools — including Las Palmitas — have not met the federal law's performance benchmarks for four years. Now the entire district faces sanctions for the first time.
Mom's Campaign for Florida Anti-Bully Law Finally Pays Off
Debbie Johnston accomplished her emotional three-year mission this week when the Florida legislature passed a tough anti-bullying law named in honor of her son, who committed suicide in 2005.
Full Appeals Court to Reconsider Ruling That Revived NCLB Suit (EdWeek)
A federal appeals court has agreed to re-examine a ruling by a panel of the court that revived a lawsuit challenging the No Child Left Behind Act for imposing unfunded mandates on states and school districts. The action by the full 6th Circuit has the effect of setting aside the panel's opinion.
State gets plan for transition to statewide tests
The state Board of Education got a look Wednesday at a five-part work plan for the switch by school districts to statewide tests beginning in the 2009-10 school year. A bill (LB1157) passed this year by the Legislature spelled out the requirements for going to statewide tests in reading, mathematics, science and social studies from the existing STARS system of district tests for reading and math.
K-12 Governance
School Boards will Be Studied
At the request of the state Board of Education, a coalition of business and education groups are putting together a task force that will take a broad look at how local school boards in Georgia operate.
Leadership
Outgoing R.I. Chief Bucked National Push for High-Stakes Tests (EdWeek)
Peter J. McWalters first turned heads 20 years ago as the superintendent in Rochester, N.Y., where he hammered out a labor contract that dramatically changed the teaching profession in that city and made the district briefly famous.
'A significant milestone'
Alan J. Ingram, the chief accountability officer for the Oklahoma City public schools, is slated to become the next school superintendent in Springfield and the first black person to hold the position in the city.
Rhee Moves To Dismiss Up to 30 Principals
D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, continuing a series of aggressive personnel moves, has started notifying principals -- possibly as many as 30 -- that they will not be reappointed for the 2008-09 academic year, officials said yesterday.
Is Supervising the Heck Out of Teachers the Answer? (EdWeek)
Two notions about teacher evaluation have the ring of truth: It’s important for principals to get into classrooms and observe, and teachers should be evaluated on how much their students learn. But both ideas can be implemented in ways that don’t improve teaching and fail to boost student achievement.
School Choice
Charter School Wannabes Get More Choices
Charter school startups in Georgia got a boost Tuesday as Gov. Sonny Perdue signed three bills extending school choice options and offering better benefits for teachers in those publicly-funded schools.
Pair Break Barriers for Charter Schools
Eileen and Dennis Bakke won a legal battle to force Maryland to increase public funding for charter schools more than 60 percent. They opened two charter schools in Prince George's County and befriended the superintendent there even though the county had a reputation as hostile to the charter movement. They run one of the largest charter school networks in the country.
Board Backs Charter school Denial
The state Board of Education Monday unanimously upheld the Laramie County School District 1 board's rejection of a Cheyenne charter school application. Although the state board was critical of what it described as a lack of cooperative negotiation between local school officials and the charter applicants, the members found the local board had sufficient reason to reject the application.
Post Secondary Education
Easley: Community colleges should admit illegal immigrants
Gov. Mike Easley said Thursday that North Carolina's community colleges should continue admitting illegal immigrants that meet minimum admission requirements, advice that runs counter to that offered this week by Attorney General Roy Cooper.
School Finance
Schools Say Inflation Puts Them At Risk
The school funding system approved by Texas lawmakers two years ago provides no new money to cover rising costs — especially for fuel, utilities and health insurance — and officials warn the plan's tax revenue straightjacket will allow inflation to push some school districts into bankruptcy.
Fla. Districts Slash Programs, Personnel (Ed Week)
Reeling from unprecedented cuts to the state’s K-12 funding in the just-concluded legislative session, Florida school districts are scrambling to slash an average of $131 per student by eliminating teacher aides, consolidating bus routes, and canceling before- and after-school programs.
Isle Schools Must Absorb $7.7 Million Budget Cut
It could cost parents more money to enroll public school students in afterschool programs, put them on the bus or pay for their lunch as education officials consider raising fees to make up for a $7.7 million budget cut next academic year.
Dispute Over School Funding Still In Play
A judge Monday rejected the state's request to dismiss the latest claim that Montana still inadequately funds its public schools, setting up a court hearing where schools will try to prove their case yet again.
Bids for Botox? Auctions Go Deep to Aid Schools
The auctioneer came on with a bold pitch, trying to get the bidders to open their wallets as wide as possible. “I want you to prove to the world that we’re not in a slowdown economy,” he pleaded with his audience, the parents of Public School 41 in Greenwich Village.
State Fiscal Woes Start to Put Squeeze on K-12 Budgets (Ed Week)
Except for such energy-rich states as Alaska, Wyoming, and North Dakota, states across the country are confronting deteriorating budget conditions that have tied the hands of legislators and governors hoping to spare K-12 education.
STEM
Despite High School Algebra Focus, More Students Need Remedial College Math
Five years ago, California took a bold step and began requiring algebra of every graduating high school senior. The grumbling ran deep. The work was hard. The underlying equation came through loud and clear: More math in high school would equal more students prepared for college. For many, it hasn't added up.
Facebook, states set online safeguards: Agreement aims to protect kids from internet predators and cyber bullying
Facebook, the world's second-largest social-networking web site, will add more than 40 new safeguards to protect students and other users from sexual predators and cyber bullies, attorneys general from several states said May 8.
Computers give students, teachers instant feedback
Teachers can ask questions of students, who then enter their answer into a handheld device similar to a small remote control. The teacher can see how many students got the right answer and determine whether more review on a subject is needed.
School Districts Hope Web Will Help With Agonizing Wait For FCAT
Palm Beach and Broward County high school freshmen and sophomores finished the reading FCAT by mid-March. More than six weeks later, they still don't know the scores. And the wait will drag into early June. State and local educators say they'd love to speed up the process and improve student achievement with a technological solution: putting the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test online.
Why the Best Math Curriculum Won’t Be a Textbook (EdeWeek)
The most easily understood and usable recommendation in the recent report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel calls for shorter, focused, and more coherent textbooks.
Teacher
Teachers agree: Bad teachers with tenure too tough to fire
More than half of teachers believe it's too difficult to weed out ineffective teachers who have tenure, and nearly half say they personally know such a teacher, according to a survey released Tuesday evening by the Education Sector, a non-partisan think tank.
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