May 2, 2011
Florida lawmakers are poised to pass a handful of bills that, combined, would expand charter schools, virtual schools, a voucher programs for kids with disabilities and the opportunity to transfer from struggling campuses. The legislation fits with the agenda of Gov. Rick Scott, who campaigned last year on a platform to “modernize” and “transform” Florida’s […]
May 2, 2011
North Carolina teacher Julie Morgan spent five years developing a program that would allow her special education students to spend about half their school days in regular classes, where teaching assistants could modify lessons on the spot, and her students’ classmates could learn acceptance and compassion. She won’t be around next year to watch the […]
May 2, 2011
ORLANDO, Fla. — The bus ride from the homeless shelter to Fern Creek Elementary School was, as usual, raucous. A hundred times, Doretha Brown, the bus driver, had to yell for everyone to sit down. “This noise is what holds us up every morning and evening!” Ms. Brown shouted, although the Collins girls — Brianna, […]
May 2, 2011
MIAMI–Federal health officials told Florida lawmakers Thursday they can’t privatize Medicaid statewide for now, saying they need to see specific details of how the state plans to change the program, which provide health insurance to mostly low-income residents. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent a letter to Florida health officials saying the agency […]
May 2, 2011
Proposed changes to federal privacy rules likely to take effect this summer couldn’t be more timely for education systems: They offer first-time guidance on managing student privacy in using longitudinal education data just as states and districts put the finishing touches on federally mandated data systems. The rules would guide education officials on the delicate […]
May 2, 2011
Summers for eighth-grader Jade Larriva-Latt are filled with soccer and backpacking, art galleries and museums, library volunteer work and sleep-away camp. There is no summer school, no tutoring. “They need their childhood,” says Jade’s father, Cesar Larriva, an associate professor of education at Cal Poly Pomona. “It’s a huge concern of mine, the lack of […]
April 29, 2011
On a trip to Washington this month to advocate for the federal Enhancing Education Through Technology program and testify at a Capitol Hill hearing, Terra Graves kept hearing the same responses. “They were really impressed with what was done with the money, and said it was used effectively,” said Ms. Graves, an online professional-development coordinator […]
April 29, 2011
Reporting from Goleta, Calif. — It was lunch hour and hundreds of Dos Pueblos High School students surged onto the bleachers at the school’s outdoor Greek Theater. The crowd was cheering, the music was thumping and a student-built robot named Penguinbot IV was wheeling and pivoting, sucking up dozens of lightweight balls and shooting them […]
April 29, 2011
A plan to cap U.S. government spending that’s gaining support in the Senate could require deep cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that parallel those proposed in House Republican Paul Ryan’s budget. The Sen ate proposal by Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee and Democrat Claire McCaskill of Missouri aims to save $7.6 trillion over 10 years […]
April 29, 2011
Current Texas law places a limit of 22 students per teacher on classes from kindergarten through 4th grade. Chron.com reports that a new bill under consideration by the state legislature would replace the current limit with a 22-per-class average and would prohibit more than 25 students to be enrolled in one class in lower grades. […]