January 17, 2011
With new numbers indicating a statewide truancy problem, Gov. Dave Heineman and others want to increase efforts to keep children in the classroom. State Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha, acting on the governor’s behalf, on Friday introduced a legislative bill that would redirect state funds toward truancy intervention programs in the Omaha metropolitan area. The […]
January 14, 2011
Detroit Public Schools emergency financial manager Robert Bobb backed off plans Thursday to lay off special-education bus attendants, one day before the layoffs were supposed to take effect. It came after two busloads of parents and residents went to the State Board of Education meeting this week to complain about special-education problems in DPS. "This […]
January 14, 2011
The state budget shortfall in the next fiscal year is forcing the San Antonio Independent School District to cut back. The district is scrambling for ways to cut $20 million to $40 million dollars and several ideas remain on the table. "This is an extreme budget shortfall that we are hearing about and we expect […]
January 14, 2011
Missouri school districts will get a $7.5 million increase in state funding for transportation beginning this month, state budget officials said Thursday. Gov. Jay Nixon released that portion of the $70 million in transportation funds he withheld from districts last year to help balance the budget. The additional funding is available because state revenues have […]
January 14, 2011
New Jersey’s state Supreme Court assigned a lower-court judge to help sort out whether Gov. Chris Christie was within his constitutional rights last year when he cut aid to local schools by about $1 billion. Pete r Doyne, a Bergen County judge, was given until March 31 to report back to the high court in […]
January 14, 2011
Against the backdrop of another smothering budget crisis, California Gov. Jerry Brown has quickly moved to put his stamp on the state’s public schools by shaking up the state board of education and entrusting its members with more power. In some of his first moves, the newly elected Democrat eliminated the position of education secretary—an […]
January 13, 2011
Los Angeles school district leaders announced Wednesday that they will split low-performing Jordan High School into three small schools that will be run by outside groups. All current employees will have to reapply for their jobs or work elsewhere. It marks the second time the Los Angeles Unified School District has targeted a campus for […]
January 13, 2011
Educating students with disabilities—a federally mandated responsibility—is seen as one of the costliest services school districts must provide, and one of the last that can be cut. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provides a set of protections for 6.6 million students—about 13 percent of total student enrollment—who have dyslexia, autism, intellectual disabilities, blindness, […]
January 13, 2011
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says his proposed budget won’t replace all of the federal stimulus funds for public schools that the state expects will disappear after July 1, and he acknowledges that their base state aid per student could drop for the next school year. Brownback told legislators Wednesday night during his State of the […]
January 13, 2011
Public schools chief Tom Luna outlined an aggressive overhaul in education reform as he called Wednesday for more technology in the classroom and a pay-for-performance plan for educators. Luna detailed his proposal for lawmakers on the House and Senate education committees, and he infuriated the Idaho teachers union by proposing increased class sizes to help […]