October 15, 2010
Four Oklahoma school districts have voted not to comply with a new state law that would permit students with disabilities to use public money to go to private schools. School boards for the 4,400-student Bixby and 14,900-student Union school districts, both in the Tulsa, Okla., area, voted Oct. 11 not to provide scholarships to parents […]
October 15, 2010
The union representing Los Angeles teachers plans to meet with the school district and other legal groups next week to discuss a proposed settlement that would dramatically alter the way teachers are laid off during tough economic times. Attorneys disclosed their plans during a status conference in the case Thursday morning. Last week, the Board […]
October 15, 2010
The issue of judging or paying teachers based on student test scores has stirred up high-profile controversies in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. But school districts across the United States are collaborating with unions and moving ahead with such plans – often as part of a broader set of changes to professionalize the career. Baltimore […]
October 15, 2010
Charter schools are all the rage these days. The public is increasingly smitten with them – in this year’s Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup education poll, 68% of respondents said they support charter schools, up from 42% in 2000 – but few people know what charters are. When the education journal Education Next asked Americans some basic […]
October 14, 2010
A lawsuit filed this year against the Los Angeles Unified School District began with a narrow demand: Stop layoffs from decimating the staff — and harming students — at three of the city’s worst-performing middle schools. But when the Board of Education announced a proposed settlement last week, what emerged was an ambitious assault on […]
October 14, 2010
"Flexibility" and "funding" are the buzzwords of the debate over a Nov. 2 ballot proposal that would loosen Florida’s class-size limits. <br /&g t; Amendment 8's supporters say it'll give schools the flexibility they need to avoid such drastic measures as busing kids to other schools and combining two grades in a single classroom to […]
October 14, 2010
The grades are in- and New Jersey has gotten an "A" for fairness for giving additional support to high-poverty districts. The National Report Card on school funding was created to critique state school funding systems on how well they provide opportunity for all children. The report tracks the funding systems based on four criteria: how […]
October 14, 2010
While many think of chronic absenteeism as a secondary school problem, research is beginning to suggest that the start of elementary school is the critical time to prevent truancy—particularly as th ose programs become more academic. “Early attendance is essential; This is where you really want to work on them,” said Kim Nauer, the education […]
October 14, 2010
Educators, parents and activists are pressing two lawsuits against the state, hoping to radically reform how California funds schools – much as did a landmark case in the 1960s that helped create the system now in place. Both lawsuits argue that the complex system inadequately funds education for all students – an argument also central […]
October 14, 2010
With Michelle Rhee’s decision to resign Wednesday as the Washington schools chancellor, the movement to shake up the nation’s public schools is losing perhaps its most visible leader. But changes were sweeping through the halls of public education before Ms. Rhee took over the leadership of the Washington schools three years ago. So her departure […]