Education Program
This Week in Education
July 3- July 9, 2008
Highlighted Bills of the Week
(Powered by State Net)
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California- (AB 2895)-In Senate
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Amends existing law which requires pupils completing high school to pass the high school examination as a graduation condition and which requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to contract for an independent evaluation of the examination. Includes information gathered from pupil identifiers in the evaluation. Requires the evaluation to include an analysis of the economic impact on pupils who do not meet the high school exit examination requirement. |
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Louisiana -(HB 1133)- Enacted
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Relates to school attendance and the habitual tardiness of students; includes penalties for certain violations by parents and other persons having charge of habitually tardy students; provides that habitual cases shall be referred to juvenile or family court; relates to habitual cases when all reasonable efforts by school personnel, truancy officers and other law enforcement personnel have failed to correct the situation. |
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This Week in Education
July 3 - July 9, 2008
K-12
Report calls for more after-school programs
A survey of 3,700 Arkansas children in grades 6 through 12 found that half of the students were unsupervised after school on a regular basis, according to a new report released Monday calling for more after-school programs in the state. The survey by students at the Clinton School of Public Service also found that a majority of the children would consider attending an after-school program if their school offered one. The report offers recommendations to the Governor's Task Force on Best Practices for After-School and Summer Programs. Gov. Mike Beebe created the task force earlier this year
Suit against education bill targeted
Legislative leaders decided Tuesday to seek to intervene in a lawsuit filed against the controversial education omnibus bill passed last session, saying their lawmaking powers were threatened. The lawsuit said the bill, SB2, is unconstitutional because it violates a provision requiring that bills deal with only a single subject. In the final days of the 2008 Legislature, lawmakers rolled a dozen education bills into SB2
Phila. students must enroll at age 6
Philadelphia students will be required to start school at a younger age under legislation passed yesterday as part of the state budget. The compulsory school age in the Philadelphia School District will drop from 8 to 6 under the legislation.
Education Finance
Schools Grapple With Rising Fuel Costs (EdWeek)
With gas prices soaring nationwide, reaching over $4 for each gallon of diesel fuel, school districts are struggling to supplement transportation budget shortfalls and find ways to offset the increasing cost of fuel as a new school year approaches.
Rendell set to signature bill for education funds
House Bill 1067 provides the largest increase in basic education funding since at least 1991, while also introducing a school funding formula providing more aid to districts with greater needs, including districts with large numbers of students living in poverty and children learning to speak English.
State may tap savings for schools
State Finance Director Jim Main on Tuesday said the state likely will have to take more money from savings to avoid spending cuts for public schools and colleges if the slow growth in education revenues reported for October through June continues.
Leadership
Superintendent: Bad teachers hard to fire: Some say teacher tenure rules need to be overhauled to address problem
Few people know better than school superintendent Allan Gerstenlauer that disciplining a tenured teacher can be a long and expensive process. An English teacher in his Long Island district remains on the payroll, earning an annual salary of $113,559, even after pleading guilty earlier this month to drunken driving charges
Can Memphis schools be fixed?
As Dr. Kriner Cash takes over, the inevitable question arises: Can the city schools be fixed? Those on the board are adamant that Cash is the right man at the right time, but they also know the issues faced by a large urban school district such as Memphis are far too large and complicated to be solved by one person.
Departing Newark school chief always put kids first
In the nine years since Bolden took over Newark's public schools she has survived two attempted ousters, one multimillion-dollar deficit, an ongoing state takeover and the rollout of sweeping state and federal educational reforms. Many who have lived through it all with Bolden said she led the district during challenging times, and her reviews are vastly positive.
Pressures Mount for Chief Of Prince William Schools
After a school year marked by academic and administrative controversy, Prince William County Superintendent Steven L. Walts retains rock-solid School Board support as he seeks to raise the reputation of Virginia's second-largest school system. But his relationships with many parents have fractured, and some local officials wonder when, if ever, test scores will rise to levels found among the county's neighbors.
School superintendent contracts still laden with perks
School boards in some New Jersey towns still give perks to their superintendents that would make almost any employee envious and any taxpayer mad.
Ouster of principal irks Carrboro parents
Some Carrboro High School parents are outraged by the ouster of the school's principal and removal of nearly a dozen advanced courses from the curriculum. Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Superintendent Neil Pedersen said the courses were cut because of low demand, but he has asked administrators to look into possibly adding some back next year.
School Choice
Buffalo's charter schools post some of the city's highest test scores
Buffalo charter schools, once considered an experiment, posted some of the highest state test scores in the city this year. At a couple of charter schools, results in math and English were among the best of any schools in Erie and Niagara counties.
Charter school group criticizes rule; State mandate requires new qualifications for teachers entering the next school year
The Wisconsin Charter Schools Association strongly opposes changes made by the state Department of Public Instruction to the licensing procedure of charter school staff, which members say will destroy charter schools.
STEM
CORRECTED: Technology Reshapes America's Classrooms
From online courses to kid-friendly laptops and virtual teachers, technology is spreading in America's classrooms, reducing the need for textbooks, notepads, paper and in some cases even the schools themselves.
Teacher
Maryland schools consider merit pay for teachers
School systems across Maryland are considering performance pay for teachers and principals. Maryland's teachers union, like others across the country, has been skeptical about the prospect of bonuses and has voiced concern that rewards could be made unfairly.
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