Schools invited to weigh in on Obama’s ‘Promise Zones’ priority
(D.C.) The U.S. Department of Education is seeking stakeholder comment on a proposed system aimed at focusing financial resources on 20 “Promise Zones,” high-poverty communities throughout the country in which the federal agencies will partner and invest to create jobs, increase economic activity and improve educational opportunities and public safety.
Inclusiveness becomes campus theme at Arizona high school homecoming
(Ariz.) One of the overriding tenets of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is the concept of “least restrictive environment,” which encourages that students with disabilities be included in general classroom instruction as much as possible.
Legislation requires contributions of Filipino Americans to be included in curriculum
(Calif.) In a national first, the role Filipino Americans played in the farm workers movement will become an official part of the K-12 social science curriculum under legislation signed late last month by Gov. Jerry Brown.
Common Core transition plays to strengths of California’s charter schools
Challenged by lower per-pupil funding, second-hand facilities and sometimes lacking district support, California charter schools have traditionally needed a go-it-alone mentality.
Death of shop classes greatly exaggerated: just ask collision repair foundation
High-tech foundation money and new world philanthropies have elevated career education to a new place of academic status employing project-based curriculum and linked learning programs.
Dems, GOP join together to protect ag ed money
An agriculture education program with ties going back almost a century faces potential elimination under budget scenarios being considered by Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration.
New campaign in support of more restrictions on LCFF spending
Advocates for low-income families and English learners have launched a letter-writing campaign aimed at getting the California State Board of Education to reject plans to give schools wide discretion over the use of new state grant money.
National panel of state school chiefs calls for teacher prep update
Just as common national curriculum standards are transforming instruction inside the K-12 classroom, a new report from the Council of Chief State School Officers is calling for a similar refocusing of teacher preparation programs.
Feds threaten Brown on testing plan
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan moved earlier this week to squelch California’s plan to suspend almost all statewide student testing next year by formally threatening to withhold administrative Title I money – some portion of about $15 million.
Boost in charter school enrollment expected under Brown’s school formula
Charter school operators and their supporters are looking at a potential boom in enrollment thanks to funding equities included in the state’s new education budget formula.
College-career readiness can include remediation rates, diploma quality
In the search to define and measure college and career readiness, state and local officials throughout the U.S. are looking at university remediation rates and early performance indicators of middle school students, according to a new study.
New school funding law sets first-time accountability for foster youth
New laws that ushered in California’s landmark Local Control Funding Formula call on the departments of social services and education for the first time to identify and share information about foster students with school districts.
Brown administration sides with schools over flexibility of LCFF money
In settling a simmering dispute between schools and civil rights groups over the use of new state funding targeting disadvantaged students, the Brown administration appears to have decided to give local officials authority to define the mission.
Half of state authorized charters failed to meet performance targets
Of the 23 charter schools operating under an authorization issued by the California State Board of Education, slightly more than half met their 2013 academic growth targets – but 11 scored at or above the state’s performance benchmark of 800 on the Academic Performance Index.
Civil rights groups, schools face off over LCFF flexibility question
With a deadline looming to produce guidance on the use of billions of dollars in new state support, the California State Board of Education faces a tough call interpreting legislative intent over local spending flexibility and a commitment to direct more money to the neediest students.
Bad to the bone – teacher movement adopts rebel yell to confront critics
Mark Naison is one bad ass teacher. The Brooklyn native and Fordham University professor, inspired earlier this year by a large-scale testing revolt in his home state, created a Facebook group for discourse among educators like himself who are fed up with federal education policy that he believes casts teachers as villains and as largely indifferent to the crisis in schools.
School groups engage in new battles with advocates for vouchers
A new wave of conflict over school vouchers has broken out in a number of states where advocates in control of the legislative purse strings are confronting push-back from traditional public school supporters.
API rewrite approaches deadline, solutions evasive
A panel advising California on new school performance benchmarks for college- and career-ready students is being asked tomorrow to sign off on a state plan for education staff to conduct literature reviews of the college indicators under consideration.
Publicized study on bully prevention draws questionable conclusions
A recent study in the Journal of Criminology attracted national attention last week, finding that anti-bullying policies in schools actually increase student on student incidents – but a closer look reveals that the key data are eight years out of date and fails to consider today’s more pressing issues around cyber-bullying.
CA’s $250M investment in linked learning complicated by internship rules, regs
A highlight of the summer budget agreement, the $250 million program in support of work-based learning is set to launch but project architects stil need hundreds – if not thousands – of private businesses to provide those job experiences, a commitment complicated by a recent court case and seemingly unaccommodating labor regulations.
