State Leaders Need To Back Away From School Takeover Agencies
February 11, 2016, 2016 Subscribe
THIS WEEK: Teacher Shortage Fight … How Many Kids Have Lead Poisoning … Republicans Hat School Boards … UN Experts Horrified By US Schools … Schools Suspensions Hurt Achievement
TOP STORY
Why State Leaders Need To Back Away From School Takeover Agencies
By Jeff Bryant
“Republican governors and legislators in at least eleven states are in various stages of seizing control of schools and school districts and overriding local governance of education … But if elected school boards are the problem, are state takeover agencies the answer? ‘No,’ says a new report.”
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NEWS AND VIEWS
Teacher Shortages Put Pressure On Governors, Legislators
Education Week
“In a number of states with dwindling supplies of new teachers, overcrowded classrooms, months-long substitute assignments, and droves of teachers quitting midyear … governors and legislators are floating a variety of approaches to address the challenge of recruiting and retaining teachers.”
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America Does A Terrible Job Tracking How Many Kids Have Lead Poisoning
Vox
“In the wake of Flint, Michigan’s lead poisoning crisis … it’s nearly impossible to know how much lead exposure kids in a certain zip code, neighborhood, or census tract might come in contact with … There are thousands of children in the United States with lead exposure above the federal threshold.”
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GOP-Led States Increasingly Taking Control From Local School Boards
The Washington Post
“Republican lawmakers in Illinois last month pitched a bold plan for the state to seize control of the Chicago public schools … Governors in Michigan, Arkansas, Nevada, Wisconsin, Georgia, Ohio, and elsewhere … say they are intervening in cases of chronic academic or financial failure … State takeovers were once a rarity, but they have become increasingly popular.”
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U.N. Experts Seem Horrified By How American Schools Treat Black Children
Huffington Post
“American schools are hotbeds for racial discrimination, according to a preliminary report from a group of United Nations experts … The U.N. experts also expressed concern about mass school closures, which typically target predominantly black neighborhoods.”
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How School Suspensions Push Black Students Behind
The Atlantic
“Racial disparities in school-discipline rates … contribute to the race-based achievement gap … The act of suspending a child who’s already at risk of underperforming academically could prove devastating.”
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