2011 November School Reform News

The November issue of School Reform News reports the Obama administration has released long-promised criteria stats must meet to receive a waiver of No Child Left Behind requirements. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said the move “is an overstep of authority that undermines existing law and violates the constitutional separation of powers.”

Also in this issue:

• Parents and teachers in Michigan would have the power to petition their school district to convert a failing public school into an independent charter under a bill pending in the Republican-controlled state Senate.

• Four Republican senators have introduced a set of bills to reauthorize No Child Left Behind.

• Broadened opportunities and tight accountability have spiked the number of operators applying to open charter schools in Florida.

• The president proposed a third stimulus including federal money to stanch teacher job cuts, though the United States has more teachers and fewer students now than before the recession.

• Creating a proprietary teacher evaluation system will allow one Michigan school district to earn money by licensing.

• Three states will let districts offer federally sponsored lunches to all enrolled students, and all states must offer the program by 2014.

• In axing Philadelphia Superintendent Arlene Ackerman early, the school district agreed to pay her more than $1 million in severance.