Expanding Private School Access, DC Vouchers Report, and More: Friday’s Ed News

Published November 22, 2013

Friday’s ed news

CHOICE: Should private schools begin to act more like charters? Or should lawmakers stop requiring private schools to administer state tests?

DC: A government report criticizing the city’s voucher program dings bureaucracy, not vouchers

WASHINGTON: A state court hears an anti-charter school case today. 

LOUISIANA: The state will phase in Common Core test-based accountability over ten years

MASSACHUSETTS: The lead Common Core test state will let districts choose whether to use the tests starting in 2015 or 2016.

TEXAS: Lawmakers plead to keep kids from having to take Algebra II to graduate. 

FEDERAL: About $4.6 billion in federal grants to struggling schools has essentially had little impact. 

HIGHER ED: Nearly half of the nation’s colleges and universities are no longer generating enough tuition revenue to keep pace with inflation.

 

Thursday’s ed news

MASSACHUSETTS: The once-top education state is slipping after lawmakers have backpedaled on reforms. 

WISCONSIN: Lawmakers conclude they want a “compromise” on Common Core that includes keeping the entire structure but possibly passing a student privacy law. 

TENNESSEE: The first modern, large-scale study of a state preschool program again finds it does not benefit children

NEW YORK: Lawmakers berate education Commissioner John Kind and company inBloom for their student data collection plans. 

MARYLAND: Teachers file a union grievance, citing all the extra work hours they’re putting in because of Common Core.

CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles’ $1 billion iPad buy just got more expensive by $60 million a year.

MICHIGAN: Three of four test-takers fail the state’s new exam for teacher certification.

IDAHO: The state board of education considers making homeschoolers subject to truancy laws and standardized tests

TEXAS: A Montessori school in Austin uses computers to facilitate student-led activities. 

 

Wednesday’s ed news

LOUISIANA: The Obama administration drops one lawsuit against state vouchers, but still seeks to control it by deciding whether children are the right race to receive a voucher.

NEW YORK: Five thousand people rallied in Westchester to support education tax credits Tuesday.

ARIZONA: The state’s education system is in serious trouble without reform. And more charter schools find they cannot co-exist with Common Core.

CHOICE: Why it’s harder now for parents to “vote with their feet” on schools than it was fifty years ago.

INDIANA: Republican leadership wants to drop Common Core for Indiana standards.

MICHIGAN: Lawmakers will soon consider national science curriculum mandates that heavily emphasize global warming.

FEDERAL: The Obama administration releases another education grant competition, this time for job-prep programs in high schools.

PENNSYLVANIA: A bill to expand charter schools will likely receive a vote this week.

CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles teachers demand a raise on top of their annual raises.

PRIVATE SCHOOLS: A new report says faith-based schools are in danger of extinction.

SCHOOL GRADES: Grading schools A-F is one-dimensional and subject to corruption.

 

Tuesday’s ed news

LOUISIANA:  The federal government demands that it review and control the state’s vouchers program to prevent segregation, although studies show vouchers desegregate schools.

COLORADO: Several classical charter schools say they cannot co-exist with Common Core.

RHODE ISLAND: Cities turn to “mayoral academies” to improve ailing schools.

NEW YORK: The state PTA calls for delaying Common Core tests after hostile meetings with thousands of angry parents.

WISCONSIN: A Hispanic vouchers advocate and community activist square off for a state Assembly seat in a special election.

OHIO: State board of education members have several conflicts of interest.

 

Monday’s ed news

CALIFORNIA: Teachers unions are taking aim at the state’s pioneer Parent Trigger school choice law.

NATIONWIDE: Parents opt children out of school today to protest Common Core.

KENTUCKY: A parent files the country’s first lawsuit against Common Core.

ONLINE ED: The man perhaps best known for free online education decides to change course.

DC: The city’s vouchers program needs some updates, says a GAO report.

CALIFORNIA: How a new reform law became a payoff for teachers unions.

MISSISSIPPI: Gulfport schools attempt to cover up test score drops due to Common Core

KANSAS: The governor diverts funds from welfare to institute new reading programs.

INDIANA: The state ethics chief files a complaint against former state superintendent Tony Bennett for using state computers to campaign.

FEDERAL: Why the Obama administration‘s incoherent approach to education is like its approach to healthcare. 

 

For last week’s School Reform News roundup, click here.
For other top-notch school reform news selections, visit: 

Image by Mo Riza.