Federal/NCLB

• U.S. Secretary of Education tells educators that additional testing mandated by NCLB was worth the stress, during her 50-state tour to gauge what can be done to improve the law
  http://www.cjonline.com/stories/022108/loc_249174700.shtml
• Spellings wants Congress to tweak the federal “No Child Left Behind” law without making major changes to it
  http://newstribune.com/articles/2008/02/22/news_state/313state16nochild.txt
• Study finds that while reducing class sizes can lead to higher test scores overall, it might not necessarily reduce achievement gaps
  http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/02/27/25size.h27.html
• Report shows that states are increasingly seeking to support their pre-K programs through school funding formulas embedded in state law
  http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/02/27/25prefinance.h27.html

School Funding Litigation/Policy

• GA House Republicans vow to restore austerity cuts to the state's schools
  http://www.macon.com/220/story/273769.html
• NH Senate passes constitutional amendment on education funding, which would give lawmakers broad authority to direct education dollars to certain districts
  http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080222/FRONTPAGE/802220394
• ND governor proposes a $300 million state spending infusion for K-12 education to improve education and lower property tax burdens
  http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2008/02/22/news/local/149422.txt
• State Superintendent says OK Board of Education needs $37 million in supplemental funding to ensure schools get all the money they've been promised this year
  http://newsok.com/article/3207464/1203688957

State

• AR schools have made significant progress in improving education since a 2002 state Supreme Court decision, but a big gap still remains among students of different ethnic, social and economic backgrounds, according to report
  http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2008/02/22/News/345388.html
• CA Senate leader wants to make an overhaul of programs for reducing the number of high school dropouts a top legislative priority
  http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-dropout22feb22,1,311785.story?track=rss
• CO bill would allow schools to form their own "districts of innovation," which would allow them to operate without having to follow some state laws
  http://www.chieftain.com/metro/1203691219/11
• U.S. Department of Education rejects IL’s requests to allow districts to exclude the scores of English learners when calculating whether they met state and federal standards
  http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=139983&src=109
• IL district might boycott exam, becoming the first in the state and perhaps the nation to refuse to administer mandatory state exams to students who haven't yet mastered English
  http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=139801&src=2
• NH math test results concern local officials; 1 in 4 students score proficient in math while 3 in 4 score proficient in reading
  http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080222/FRONTPAGE/802220393
• Despite voting to abolish it two years ago, NJ Board of Education plans to revise the Special Review Assessment with stricter guidelines
  http://www.nj.com/news/times/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1203570327283620.xml&coll=5
• UT lawmakers decided against helping schools pay for anti-American International Baccalaureate programs
  http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8332838

Federal/NCLB

• “NCLB has helped make strides in American public education since 2001, but how the government administers it might need some tweaking,” says Education Secretary
  http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/feb/21/education_secretary_discusses_nclb/
• Study finds that schools are adding time for reading and math at the expense of other subjects
  http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/02/27/25cep.h27.html
• Experiment shows that cash awards in OH lift student test scores
  http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/02/27/25coshocton.h27.htmlSchool Funding Litigation/Policy
• GA governors’ budget proposal reduces education spending by $141 million for next year; chairman of the Appropriations Committee opposes the latest round of cuts
  http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/022108/met_188136.shtml
• PA governor proposes a new way to fund public schools that increases state aid to local districts by 1.5 percent to 11 percent
  http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/state/s_553384.html
• UT governor will continue pushing for a big boost for education, even if other priorities have to be cut back
  http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695254920,00.html

State

• AZ schools need to try harder to keep music, art and physical education in their curriculum, says a state lawmaker
  http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0221arts0221.html
• Study shows that 25 of CA’s 2,462 high schools account for more than a fifth of the state's dropouts, with the problem heavily concentrated in charter and alternative schools
  http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-dropout21feb21,1,7853024.story?track=rss
• NH bill would direct more state money to charter schools than ever before
  http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080221/FRONTPAGE/802210390
• VA launches several efforts to improve math and science education, amid a nationwide push to better prepare students for careers in engineering and science
  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/20/AR2008022000018.html

February 20, 2008

School Integration

• When unequal treatment is fair: How Montgomery County school leaders have conquered achievement gaps by giving extra attention and resources to schools in areas with high concentrations of poor, minority, and English-language learner students
• http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/02/20/24zones.h27.html

Federal/NCLB

• Report says assessments required under NCLB have caused low-achieving TX students to drop out in higher numbers than before
  http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/02/20/24report-1.h27.html
• Financial education experts advocate teaching students economics and personal-finance skills
  http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/02/20/24finance.h27.html
  Editorial – More than words are needed to support Head Start
  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/19/AR2008021902391.html?nav=rss_opinions
• Schools districts that rely on bond insurance to help them save money on the borrowing they do for construction projects and special programs could be affected by major ups and downs in that industry
  http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/02/20/24bonds.h27.html

School Funding Litigation/Policy

• The White House seeks a substantial jump in federal aid for D.C. public schools in “an unprecedented partnership”
  .http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/02/20/24dc.h27.html
• ID Gov. replaces a $60 million proposal with a new plan in which teachers would get nearly $21 million in merit bonuses; union leaders criticize the scaled back proposal
  http://www.idahostatesman.com/531/story/300243.html
• KY Senator says shift in school calendar could save the state millions
  http://www.bgdailynews.com/articles/2008/02/20/news/news5.txt

State

• FL school districts call on lawmakers to weaken the 2002 class size reduction mandate, a $10 billion constitutional requirement, before it is fully phased in
  http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/02/20/24florida_ep.h27.html
• KY Republicans want to replace the state's 18-year-old testing system with nationally normed multiple-choice tests, to provide more useful information, save $10 million and add 21 days in student instructional time
  http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/story/323427.html
• NJ Supreme Court agrees to give Gov. Corzine and the Legislature a chance to come up with additional funds for the depleted $8.6 billion school construction program
  http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1203515738141370.xml&coll=1
• SD preschool standards bill hits the wall after a House committee couldn't muster enough votes to either kill the measure or keep it moving
• http://argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080220/NEWS/802200327/1001

February 19, 2008

Federal/NCLB

• Commentary – E.D. Hirsch Jr. explains why NCLB has left so many children behind; "teaching to the test" does not effectively teach to the test after all, he says
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/15/AR2008021503008.html

School Funding Litigation/Policy

• AK House Finance Committee approves another study to cost out education in the state
  http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=7890451
• CA’s locked spending will pump half a billion dollars into novel social and recreational programs, despite spending cuts in reading and math
  http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-money19feb19,1,5209505.story
• Opinion – “Turn public values into public policy:” CA schools do not have $4.8 billion to cut
  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/18/EDKJV3K36.DTL&feed=rss.education
• Charters and traditional school districts are not completely satisfied with UT bill that would shake up how charter schools are funded, but lawmakers say it's the best option
  http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695254292,00.html
• State preschool program is cut from the budget
  http://www.adn.com/legislature/story/319143.html
• D.C. Schools Chancellor weighs ideas to fix low performing schools
  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/17/AR2008021702392.html?nav=rss_education
• D.C. Schools Chancellor plans to implement an experimental program that would offer customized lessons for disabled, regular and gifted students in the same classroom, a key component of her strategy to reduce special education costs
  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/18/AR2008021802126.html?nav=rss_education
• NM bill would make high school graduation harder, by requiring students demonstrate they are ready for college or a career by passing a new diploma test
  http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2008/feb/19/measure-requiring-high-school-proficiency-test-awa/
• TN civics education bill sidesteps NCLB rules
  http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2008/02/17/state_senators_civics_education_bills_sidestep_federal_rules/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Education+news
• TX teacher unions ask state to ease up on high-stakes testing that they said has forced schools to focus more on test preparation and school ratings than on learning
  http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/021908dntexschoolratings.35a109c.html
• UT bill sets targets for reducing the number of students per teacher
  http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8301220

Published Monday, Feb. 25, 2008