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Education News for Thursday, May 4

School Voucher Initiative Fails Again –  For the second time this week, a plan to put school vouchers on the ballot has failed in Florida. (more) CORRECTION: We apologize for including this erroneous news story.  After posting this news around 5:30 a.m. Pacific, we called the office of Senate President Tom Lee at around 8:30 Pacific, which said a vote has not yet taken place.  The record above has been changed accordingly.  We also put in a call to the news organization in question to request a correction.  We apologize for the incorrect information. 

Accusations and delay tactics cap day at state Senate – A Fort Lauderdale Democrat accused ”emissaries” of Gov. Jeb Bush of ”bullying” her into supporting a failed plan to steer more public money to private schools.  The accusation capped a tense day in the Senate. (more)

Ticked-off Democrats halt state business – The Florida Senate hit a brief pocket of gridlock Wednesday, with Democrats forcing a slowdown of business in response to a fight over Gov. Jeb Bush’s school vouchers program. (more)

Initiative aims to boost geographic knowledge –  A five-year, multimedia campaign by National Geographic aims to motivate parents and educators to expand geographic offerings in school, at home and in their communities. (more)

Latest Numbers Show School Achievement Gap Closing – Data from the 2005 school year shows the achievement gap between minority students and whites in New York City is shrinking overall, but it’s still significant in certain grades. (more)

Transfer option under NCLB could arrive late –  An expected delay in grading final math tests this year means some schools in the state won’t know if they met federal No Child Left Behind standards until October.  The federal regulation requires school systems to allow parents to pull children from the Title 1 schools if they don’t meet standards on end-of-grade tests for two years straight. (more)

Going Charter Gets Easier – South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford enacted new legislation on Wednesday, establishing a statewide public charter school district. (more)

Tuition tax credit bill shot down – The South Carolina House rejected a controversial tuition tax credit bill in a sometimes heated debate Wednesday, defeating such a plan for the second year in a row. (more) 

Nice report cards – Editorial: The Los Angeles Unified School District just closed out a spectacular week. (more) 

Science friction –  At six out of the 11 New York middle schools that have the word "science" in their official name, the majority of eighth-graders failed last year’s state science exam, new data reveal. (more)

Partnership that boosted math, science celebrated – Superintendents, college leaders and teachers in the San Antonio area swapped stories and lessons from 10 years of cross-district collaboration for science and math teaching Tuesday as they celebrated two National Science Foundation grants coming to an end this year. (more)

Education gap fix takes more than a law, researcher says – According to one researcher, expecting even the best schools and teachers to bear the brunt of closing the achievement gap is "absurd and dangerous." (more)

Restrictive law hinders charter school progress – Opinion: We believe Memphis deserves commendation for its efforts to expand quality educational options for students and families.  Unfortunately, Tennessee’s highly restrictive charter school law does not create the conditions that would enable more students to benefit. (more) 

Check back later for more education news.   

UPDATE:

U.S. representative: Congress unlikely to hike funds for schools – U.S. representative Judy Biggert (R-Il.) voiced dismay that federal school funding decreased this fiscal year for the first time since President George W. Bush took office. She attributed that to the Iraq war and hurricane disasters Rita and Katrina. (more)

Teachers unions vs. teachers – Opinion: It’s old news that teachers unions put their members’ desires – short hours in the classroom, zero accountability for test scores – above the needs of children. What gets more clear every day, however, is that union leadership puts its own interests above those of rank-and-file members.(more)

Who is prepared for kindergarten? – According to a survey released today, kindergarten teachers and parents say most children in Silicon Valley start kindergarten with a good grasp of the basic skills teachers say they need–but the survey discovered major differences in the skills young students bring to the classroom. (more)

Soda Ban Means Change at Schools – Yesterday, the beverage industry announced that it will voluntarily remove high-calorie sodas from all schools, under an agreement with anti-obesity groups led by former president Bill Clinton. (more)

Florida Budget Includes Teacher Raises – A one-year, $147.5 million teacher merit pay plan designed to reward performance has been included in the Florida state budget to replace a never-implemented program that drew fire from lawmakers, teachers and school boards. (more)

LATEST UPDATE:

Senate proposes voucher compromise – Today the Florida Senate passed a compromise plan to preserve Gov. Jeb Bush’s statewide school voucher program Thursday. (more)