NEWSWIRE IS BACK! Click here for the latest weekly report on education news and commentary you won’t find anywhere else, spiced with a dash of irreverence, from the nation’s leading voice in school reform.
School Revamp Debated
The Advocate, LA, March 14, 2013
A former federal education official and the president of Louisiana’s top school board Thursday clashed over vouchers, charter schools and the need for changes in public schools.
When Third-Graders Can’t Read
Washington Post, DC, March 14, 2013
Thank you for the thoughtful March 10 news article “States issue third-grade ultimatum on reading,” on mandatory retention laws for third-graders reading below proficiency levels.
Common Core as Trojan Horse
National Review Online, March 15, 2013
Last week, I reported on the federal government’s massive new student-tracking database, which was created as part of the nationalized Common Core standards scheme.
FROM THE STATES
ALABAMA
Gov. Robert Bentley Calls School Choice Bill Historic; AEA Vows Legal Fight Not Over On Alabama Accountability Act
Alabama News, AL, March 15, 2013
Gov. Robert Bentley has signed into law a controversial school choice bill that gives families zoned for “failing” schools tax credits to pay tuition at a private school or better public school.
Lawmakers Undermine Local Schools
Decatur Daily, AL, March 15, 2013
Gov. Robert Bentley’s decision to sign a school tax-credit and voucher law Thursday was less surprising than the votes the bill received from local legislators.
ARKANSAS
Bill To Give Districts More Time To Fix Fiscal Woes Passes House
Log Cabin Democrat, AR, March 14, 2013
The House advanced bills Thursday that would give fiscally distressed school districts more time to get their financial houses in order and would create a new state panel to decide the fate of charter schools.
CALIFORNIA
Have Charter Schools Grown Too Fast?
San Diego Union Tribune, CA, March 14, 2013
After two decades of offering educational choice to families, leaders of the charter-school movement in California are touting accomplishments but also calling for higher standards in light of some underperforming and mismanaged schools.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
DCPS Achievement Gap Widens
Washington Examiner, DC, March 15, 2013
If it took Hurricane Katrina to improve New Orleans’ failing public school system, one shudders to think what it will take to improve Washington’s. A recent study by the DC Fiscal Policy Institute underscores this grim reality.
FLORIDA
House Budget Committee Approves Sweeping Charter School Bill
Tampa Bay Tribune Blog, FL, March 14, 2013
The House Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved a sweeping charter school bill that would, among other things, require traditional public schools to share empty classroom space with charter schools.
ILLINOIS
U-46 Candidates Split On Charter School Support
Daily Herald, IL, March 14, 2013
The six candidates in a race for Elgin Area School District U-46 school board agree better communication will help improve the district’s image, forge strong relationships with its unions, avoid future lawsuits and engage the community. Where the candidates’ platforms differ is on charter schools.
INDIANA
Vouchers’ Untold Story
Journal Gazette, IN, March 15, 2013
Monday’s school choice rally at the Statehouse packed a powerful energy boost for Indiana lawmakers considering a sweeping expansion of the nation’s most expansive voucher program.
LOUISIANA
Orleans Parish School Board Hopes To Lure State Takeover Schools Back To Local Control
Times-Picayune, LA, March 14, 2013
The Orleans Parish School Board is addressing a key roadblock this legislative session after two years in which no state takeover schools chose to return to local control.
MINNESOTA
Should School Districts Both Oversee And Lease To Charters?
Daily Planet, MN, March 14, 2013
A disagreement between the state and some school officials about charter school leases could be resolved by a bill heard in the House Education Finance Committee on Wednesday.
MISSOURI
New Standards In Math, English Cause Furor In Jefferson City
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, March 15, 2013
The teachers from across the St. Louis area had come to learn about changes afoot — state education officials have approved a new national set of standards in math and English, called the Common Core.
Group Challenges Public Employees, Aims To Privatize The Public Schools
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, March 15, 2013
Puppets of ALEC cannot say outright they seek to abolish (privatize) public schools where 90 percent of our students attend. They seek, some wittingly and some unwittingly, to take small steps..
Mo. Senate Passes Bill Allowing ‘Incompetent’ St. Louis Teachers To Be Fired
St. Louis Public Radio, MO, March 14, 2013
Teachers with tenure in St. Louis could be fired for incompetency under a bill that was passed Thursday by the Missouri Senate.
NEW JERSEY
Looking Beyond Vouchers
Herald News, NJ, March 15, 2013
THE GREATEST drama generated during Governor Christie’s town hall meeting Tuesday in Paterson came when a single parent spoke out, without being called upon, for the governor to “fix the public schools.” The outburst and subsequent exchange with the governor came near the end of a more than hour-long give-and-take with about 700 residents at the city’s St. Luke Baptist Church.
NEW MEXICO
Gov. To Veto Teacher Pay Scale Revisions
Albuquerque Journal, NM, March 15, 2013
Gov. Susana Martinez will veto a bill that would have revised the criteria for teacher pay scales, a spokesman for her office said Thursday.
NEW YORK
Slap At Charter-School Discipline
New York Post, NY, March 15, 2013
Charter schools are being unnecessarily harsh in disciplining students with special needs — suspending some for days and weeks on end, parents and an elected official charged yesterday.
New York’s Education Deficit
New York Times, NY, March 15, 2013
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state legislative leaders are hammering out the $142 billion state budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year, which must be approved by April 1. It is crucial that more financing be allocated to public schools, both in upstate areas and in New York City.
Teacher’s Union Takes Aim At Bloomberg’s Control Of Public Schools
New York Post, NY, March 14, 2013
The teachers’ union today proposed to gut one of Mike Bloomberg’s signature legislative achievements: the ability of the mayor to run New York City’s public school system.
OHIO
Don’t Believe Charter Critics
Youngstown Vindicator, OH, March 15, 2013
Unfortunately, the commentary by Janetta King of Innovation Ohio (Vindicator, March 11) contains a great deal of misinformation about charter schools that must be addressed.
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma House Crams Education Bills On Deadline
Tulsa World, OK, March 15, 2013
A fistful of education bills – including two that would give school districts more flexibility in dealing with state mandates and another that creates a task force to study the controversial A-F school grading system – limboed under the deadline for House passage.
OREGON
Private School Enrollment Falling In Oregon And Nationally, Charter Schools May Be The Cause
The Oregonian, OR, March 14, 2013
Enrollment in private schools has fallen during the past 10 years, both nationally and in Oregon, and the growth of charter schools seems to be one big cause, the Census Bureau reported Thursday.
PENNSYLVANIA
Charter School Reform Legislation, Audits Grab State’s Attention
Herald Standard, PA, March 15, 2013
The money Pennsylvania’s school districts are required to pay to charter schools came under fire on Thursday.
First, the House Education Committee listened to support and some sharp criticism about legislation that would change the way districts fund charter schools.
Public’s Take On Recovery: Give Our Schools Another Chance
York Dispatch, PA, March 15, 2013
It’s usually hard to get a general consensus when dozens of people speak at a public forum.
But there was a theme during the at times insightful, dramatic, personal and always passionate public comments Thursday at the York City schools advisory committee forum.
School Lane Among Auditor General’s Charter Lease Targets
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, March 15, 2013
State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Thursday that regular audits of six charter schools across Pennsylvania found they had improperly received a total of more than $550,000 in taxpayer money from the state’s charter lease-reimbursement program.
TENNESSEE
Rocketship’s Plans To Open Charter Schools Blindsides Metro
The Tennessean, TN, March 15, 2013
Metro school officials were shocked to hear a California charter school group had state permission to open the first of eight planned schools in Nashville in 2014.
Charter Schools About Options, Casada Says
The Tennessean, TN, March 15, 2013
Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin, supports a state authorizer panel and believes it would usher in more charter schools for the state and ultimately give students more options.
UTAH
Nearby Charter Schools Boost Public School Performance, Researcher Says
Deseret News, UT, March 14, 2013
Public schools may see a jump in math, science and language arts test scores — if a charter school is in the same neighborhood.
WASHINGTON
Tacoma Could Be Charter Authorizer
News Tribune, WA, March 15, 2013
During last fall’s campaign for charter schools, members of the Tacoma School Board voted to oppose the ballot initiative.
New Charter School Commission Can Learn From Other States
News Tribune, WA, March 15, 2013
Based on 20 years of experience in other states, the nine members of the recently appointed State Charter School Commission are in for hard work, long hours and difficult deliberations.
ONLINE LEARNING
Greenfield School Committee May Reconsider Ending Online School
The Republican, MA, March 14, 2013
After learning more information about a 3-month-old law that will regulate online schools, some members of the School Committee said they want to reconsider a decision to end the virtual school it started four years ago.
In Cyber-Charter Funding Debate, Educators On Predictable Seesaw
WITF, PA, March 14, 2013
If school districts are up on an idea, cyber-charter school groups are down. If the cyber-charter groups swing skyward, the traditional school boards careen to the ground.
TN Senate Approves Virtual-School Enrollment Cap
The Tennessean, TN, March 15, 2013
Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal to tighten enrollment requirements at privately run online schools has passed the Senate.
McCrory Signing 2 Digital Learning Bills Into Law
WBTV, NC, March 15, 2013
Gov. Pat McCrory wants to join state legislators in getting more electronic and online learning into North Carolina’s public schools.
Virtual Charter School Would Be First Of Its Kind In State
Naperville Sun, IL, March 14, 2013
As 18 school districts in the region prepare to make a decision about a proposed virtual charter that would serve their students, school officials are trying to figure out just how such a multi-district online charter — which would be the first of its kind in Illinois — would work.