Daily Headlines for February 13, 2013
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NATIONAL COVERAGE
State Of The Union Education Proposals Focus On Nation’s Youngest, Oldest Students
Huffington Post, February 12, , 2013
During Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, President Barack Obama proposed several major education initiatives, including a big push to expand pre-kindergarten and a potential revamp of the federal aid system for college students.
Private Funding Influenced Public Education Policy
Washington Examiner, DC, February 12, 2013
February Education watchdogs are raising concerns over the Gates Foundation’s involvement in shaping public education policy, saying the private foundation’s influence in public education policy interferes with the democratic process and local input.
The Key To Education Reform Will Be Measurement
Desert News, CA, February 13, 2013
The biggest challenges in education are access, quality and cost. But that’s going to change. In the next decade, I predict the key to comprehensive reform will be our ability to measure actual learning.
FROM THE STATES
CALIFORNIA
L.A. School Board Approves Parent Trigger At 24th St. Elementary
Los Angeles Times, CA, February 13, 2013
Vote will allow parents to proceed with the first such effort to overhaul an L.A. campus. Board also approves purchase of tablets for L.A. students and a downtown charter school.
Students, Families Turn Out To Support Imagine School At School District Public Hearing
Imperial Valley Press, CA, February 13, 2013
Nearly a dozen people spoke in support of Imagine School of Imperial Valley, lauding its pioneering dual-immersion program in English and Spanish.
N.Y. Mayor Gives $1 Million To Back L.A. School Board Slate
Los Angeles Times, CA, February 13, 2013
Michael Bloomberg aims to retain a majority that has pushed for revamping teacher policies, an effort also supported by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
CONNECTICUT
Say No To Charter Schools
Yale Daily News, CT, February 13, 2013
The News reported three weeks ago on plans to open new charter schools in New Haven (“State may get new charter schools,” Jan. 23).
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
DCPS Schools Absorb 561 Charter Transfers Per Year
Greater Greater Washington, DC, February 12, 2013
561 students in public charter schools, or 1 in 56 charter students, transferred to traditional public schools during the 2011-2012 school year. That means that, in addition to the 277 students charters expelled during that year, another 284 transferred to DCPS schools.
FLORIDA
Pinellas To Close Struggling Charter School
Tampa Bay Tribune, FL, February 12, 2013
LARGO After more than an hour of pleas from students, parents and teachers, the Pinellas County school board voted today to close Imagine School at St. Petersburg’s charter elementary school, which a room full of students called “the best school on earth.”
Marco Rubio’s School Voucher Plan Shows Strong Jeb Bush Ties
Miami Herald, FL, February 12, 2013
Sen. Marco Rubio’s just-announced educational voucher plan for poor kids shows he wants to talk about more than immigration and that his relationship with Gov. Jeb Bush is solid.
GEORGIA
Parent Trigger Charter Schools Bill Zooms Through House Panel
Atlanta Journal Constitution, GA, February 12, 2013
A parent trigger charter schools bill zipped through the House Education Committee on Tuesday, boosting the chances that, for the second year in a row, the Georgia Legislature will pass major legislation pushing charter schools.
IDAHO
Lawmakers More Receptive To Input On Education Reform Bills
KTVB, ID, February 12, 2013
State lawmakers say they’re listening to Idahoans much closer this year when drafting new legislation dealing with education reform.
KENTUCKY
Charter Schools Can Help At-Risk Students Succeed
Courier-Journal, KY, February 12, 2013
The recent statewide test scores confirmed what we’ve long known: There is a great divide in education. In a system built upon “one form of education fits all,” over 10,000 young Kentuckians each year drop out of school with little likelihood of returning.
MARYLAND
City School Board Revokes Contracts Of Several Schools
Baltimore Sun, MD, February 12, 2013
The Baltimore school board voted Tuesday night to not renew the contracts of several charter and other independently run schools — but deferred making decisions about whether most of them would close.
MICHIGAN
State Wants Wider Control of Its Schools
Wall Street Journal, February 12, , 2013
State leaders in Michigan are again looking to expand an education initiative that takes poor-performing schools out of local hands and bands them together in a single statewide district with a less-structured curriculum and a nonunion workforce.
MISSISSIPPI
School Consolidation Likely To Gain Momentum
Clarion Ledger, MS, February 13, 2013
State Rep. Toby Barker’s House Bill 716 calling for creation of a new Starkville Consolidated School District from a merger of the existing Starkville School District and the Oktibbeha County School District is likely the first salvo in a more systematic battle to reduce the number of school districts in the state after decades of the issue of school consolidation being a political planet killer to politicians who dared mention it.
MONTANA
GOP School Choice Unexpectedly Shot Down
Helena Independent Record, MT, February 12, 2013
The House unexpectedly flipped Tuesday on a Republican proposal to bring charter schools to Montana, although the proposal may not be dead yet.
School Choice Is The Fair Option
Helena Independent Record, MT, February 12, 2013
Last week, I attended the School Choice rally on the Helena Capitol steps and testified in support of two School Choice bills. As a father of 11 who paid out-of-pocket for all my children’s private school education, I know first-hand the costs parents bear in making this important choice.
NEBRASKA
With New Report, It’s Time To Talk Charter Schools, Vouchers, Says Think Tank Chief
Omaha World Herald, NE, February 13, 2013
A report commissioned by an Omaha-based think tank indicates its time to talk charter schools, tax credits and vouchers in Nebraska, the group’s executive director said Tuesday.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Charter School Funding Gets Boost From Legislative Committee
Union Leader, NH, February 12, 2013
The House Education Committee approved a bill to lift restrictions on the Department of Education’s ability to fund new charter schools.
Business Tax Credits For Private Schools Face Repeal
Union Leader, NH, February 12, 2013
Splitting along partisan lines, a House committee on Tuesday recommended the repeal of a 1-year-old law designed to use business-tax credits to fund private-school tuition payments.
NEW JERSEY
Conflict Over Charter Schools Flares Up Anew in Florence
New Jersey Spotlight, NJ, February 13, 2013
New Jersey’s latest battle over the expansion of a charter school in Florence Township in Burlington County has sparked anew the debate over where best to place the alternative schools.
NEW YORK
When Helping Kids Threatens Teachers
New York Post, NY, February 13, 2013
The New Jersey Education Association has declared war on two Newark charter schools, Merit Prep and Newark Prep. It sued to shut them down, but lost in court — so now the union’s asked the state Legislature to kill them.
Students And Parents From Brownsville Academy High School Will File Suit In Federal Court, Aiming To Block The City From Putting A Success Academy Charter School In Its Building
New York Daily News, NY, February 12, 2013
The plaintiffs argue that sharing space with a charter will jeopardize its formula for success: smaller classes that provide students with more attention
NORTH CAROLINA
Jump In Applications To Open Charter Schools Presents Challenges
WFAE, NC, February 12, 2013
The number of applications to open charter schools has jumped significantly since the charter school cap was lifted in 2011. There used to be a couple dozen applications per year. This year 156 groups plan to apply and that means a whole lot of work for the people who review them.
OHIO
Raise The Bar For Teachers
Cleveland Plain Dealer, OH, February 13, 2013
If some leaders have their way, Ohio’s cash-cow teacher preparation programs will finally be sent out to pasture.
OKLAHOMA
Test-Peddlers May Be Influencing State Education Reform
Tulsa World, OK, February 13, 2013
A Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group reports that a foundation headed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is heavily influencing, and in some cases writing, education reform laws and regulations in Oklahoma and five other states. The report by the group In the Public Interest is based on records obtained through freedom-information requests.
Education Committee Advances Bills To Reform A-F System, Expand Teacher Discipline Options
Tulsa World, OK, February 13, 2013
A bill to reform Oklahoma’s controversial A-F school grading system advanced from the House Common Education Committee on Tuesday, although the exact nature of the reform remains unclear.
PENNSYLVANIA
Hite: School-Closure Changes Are On The Way
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, February 13, 2013
SCHOOL DISTRICT Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said Tuesday that he plans to release revisions to the district’s controversial school-closure proposal “sometime next week” before the Feb. 21 School Reform Commission meeting.
Baden Academy Reaches Half-Way Mark In First School Year
Beaver County Times, PA, February 13, 2013
On a benchmark day at Baden Academy Charter School, where digital learning and arts-infused education is dispersed in learning studios rather than classrooms, Samuel Stewart, 6, walked in with a bag of rocks.
Corbett Shifts Stance On Cuts To School Funds
Philadelphia Inquirer, PA, February 13, 2013
The budget ax might not land on public schools after all.
For weeks, Gov. Corbett and members of his administration have sent strong signals that they would likely look to education funding for budget cuts if the legislature did not act to rein in the state’s skyrocketing public-employee pension costs
RHODE ISLAND
Four New Education Board Members Approved By Senate
Providence Journal, RI, February 12, 2013
The Senate on Tuesday approved four of Governor Chafee’s appointees to the state’s new 11-member Board of Education, which will oversee K-12 schools and the public college system.
TENNESSEE
Metro Schools Adopt A Diversity Plan
The Tennessean, TN, February 13, 2013
With the ghost of segregation still haunting Nashville public schools, officials adopted a diversity plan Tuesday that they hope will be a guiding force in maximizing the benefits to all students.
Charter Schools Bill Passes House Subcommittee
News Channel 5, TN, February 12, 2013
State lawmakers passed a controversial bill targeting Nashville and Memphis for charter schools on Tuesday. The state “charter school authorizer” sailed through a House subcommittee. This bill gives charter schools another option. It lets them apply to the state instead of the local school district.
State Authorizer Gives Charters Way to Bypass Nashville, Memphis Boards
Nashville Public Radio, TN, February 13, 2013
The Tennessee Board of Education could soon decide which charter schools can open up in the state. A proposal in the General Assembly gives charter applicants a way to bypass the local school board.
Bill Calls For Elected Schools Director
Ashland City Times, TN, February 12, 2013
Cheatham County’s new state senator has introduced a bill in the state legislature calling for the schools director to be elected rather than appointed by the School Board.
Haslam Virtual School Bill Advances
WATE, TN, February 12, 2013
A Republican bill to tighten enrollment requirements for online-only schools has been softened while a Democratic proposal to ban private companies from running them has been derailed.
WASHINGTON
Lawmakers About $1M Apart on Education Reform
KNDO, WA, February 12, 2013
About $1-billion separates Senate Republicans from House Democrats on how they believe the Legislature should respond to last year’s Supreme Court ruling on money for schools in Washington.
Seattle Voters Back Two School Levies
Seattle Times, WA, February 12, 2013
Two Seattle school levies passed in Tuesday’s special election, maintaining a decadelong record of ballot-box success for the city’s school district.
State Superintendent Of Schools Pushes Lawmakers To Change Initiative
King 5, WA, February 12, 2013
Superintendent for Public Instruction Randy Dorn has sent a letter to Olympia lawmakers suggesting they put voter-approved charter schools under his control, reversing part of I-1240 which passed in November.
WEST VIRGINIA
Senator Says House Education Committee Could Be Reform Hurdle
Charleston Daily Mail, WV, February 13, 2013
A Kanawha County member of the state Senate who has clashed with teachers unions in the past is not optimistic about the fate of education reform in the revamped House Education Committee.
WISCONSIN
MPS Board Committee To Consider Contract With Non-Union Charter Operator
Journal Sentinel, WI, February 12, 2013
A Milwaukee School Board committee Tuesday night will consider finalizing the details of a contract with a national charter-school operator from Philadelphia that wants to open two campuses in the district next year.
ONLINE LEARNING
Lawmaker’s Bid To Close Union County-Based Virtual School Fails
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN, February 13, 2013
A House committee killed legislation that would have closed Union County-based Tennessee Virtual Academy on Tuesday after one Knoxville legislator effectively blocked another from talking to the committee about allegations that the for-profit school altered the bad grades of some students.
Tennessee Virtual Academy Comes Under Fire For Grade Fixing
WATE-TV, TN, February 12, 2013
Tennessee parents are mixed on their reactions concerning Tennessee Virtual Academy and an apparent grade-fixing scandal.
Branstad Makes $4.5 Million Push To Expand Online Learning
Sioux City Journal, IA, February 12, 2013
Online education could get a substantial financial and enrollment boost if Gov. Terry Branstad convinces the Legislature to set aside $4.5 million in funding for the next three years.
Martinez Administration Policies Hurting Students
Albuquerque Journal, NM, February 13, 2013
Secretary of Education-designate Hanna Skandera’s approval of a K-12 virtual charter school in New Mexico despite the recommendation of the Public Education Commission represents another step toward privatizing education in our state.
Bill Would Bar Private Firms From Operating State’s Public Schools
Santa Fe New Mexican, NM, February 13, 2013
Private organizations and corporations running virtual charter schools in New Mexico are preparing a Trojan horse-type assault on the state to divert public education funds, according to a group of lawmakers, private citizens and faith-based leaders who are trying to stop them….