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Education News for Wednesday, July 12

Jersey schools face school choice lawsuit – The fundamental structure of New Jersey’s public school system could change if a group of families is successful in the lawsuit they will file Thursday, according to an opinion piece in today’s Wall Street Journal. (more)

Remedial education – Clint Bolick writes in the Wall Street Journal about a NJ lawsuit seeking school choice options for New Jersey children trapped in failing schools(subscription required) . (more)

NYT: Teachers and a law that distrusts them – Michael Winerup writes his last education column after four years inside our nation’s schools. (more)

School choice could combat SC dropout rate– It was disheartening to learn from Education Week’s national report that our state still has the lowest graduation rate in the nation, but that news should present yet another opportunity to engage in an honest discussion about much-needed education reform. (more) 

USA Today: NEA pays opponents of NCLB law – The nation’s largest teachers union has spent more than $8 million in a stealth campaign against President Bush’s education reform law, paying for research and political opposition in an effort to derail it, according to a Washington think tank that supports the law. (more)

Check back later for more education news.

UPDATE:

Flaws and Failings– A Preliminary Look at the Problems Already Encountered in the Implementation of the District of Columbia’s New Federally Mandated School Voucher Program. (more)

Pass or fail? Parents find out about schools – On Tuesday, parents found out how their school fared this year. For thousands of families, word that their school did not pass for at least the second year in a row means they can opt to transfer to another school. Eligible families should get letters informing them of their options within the next two weeks. (more)

Catching dropouts – IN LATE summer or early fall, just when the gubernatorial race should be heating up, state education officials are scheduled to release detailed data on high school dropout rates in Massachusetts as part of a wider effort of the National Governors Association. Twenty percent is a conservative estimate statewide but the rates in some urban areas could easily double that figure. (more)

Board cuts back privately run school – The Pinellas County School Board voted Tuesday to amend its contract with a private company it hired in 2004 to educate disruptive children.  The district will save $1.7-million by capping at 432 the number of middle and high school students at Oak Park School in Pinellas Park. The board originally authorized Community Education Partners, a Tennessee-based firm known as CEP, to work with 648 students. (more)