School Integration

AZ state officials warn school district leaders that there will be little room for generosity in the upcoming legislative session
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1213phxeducation1213.html

A rule requiring GA school districts to spend 65 percent of their funding on classroom expenses could gain approval from the State Board of Education, but likely without a provision that would make it easier for rural systems to deal with the measure
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/121307/met_176518.shtml

Increases in school funding aid range from 2 to 20 percent under Corzine’s funding plan, which represents the largest gain in state aid in more than a decade for some suburban districts, but means a sharp disappointment for many historically poor urban districts
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/13/nyregion/13schools.html?ei=5088&en=6cd8ff6635ac645a&ex=1355202000&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1197556894-64illclrfxIZYxGgRewYBA

NJ school officials are cautious over aid: Funding formula raises many questions even for schools that would see big increases under the new plan
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20071213_School_officials_cautious_over_aid.html

About half of NJ’s school districts can expect funding increases of 10 percent or larger under the state’s new formula, but education advocates worry about what will happen after the three year pledge to not reduce aid
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071213/NEWS01/712130374

State Roundup

City and school officials propose sweeping changes in D.C’s special education program to meet requirements of a 2006 court order that orders it to care for disabled students
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/12/AR2007121202489.html?nav=rss_education

D.C. council members propose legislation that could slow down the plan to close nearly two dozen schools
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/11/AR2007121101769.html?nav=rss_education

IN shows minimal improvement over last year on its proficiency exam, but the state’s top educator thinks her plan to test students throughout the year will help boost scores
http://www.fortwayne.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/JG/20071213/LOCAL04/712130307

Report says WV teachers are some of the worst paid educators in the country, with teacher salaries 20 percent lower than the national average
http://www.dailymail.com/News/200712130102

Superior Court judge rules that the Los Angeles Unified School District can continue to base admissions to its popular magnet school system on race
http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-lausd12dec12,1,1635052.story?track=rss

Federal/NCLB

Advocates push for high school improvement as part of NCLB reauthorization
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/12/12/15fedfil.h27.html

Report says teaching is attracting better-qualified people than it did just a few years ago, but they come from a strikingly homogeneous group
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/12/education/12teachers.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Districts choose on-site coaches as a way to enhance teacher instructional practice and improve student success
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/12/12/15coaching.h27.html

A balanced look at American charter schools in 2007: Report says that the rate of growth of charters has slowed considerably between 2005 and 2007
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/12/12/15report-2.h27.html

Policies for administering NAEP vary widely between states and school districts, and federal officials push for a single standard for how to decide which students are excluded from testing and which receive special accommodations
http://www.nysun.com/article/67882?page_no=2

School Funding Litigation/Policy

NH Gov. plans to push a constitutional amendment that would let the state direct school aid to the communities that need it most
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Lynch+to+push+amendment+again&articleId=20014cdd-df45-42e5-9eb3-83d09f1b9b73

NM legislative committee proposes a budget hike that would increase state spending on public education and general government operations by over 6 percent next year
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/Legislative_committee_proposes_budget_hike

NV casino group files a court challenge against a ballot initiative by teachers calling for higher taxes on the biggest resorts to get more money for the K-12 school system
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2007/12/11/nev_casino_group_challenges_tax_hike/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Education+news

RI plans to cut state aid to the preschool Head Start program to save tax payers $3.3 million
http://www.projo.com/news/content/HEAD_START_12-12-07_IV87J9M_v11.2990214.html

State Roundup

AL Department of Education issues comprehensive guidelines to outline accountability measures for school-related organizations across the state
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1197451337224170.xml&coll=2

AZ School District Redistricting Commission votes to approve its final two school-district-unification plans, and commissioners hope to put the issue on the ballot
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1211redistrict1211-ON.html

CA honors high-achieving schools filled with low income students that “prove that poverty and achievement don't cancel each other out”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/12/BAAUTS82S.DTL&feed=rss.education

ID will eliminate more student achievement tests because the state Board of Education cannot cover the costs
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/12/12/16apidaho_web.h27.html

Poll finds that “four out of five parents would opt out of the IL public school system if they could;” advocates urge lawmakers to increase tax credits for parents that don’t send their children to public schools and to remove the cap on the number of charter schools
http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/21702.asp

School consolidation is one of the 27 recommendations of IN’s Commission on Local Government Reform, but proposal gets icy reception from education leaders
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071212/LOCAL/712120473/1195/LOCAL18

Report says the number of MD schools required by NCLB to put in place restructuring programs has increased by 39 percent since 2004
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/12/12/15report-6.h27.html

Public school districts feel the impact of rising charter enrollment as more MI children transfer to the alternative schools
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071212/SCHOOLS/712120369

NYC ramps up efforts to challenge cases in which it pays for private school tuition of special education students whose parents say they are ill-served by public schools
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/12/nyregion/12consultants.html?ex=1355115600&en=e35cbd1a5643c5ab&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Federal/NCLB

Commentary – As Congress considers the reauthorization of NCLB, it should support provisions for “highly qualified principals”
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/12/12/15tirozzi.h27.html

Report examines one case in which added learning time has translated to better test scores, but concludes that “it’s not the time itself that makes the difference; it’s what educators do with it”
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/12/12/15time.h27.html

School Funding Litigation/Policy

The crisis swirling around FL’s state-run investment fund escalates concerns among other states about the investments of school districts against a national backdrop of credit and home-mortgage woes
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/12/12/15invest.h27.html

NJ Gov. hopes to overhaul school financing
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/12/12/15corzine.h27.html

UT Gov. recommends a 6.8 percent increase in public education spending, in a budget plan he says will place teachers “back on a pedestal, as they should be”
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_7689628

State Roundup

AL Schools Superintendent proposes to close 18 schools over the next three years to cope with falling enrollment, he says consolidation will allow the state to provide “richer, more well-rounded offerings”
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/119736503621680.xml&coll=2

AR Gov. sets education as the top priority of the state government and urges action and collaboration amongst the three state education agencies
http://www.nwarktimes.com/adg/News/210316/

Judges urge mediation in AZ’s English-language learner lawsuit
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1211flores1211.html

D.C. follows the national trend to get students into the classroom earlier with a $50 million plan that would enroll 2,000 more children in pre-kindergarten classes over the next six years and better prepare their teachers
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/10/AR2007121001599.html?nav=rss_education

Federal rules will prohibit MT from judging elementary and high schools based on the test scores of individual students, despite a policy shift announced last week intended to give states greater flexibility under the NCLB law
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/12/11/news/state/23-montanaschools.txt

Report says SC is one of the five fastest-improving public school systems in the nation, but it does not appear to be on pace to meet its 2010 goal; poverty is a large factor in its performance
http://www.goupstate.com/article/20071211/NEWS/712110334/1051/NEWS01

Weighing family life in gaps at schools: Study says that low scores on standardized tests can be explained by factors that have nothing to do with schools
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/09Rparenting.html?ex=1354856400&en=d44049b23686d358&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Frustrated with students who come to college ill-prepared and an applicant pool that lacks the diversity of the nation's high schools, universities around the country are creating their own K-12 schools
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/552170.html

International test results show that American students’ academic achievement is more likely to be affected by their economic status and family background than was their peers’ in higher-scoring nations
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/12/12/15pisa.h27.html

Federal/NCLB

Editorial – Getting past ‘No Child:’ because NCLB contains incentives for perverse behavior, reauthorization should include legislation empowering states to ignore it
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/07/AR2007120701980.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

All states that meet federal criteria will now be allowed to take part in the growth model pilot program, which let states measure individual students’ achievement gains as a way of ensuring accountability under the NCLB
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/12/12/15growth.h27.html

School Funding Litigation/Policy

Gov. Corzine prepares to snip the financial link that has tied NJ’s poorest schools to its wealthiest – while critics say he is about to cut a lifeline, Corzine says he is fixing a flawed school funding system and that schools in low-income areas have nothing to fear
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20071210_Corzine_taking_on_school_aid_formula.html

As NJ moves towards a wealth-equalized formula, suburbs fear a drop in special education aid
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/08/nyregion/08jersey.html?ex=1354770000&en=a51ad48ba2fb9b35&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

NV gov. has pledged that the state’s K-12 education's core funding will be protected from upcoming budget cuts, but school administrators are concerned about projected shortages for some special programs
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-other/2007/dec/08/566677084.html

OH education groups and lawmakers consider a proposed constitutional amendment that would dedicate a portion of state taxes and proceeds to fund schools
http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/gen/ap/OH_School_Funding.html

State lawyers warn that OR’s widespread practice of charging parents tuition to enroll their children in a full-day kindergarten class may be illegal
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1197086155196880.xml&coll=7&thispage=1

RI officials push for a better system for tracking struggling students and explore dropout-prevention strategies
http://www.projo.com/news/content/DROPOUT_SIDE_12-09-07_RD857OA_v41.1cb37a8.html

TN Gov. says full implementation of the state's retooled education funding formula may take longer than expected, but he still plans to put new funds into it
http://www.t-g.com/story/1296427.html

Charter schools and traditional district schools are not pleased with draft legislation that would shake up how UT charters are funded, but lawmakers say it's a necessary change
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695234758,00.html

State Roundup

Gov. Riley publicizes AL’s early education system and pushes towards a universal program where all children attend state-supported pre-K
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1197109253298870.xml&coll=1&thispage=1

Report says that low-income children in DE fare worse in education than kids in 44 other states
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071209/NEWS/712090337/1006/NEWS

HI education officials hope the federal government will finally allow schools to be evaluated on individual student progress under NCLB
http://starbulletin.com/2007/12/08/news/story07.html

Changes to IL assessment tests dictate that students new to English will take the same state tests as their English-speaking peers this year
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=92375&src=1

UT eases NCLB rules for districts – superintendents will just have to back up their actions in the event of a federal audit
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695234330,00.html

Published Monday, Dec. 17, 2007