School Funding Litigation/Policy

AZ legislators approve a $40.6 million funding boost to help about 138,000 students learn the English language, and hope to avoid court fines
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/04/10/20080410english-learning0410-ON.html

NH schools “cut everything to the bone” to absorb more than $100 million in budget cuts that will likely be ordered by the state Legislature
http://www.miamiherald.com/548/story/491395.html

KY education officials warn that the General Assembly’s spending plan may leave schools facing wide-ranging financial difficulties
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080411/NEWS0101/804110480/1008/NEWS01

NJ districts work hard to get voters to back their school budgets, now that new funding formula asks them to use a large portion of their aid to provide residents with tax relief
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20080411_N_J__school_districts_hopeful_for_budgets.html

State Roundup

NE legislator signs a statewide testing bill into law, setting up a new level of accountability for schools
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10306664

NY credit recovery program leads some to believe that certain students are “being pushed through the system regardless of whether they have done the work to earn their diploma”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/11/education/11graduation.html?ex=1365652800&en=8a4eb27b2968fec0&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Other News

Grassroots community organizing efforts to reform schools in urban districts contribute to a myriad of improvements, says report
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/16/33community.h27.html

Pre-K momentum seen in states that have lagged in implementing and funding preschool programs
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/16/33prek.h27.html

In the News on April 10, 2008

School Funding Litigation/Policy

AR legislators are concerned about a state law that allows schools to spend funds earmarked to help low-income students on teacher salaries and bonuses
http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2008/04/10/News/345909.html

NYC and schools will receive new state aid; total school aid will increase by a record $1.75 billion
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/education/10schools.html?ex=1365566400&en=65190894b2ec8e66&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

IA House passes legislation to distribute tax money for school construction projects on a per pupil basis
http://www.radioiowa.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=34C423AF-F609-8C21-2C71BC61203D6E4C

IA tax proposal would help provide financial equity among schools in sparsely populated areas and urban centers
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080410/NEWS10/804100400/1011

SC school officials are unsure about how to handle the $30 million funding shortfall projected for this school year
http://www.goupstate.com/article/20080409/APN/804092432

State Roundup

AZ House of Representatives votes to spend $40 million next year to boost English-language instruction for non-native speakers, even though school districts with the most English-language learners would get little or none of the money
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/04/10/20080410flores0410.html

NY Schools Chancellor has plans to broaden the city’s new policy for admitting children to gifted programs
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/education/10gifted.html?_r=1&ex=1365566400&en=223e9f425fd2c575&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

OR’s high school dropout rate increased in 2007, according to state report
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1207797910176920.xml&coll=7

SC Senate Education Committee approves bill to change standardized tests because results take too long to report and they don't let educators analyze topics where students are struggling
http://www.goupstate.com/article/20080409/APN/804092347

SC school choice bill stopped by lawmakers
http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/apr/10/school_choice_bill_stopped36752/

Federal/NCLB

UT decides to opt out of pilot program that will allow states to change the way they treat struggling schools under NCLB
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_8872371

Other News

Young people's financial know-how has gone from bad to worse, concludes survey
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/09/80480bernankefinancialliteracy_ap.html

In the News on April 9, 2008

School Funding Litigation/Policy

Every governor stressed the link between education funding and economic growth in their State of the State speeches, according to study
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/09/32report-3.h27.html

NH school funding bill is amended to reserve extra money for disadvantaged students
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080409/FRONTPAGE/804090304

NJ reforms tighten school budgets; some districts see tax relief, others see layoffs
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1207716444218700.xml&coll=1

State Roundup

CA accord calls for special education students to take high school exit exam
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/847812.html

CO’s effort to reduce the number of statewide achievement tests stalls amid resistance from the governor and the state education department
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/apr/08/testing-bill-fails-to-make-grade/

over ME school consolidation law is reawakened by governor’s veto and quick Senate vote
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=162743&zoneid=500

MI students improve in math section of assessment, but scores in reading performance show mixed results
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080409/NEWS05/804090364

NJ shows that preschool funding is a wise investment
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080409/OPINION/804090377/1030/OPINION

NY lawmakers decide to bar student test scores from being considered when teacher tenure determinations are made
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/nyregion/09albany.html?_r=1&ex=1365480000&en=6e85ae50314481b7&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Editorial – NY’s latest decision to bar test scores from teacher tenure determination is an absurd ban that does a disservice to the state’s millions of public school students
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/opinion/09wed3.html?ex=1365480000&en=3db7b560b8c66472&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Only about one-third of NYC students that were enrolled in the 1st grade in 1995 progressed to the 8th grade on time, says report
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/09/32report-5.h27.html

OH bill would require parents to volunteer in their school districts
http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2008/04/vol.html

Why is the process to revise WA’s math standards taking so long? Lawmakers and education officials say it’s because they have a lofty goal: to finish the process with the best math system in the country
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/09/32washmath.h27.html

Federal/NCLB

The number of students taking advantage of free tutoring and school choice under NCLB increased dramatically in 2003-2004, according to U.S. Department of Education
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/09/32brief-2.h27.html

Other News

Smaller class size is not a silver bullet: Professor’s research says the success of class-size-reduction strategies depend largely on the context in which they are set
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/09/32report-1.h27.html

New center applies cost-benefit analysis to education strategies by calculating and comparing long- and short-term costs and payoffs
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/09/32benefit.h27.html

Report that questions the wisdom of federal pre-kindergarten proposals draws sharp response preschool proponent for being “incomplete, misleading, biased, and inaccurate”
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/09/32early.h27.html

Teacher union tries to prepare a new generation of local union leaders to be hands-on school reformers
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/09/32mooney.h27.html

Commentary – Addressing the teacher crunch: Reframing ‘retention’ to fit the needs of a new generation
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/09/32coggins_ep.h27.html

School Funding Litigation/Policy

KY advocacy group says two-year spending plan approved by lawmakers will likely cause teacher layoffs across the state
http://www.kentucky.com/news/state/story/369689.html

MN legislative plan, the “Minnesota Miracle” aims to reform K-12 school funding
http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080408/NEWS01/104070069

NJ legislators wonder whether they were duped by key bargaining chip in school funding formula - state aid to help local districts pay for high special education costs
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-10/120762948296390.xml&coll=1

State Roundup

Dual-enrollment programs are a hot debate in IA, and pushback for expansion is unusual
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/09/32stjour.h27.html

Graduation rate report uses numbers that were worse than what the KS and MO education departments have been reporting; transfer students compound the reporting problem
http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/565635.html

ME lawmakers approve bill to refine consolidation legislation, but governor vetoes it
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2008/04/08/maine_senate_sustains_governors_veto_of_school_consolidation_bill/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Education+news

NE lawmakers give final-round approval to a bill that would require uniform tests in reading, math and science - ending the state’s unique approach to testing
http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2008/04/08/news/politics/doc47faa3553ec5c904703266.txt

Changing NE’s unique way of measuring academic accountability for uniform statewide tests will have different impacts in different school districts
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10304308

SC governor pushes for public school choice
http://www.thestate.com/local/story/368803.html

In the news on April 7, 2008

MD and VA made adequate progress under NCLB last year, but they failed to meet performance targets for all groups of historically underperforming students
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/06/AR2008040601998.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Editorial – “School choice: Now more than ever” – why Sol Stern’s, a veteran advocate of school choice, second thoughts about the movement warrant a response
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120735914244591637.html?mod=rss_opinion_main

School Funding Litigation/Policy

Lawsuit accuses IA governor and Education Department Director of failing to provide students with a proper education
http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080404/NEWS01/80404007/1079

MN legislative task force will unveil a plan today to change the funding system for public schools
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/04/07/public_school_fund/

UT continues to rank last nationally in the amount of money it spends per student; spokesman for the State Office of Education says it partially has to do with demographics
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695268061,00.html

State Roundup

CA education agencies will study why high school seniors in special education classes often fail the exit exam, under terms of a legal settlement that will end a 7-year-old class-action lawsuit
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/05/BAVU10094D.DTL&feed=rss.education

DE could fall further in national rankings of high school graduation rates, with new formula
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080407/NEWS03/804070336/1006/NEWS&referrer=NEWSFRONTCAROUSEL

FL bill would cut the number of in-service hours in teaching English as a second language required of reading teachers
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/04/09/32flaesl_ep.h27.html

Demand for FL teachers is waning, and officials blame looming state budget cuts and declining enrollment tied to the economic slum
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-flpteacher0406pnapr07,0,3563391.story

Private-school vouchers were dealt another defeat when FL panel failed to muster the votes for a proposal to restore vouchers for students in low-performing schools
http://www.miamiherald.com/458/story/483888.html

MD school-choice supporters will likely win a sizable victory, with a bill that gives a tax credit to businesses who donate to scholarship funds for private schools
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080404/METRO/753727229/1004

Published Monday, Apr. 14, 2008