News in Brief: A National Roundup

For the first time in New York history, the state agency that mediated settlement talks between the 47,000-student Buffalo school district and the teachers' union following a September strike imposed—then immediately lifted—a one-year suspension of the union's "dues checkoff" policy, a penalty considered severe.

The policy allows the Buffalo Federation of Teachers, an affiliate of the National Education Association, to automatically deduct members' dues from their school paychecks, an effort that makes collecting the money easier, said Michael R. Cuevas, the chairman of the New York State Public Employee Relations Board.

The penalty, one of four imposed following a walkout by about 4,000 teachers last Sept. 7 and 14, was suspended, in part, because the district was perceived as provoking the...