March 15, 2006
Education Week, Vol. 25, Issue 27
Federal
Court Backs Military Recruiting at Colleges
Congress is within its authority to require colleges to open their job fairs to military recruiters, even if campus nondiscrimination policies clash with federal law restricting gays in the military, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week.
Federal
NCLB Panel Plans to Study Teachers, Student Progress, But Not Funding Levels
A private commission formed to explore potential changes to the No Child Left Behind Act plans to focus on such topics as adequate yearly progress and teacher qualifications, sidestepping more politically charged issues such as the level of federal funding for the law.
Federal
First Lady Aids Hurricane-Damaged School Libraries
Touring some of the areas hit hardest by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita with the president last week, first lady Laura Bush promoted a plan by her foundation to help schools in the Gulf Coast region replenish their libraries.
Education
Training and Incentives
New York City universities and public schools are teaming up to train teachers for
shortage areas such as math and science and to reduce turnover.
Education Funding
Federal File
Contract Renewal?
A group of more than 100 conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives is trying to evoke nostalgia for the 1990s—but they’re not aiming to revive the Macarena or the Beanie Babies craze.
Education
A Washington Roundup
U.S. May Require Checks on Foreign-Exchange Hosts
The Department of State is set to require for the first time that criminal-background checks be conducted for host families of high school foreign-exchange students and the volunteers and employees of the groups that sponsor them.
Education
A Washington Roundup
2 Education Dept. Nominees OK’d by Senate Committee
A number of proposed personnel changes at the Department of Education advanced last week.
Early Childhood
Illinois Governor’s Plan for 3-Year-Olds Drawing Attention
Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois has earned high marks from advocates of early-childhood education in recent years for keeping his promise to increase funding for preschool by $30 million each year since 2003. Now, with his latest plan to provide prekindergarten to all 3- and 4-year-olds in Illinois, his approval rating among supporters of preschool has shot up even higher.
Education
A Washington Roundup
House Panel Criticizes Bush Budget Plan
Lawmakers on the House panel that oversees the Department of Education’s budget criticized President Bush’s fiscal 2007 education spending plan at a hearing last week.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
Illinois May Scrap Test Contract
The Illinois board of education, at the recommendation of state schools Superintendent Randy J. Dunn, was scheduled this week to consider terminating the state’s contract with the company that administers the Illinois Standards Achievement Test.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
N.H. School Aid Law Rebuffed
A New Hampshire judge has again declared the state’s school funding law unconstitutional.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
California State Board Heeds Hindu Groups’ Text Concerns
The California state board of education has approved hundreds of revisions to middle school history textbooks, largely in response to complaints from Hindu groups about the way their religion was depicted.
Education
A State Capitals Roundup
S.C. Board Rejects Proposal to ‘Critically Analyze’ Evolution
The South Carolina board of education voted 10-6 last week to reject a proposal that would have asked students to “critically analyze” evolution as part of the state’s science standards, the latest chapter in a debate over the theory’s status in the state.
Education
Legislative Intent
A school deregulation bill designed to simplify Indiana’s education rules was so confusing that it had to be vastly clarified in the House of Representatives before being killed March 2.
Education
State of the States
Gov. Pawlenty Advocates More Rigor in High School
Minnesota needs tougher standards in mathematics and science, starting in 8th grade, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said in his annual State of the State Address.
Education
State of the States
Bush Wants Changes in Secondary Schools
In his eighth and final State of the State Address, Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida pressed legislators who opened their regular session last week to improve high schools, prepare better for hurricanes, and give a boost to economic development.
Special Education
Study: States Including Special Education Students in Tests
States and school districts appear to be making good progress toward including students with disabilities in statewide assessments and reporting accountability statistics for such students, but they still need to work on reducing dropout rates and preparing general education teachers to work with students with special needs, a federally sponsored study says.
Law & Courts
Arizona Governor Allows ELL Bill to Become Law
Gov. Janet Napolitano has broken the legislative stalemate over how to pay for the education of English-language learners in Arizona.
Education
Events
13-15—Foreign languages: 5th Language for Specific Purposes International Seminar, sponsored by the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, for teachers, in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Contact: UTM, Dept. of Modern Languages, Faculty of Management and Human Resource Development, 81310 UTM, Skudai, Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia; Web site: www.lsputm.org.
April
13-15—Foreign languages: 5th Language for Specific Purposes International Seminar, sponsored by the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, for teachers, in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Contact: UTM, Dept. of Modern Languages, Faculty of Management and Human Resource Development, 81310 UTM, Skudai, Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia; Web site: www.lsputm.org.
School Choice & Charters
Plan for New Breed of English Schools Gains Ground
British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s proposal last fall to create a new breed of independent, publicly financed schools—an English twist on American charter schools—has made plenty of waves across the Atlantic. But while the initiative has riled many lawmakers in his own Labor Party, it now appears headed for approval by Parliament.
College & Workforce Readiness
Career Academics
By pairing up core-subject teachers with traditional voc. ed. instructors, a Michigan district tries to show that rigor can be built into vocational programs.
Federal
Tutoring Firms, N.Y.C. School Employees Faulted in Probe
Two private tutoring companies offered cash to principals and gifts to students in New York City to boost attendance in their programs and maximize the share of federal money they got for serving low-income families under the No Child Left Behind Act, an investigation has found.
Accountability
Teacher-Training Schools Meeting NCATE-Set Assessment Standards
Teacher-training programs are highlighted in a National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education report that investigates how institutions are complying with the performance-based assessment standards it instituted in 2001. The standards were revamped in part to address complaints that institutions did an inadequate job of preparing their graduates.
College & Workforce Readiness
Colorado Course Mandates Prompt Debate
As Colorado’s public universities move to boost their admissions requirements, the state’s rural districts worry they will have to sacrifice local priorities, such as arts and vocational education, to provide the extra math and foreign-language courses students will need to get into four-year public institutions.
Education Funding
Mayor Proposes College Help
The mayor of Hammond, Ind., is proposing an unusual way to encourage residents to buy homes in the city and stay there: college aid for their children.
Law & Courts
Union Accuses Charter Operator of Skirting Ohio Law
The Ohio Federation of Teachers, long a vocal critic of charter schools, issued a report last week that portrays one for-profit charter operator in the state as far more concerned about making money than improving student learning.
Education
Opinion
Chat Wrap-Up: Katrina’s Continuing Aftermath
On March 2, readers questioned two of Education Week's staff members who had recently toured hurricane-ravaged areas of the Gulf Coast: Sarah Evans, the director of photography, and Alan Richard, a staff writer who covers many Southern states and has done extensive reporting about last fall’s storms and their effects on schooling.
Education
Report Roundup
Immigrant Children
Young children from immigrant families are less likely than children of parents born in the United States to be enrolled in early-childhood education and other nonparental child-care arrangements, a report by the Washington-based Center for Law and Social Policy says.
Education
Report Roundup
Education Spending
Increased education spending per pupil does not appear to raise student test scores, a report concludes.