February 18, 2015

Education Week, Vol. 34, Issue 21
TENNESSEE: Gov. Bill Haslam, front, set out his agenda for education and other state priorities to state lawmakers in his Feb. 9 State of the State speech in Nashville. Among other initiatives, he outlined plans for teacher raises and higher education.
TENNESSEE: Gov. Bill Haslam, front, set out his agenda for education and other state priorities to state lawmakers in his Feb. 9 State of the State speech in Nashville. Among other initiatives, he outlined plans for teacher raises and higher education.
Mark Humphrey/AP
States State of the States State of the States Coverage: Illinois, Maine, Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wisconsin
Here are summaries of recent annual addresses by governors around the country.
February 17, 2015
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7 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup School Choice
Half the nation's largest 100 school districts allowed some kind of school choice in 2014, a report from the Brookings Institution says.
Arianna Prothero, February 17, 2015
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety Report Roundup Student Nutrition
An average of 11.2 million low-income children ate school breakfasts daily during the 2013-14 school year, an increase of 320,000 children from the previous year, a report released last week says.
Evie Blad, February 17, 2015
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1 min read
School & District Management News in Brief Arizona Chief, Governor Clash Over Board Staffing
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey rescinded the firings of two staff members of the state board of education by state Superintendent Diane Douglas after complaints that Ms. Douglas was acting outside her legal authority.
Andrew Ujifusa, February 17, 2015
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1 min read
Federal News in Brief House NCLB Rewrite Bill Slammed by White House
A White House report last week blasted a proposed House GOP rewrite of the No Child Left Behind Act for its funding caps and a provision to change the way Title I dollars for low-income students could be used.
Lauren Camera, February 17, 2015
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1 min read
Education Report Roundup Study: Boarding Schools Don't Benefit All Students
Can academic boarding schools remove the environmental barriers to achievement for disadvantaged students? Yes—and no—finds a new study of French schools.
Sarah D. Sparks, February 17, 2015
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1 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup High School Completion
The national, four-year high school graduation rate has ticked up for the second year in a row, growing from 80 percent in the 2011-12 school year to 81 percent in 2012-13, according to data released in January by the U.S. Department of Education.
Alyson Klein, February 17, 2015
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1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Report Roundup College-Going
A new study suggests that statewide administration of the SAT can lead to higher college-going rates, particularly among students who would not otherwise have taken the college-entrance exam.
Caralee J. Adams, February 17, 2015
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1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Report Roundup Achievement Gaps
While the nation's graduation rate, including that of black and Latino males, has continued to grow, the gap between black males and their white peers has widened, according to a report released last week by the Schott Foundation for Public Education.
Denisa R. Superville, February 17, 2015
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1 min read
Families & the Community News in Brief Calif. Tells Schools to Drop Parent-Volunteering Rules
California's education department is telling schools that it's illegal to require parents to volunteer at a public school.
Arianna Prothero, February 17, 2015
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1 min read
English-Language Learners News in Brief LAUSD Lawyers to Represent Students Facing Deportation
Some Los Angeles Unified School District students facing deportation will receive legal help from lawyers who work for the district.
Corey Mitchell, February 17, 2015
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety News in Brief Arizona Official Defies Federal Snack Rules
Arizona's top public education official says she's disregarding federal rules that limit the sale of unhealthy snacks in school fundraisers.
The Associated Press, February 17, 2015
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1 min read
Teaching Profession News in Brief TFA's Recent Growing Pains Analyzed in New Report
Teach For America is struggling with the fallout of recent growing pains, including recruitment challenges, which were apparently partly caused by a barrage of negative press it wasn't prepared for, says an analysis of the group's evolution.
Stephen Sawchuk, February 17, 2015
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1 min read
Science Letter to the Editor Yes, the Arts Do Improve Reading, Math Outcomes
To the Editor:
I couldn't agree more with the authors of "Art Matters: We Know, We Measured It" (Commentary, Dec. 3, 2014) that there is great value in teaching arts and culture to children. However, I respectfully disagree with the authors' assertion that the value of the arts does not include improving outcomes in reading and math, and that there are no rigorous studies of the arts' effects on these subjects.
February 17, 2015
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1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Report Roundup Graduation Requirements
States are increasingly allowing high schools to move away from traditional course-seat-time requirements for graduation and allowing competency-based assessments, grade point average, class rank, and course rigor as indicators that students are ready for college.
Caralee J. Adams, February 17, 2015
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1 min read
Assessment Letter to the Editor 'Grit' Helps Everyone Gain Real-World Success
To the Editor:
A recent blog post ("Is 'Grit' Racist?," Digital Education blog, www.edweek.org, Jan. 24, 2015) presented a cynical perspective on an important life skill. Believe it or not, some folks think fostering grit is lowering expectations for students or failing to appreciate the obstacles they face. While there are some who may misunderstand or misapply the teaching of grit, it's wrong to assume that these misapplications are representative of grit's true purpose: to help all students learn to succeed in the real world.
February 17, 2015
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1 min read
Education Funding Letter to the Editor Missouri Pre-K Funding Should Be Public Only
To the Editor:
So, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is recommending an $11 million appropriation for public and private pre-K schools (State of the States, Jan. 28, 2015). Why not confine that aid to just public school programs? Doesn't Mr. Nixon remember that Missouri voters rejected tax aid for private schools in a 1976 referendum by 60 percent to 40 percent?
February 17, 2015
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1 min read
Teaching Profession News in Brief Teachers Face Prosecution Under 'Harmful Material' Bill
Kansas lawmakers are considering a bill that would make it easier to charge and prosecute teachers with distributing "harmful material" to minors.
February 17, 2015
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1 min read
Assessment Letter to the Editor Can Competition Boost Study Habits and Learning?
To the Editor:
Competition has always defined our schools as well as our society.
February 17, 2015
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1 min read
Education News in Brief Most Students Will Not Take Tests Offered by Consortia
More than half the nation's students live in states that will not be using the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers and Smarter Balanced assessments this year.
Catherine Gewertz, February 17, 2015
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1 min read
Standards Calif. Districts Seek $1 Billion to Fund Test Mandate
The formal push by four school districts to boost state funding for new standardized tests could muddy rollout of California’s common-core assessments.
Andrew Ujifusa, February 17, 2015
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6 min read
School Climate & Safety Schools Weigh Access to Students' Social-Media Passwords
State lawmakers and school district officials are again wrestling with questions about schools' authority to access and monitor students' social-media accounts.
Benjamin Herold, February 17, 2015
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5 min read
Carson Luke, 14, who has autism, ended up with broken bones at age 10 when staff at a Virginia school tried to muscle him into a seclusion room after an outburst. His mother, Heather, shared the story widely.
Carson Luke, 14, who has autism, ended up with broken bones at age 10 when staff at a Virginia school tried to muscle him into a seclusion room after an outburst. His mother, Heather, shared the story widely.
--Matt Roth for Education Week
Special Education State Legislatures Take Aim at Restraint, Seclusion in Schools
People looking to curb the behavioral-modification practices, including advocates for those with disabilities, are finding fertile ground among state lawmakers.
Christina A. Samuels, February 17, 2015
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8 min read
Texas state school board members, from left, Donna Bahorich, David Bradley, and Thomas Ratliff, signal to ask questions during a textbook adoption hearing last July in Austin.
Texas state school board members, from left, Donna Bahorich, David Bradley, and Thomas Ratliff, signal to ask questions during a textbook adoption hearing last July in Austin.
Eric Gay/AP-File
Curriculum States Ceding Power Over Classroom Materials
When it comes to choosing print and online resources for schools, states are increasingly putting more of the authority in the hands of districts.
Catherine Gewertz, February 17, 2015
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9 min read
Education Correction Corrections
An article in the Feb. 4, 2015, issue of Education Week misstated the number of states where Healthy Families America operates. It operates in 40. The program also works with families that are at-risk for adverse childhood experiences, including but not limited to child maltreatment.
February 17, 2015
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1 min read
Tim Daly
Tim Daly
Education News in Brief Transitions
The two top leaders of the TNTP, an alternative teacher-certification and advocacy group, have announced plans to step down, paving the way for the first major leadership transition since Michelle Rhee left in 2007.
February 17, 2015
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1 min read
Federal Best of the Blogs Blogs
| NEWS | Curriculum Matters
February 17, 2015
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8 min read
School & District Management Clash Looms Over Obama's Education-Budget Priorities
The president wants a 7 percent hike in funding for the U.S. Department of Education, but a GOP-controlled Congress has pledged to keep a tight rein on spending.
Lauren Camera, February 17, 2015
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7 min read
Federal Opinion Why Annual State Testing Matters
The reauthorization of the ESEA must require annual testing so states can help struggling school districts, argues Karen Hawley Miles.
Karen Hawley Miles, February 17, 2015
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4 min read
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