April 20, 2016
Education Week, Vol. 35, Issue 28
Special Education
Number of U.S. Students in Special Education Ticks Upward
After years of steady decline, the number of school-age students covered under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has swung upward since the 2011-12 school year, an Education Week analysis shows.
Special Education
Chart: U.S. Special Education Enrollment
In this graphic, see how the number of U.S. students enrolled in special education has changed over the past 20 years.
College & Workforce Readiness
Some Charters Help Alumni Stick With College
Efforts to increase college persistence, especially for low-income, first-generation students, are catching on in some charter schools.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Sparks Fly as Congress Reviews ESSA Rulemaking Process
The Education Department and some in Congress appear on a collision course over how the Every Student Succeeds Act handles federal spending on students from low-income backgrounds.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Testing Proves Volatile Part of State Legislative Mix
With the 2016 state legislative season nearing its halfway point, testing and related issues fuel legislative debate, as well as tensions between lawmakers and state education officials.
Every Student Succeeds Act
New Online Tool Expands Access to School Climate Measurements
Tracking factors like how students feel about their safety and well-being in school has been off limits to some districts. A new tool from the U.S. Department of Education will make measuring school climate widely accessible.
School & District Management
How Students' Emotions Affect Their Schooling
Helping students rethink the emotions they feel during stressful transitions can make a big difference, new research has found.
College & Workforce Readiness
Ind. Scholarship Law Aims to Entice Top Students Into Teaching
Indiana has become the latest state to seek to curb persistent teacher shortages by offering college-tuition dollars to students who go into teaching.
School & District Management
Digital Divide Evolves in Fla. Schools, Study Finds
Researchers at the recent American Educational Research Association summit discussed findings on socioeconomic disparities in how K-12 technology is used, and ed-tech's potential as a tool for social justice.
School & District Management
Researchers Probe Equity, Design Principles in Maker Ed.
Encouraging students to draw not just on their own internal skills and experiences, but also assets from individuals and community is a key to successful "maker" education, research suggests.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
Getting Serious About College and Career Readiness
With the passage of ESSA, states must build on the college- and career-readiness progress of the past decade, writes Matt Gandal.
Law & Courts
Opinion
Teaching Evolution Isn't About Changing Beliefs
Students can learn subject matter that might conflict with their religion without it compromising their beliefs, write professors Adam Laats and Harvey Siegel.
School Climate & Safety
Letter to the Editor
Schools Lack Opportunities for the Learning of the True Importance of Citizenship
To the Editor:
Commentary author Arnold Packer is well meaning, and some of his recent suggestions on citizenship and education are worthwhile ("Should Citizenship Be a Goal of Education?"). However, in my opinion, he still overlooks the most obvious missing element.
Commentary author Arnold Packer is well meaning, and some of his recent suggestions on citizenship and education are worthwhile ("Should Citizenship Be a Goal of Education?"). However, in my opinion, he still overlooks the most obvious missing element.
Families & the Community
Letter to the Editor
Students and Administrators Could Increase Parent Involvement by Working Together
To the Editor:
I write in regard to the recent article "ESSA May Offer Megaphone for Parent, Community Voice." Too often, parental involvement is just a facade, giving the false impression of full engagement. Examples of this include parent councils that are used to "speak for" parents, or in some cases, school councils that are reserved for parents. The reality is that such councils cannot represent every parent because, like students, all parents are different. And each will have a different opinion.
I write in regard to the recent article "ESSA May Offer Megaphone for Parent, Community Voice." Too often, parental involvement is just a facade, giving the false impression of full engagement. Examples of this include parent councils that are used to "speak for" parents, or in some cases, school councils that are reserved for parents. The reality is that such councils cannot represent every parent because, like students, all parents are different. And each will have a different opinion.
School & District Management
Letter to the Editor
Principals Tackle Herculean Tasks Every Day. Their Jobs Must Become More Manageable
To the Editor:
Psychologist and school consultant Robert Evans, in his March 30, 2016 Commentary "Principals, Get Your Irish On," was right on target when he wrote that "if we truly wanted to attract, retain, and support the best and brightest principals, we would focus on making their jobs more doable."
Psychologist and school consultant Robert Evans, in his March 30, 2016 Commentary "Principals, Get Your Irish On," was right on target when he wrote that "if we truly wanted to attract, retain, and support the best and brightest principals, we would focus on making their jobs more doable."
Teaching Profession
Letter to the Editor
Reader Questions Usefulness of Sharing Classroom's Political Conversations
To the Editor:
The March 31, 2016, Education Week Teacher e-newsletter highlighted an opinion blog post on Donald Trump, which had no place in this professional publication ("The Challenges of Teaching Civics in the Age of Trump").
The March 31, 2016, Education Week Teacher e-newsletter highlighted an opinion blog post on Donald Trump, which had no place in this professional publication ("The Challenges of Teaching Civics in the Age of Trump").
Education
Correction
Correction
An article in the April 13, 2016, issue of Education Week mischaracterized the end of the Pearson testing company's contract as the administrator of New York state's standardized tests.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
University Math Workshop For Would-Be Teachers Flops
A University of Arizona effort to encourage high school seniors to become math teachers has fallen flat because teachers are reluctant to recommend their own career.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Officer Who Body-Slammed Student Fired in San Antonio
The San Antonio district has fired Joshua Kehm, a school resource officer seen body-slamming a 12-year-old girl face first on the ground in a video that spread online.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Phila. Teacher Vacancies Spur Summer Classes
With little more than two months remaining in the academic year, 139 teacher vacancies—out of 8,443 positions—remain open across Philadelphia schools, resulting in thousands of students' being taught by uncertified teachers.
School & District Management
News in Brief
New Miss. Law Eliminates Election of School Chiefs
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant last week signed into law a bill that changes all public school superintendents to appointees.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
N.H. Court Backs Counselor On Abortion Advice
New Hampshire's highest court has ruled that a district must reinstate a high school guidance counselor whose contract was not renewed after she clashed with her principal about how to handle a student's desire to terminate her pregnancy.
Education Funding
News in Brief
In Lawsuit, Detroit Blames State for Financial Woes
The Detroit school board has filed a federal lawsuit against Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, alleging that his state-appointed emergency managers have failed to adequately address the district's financial troubles, crumbling school buildings, and academic deficiencies.
Education Funding
News in Brief
L.A. District Must Pay $7.1 Million to Charter
The Los Angeles Unified School District must pay $7.1 million to a San Fernando Valley charter school for failing to provide it with rent-free classroom space.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Delaware Lawmakers Eye All-Mail School Elections
State lawmakers are considering a bill mandating that all school elections in Delaware be done by mail.
Education
News in Brief
Transitions
Max Eden, formerly the education policy program manager at the American Enterprise Institute, has become a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Families & the Community
News in Brief
Black, Latino Parents Vexed About School Expectations
A majority of African-American and Latino parents report that they want higher expectations for their children and better teachers in public schools, where they believe there are racial inequalities and funding disparities, according to a national poll released last week by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a national coalition of 200 organizations.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Vergara Ruling Overturned By Calif. Appeals Court
A California appeals court last week reversed a trial court's 2014 ruling in the landmark case Vergara v. California that the state's job-protection laws for teachers had produced unconstitutional inequities in the education of poor and minority students.
Families & the Community
Report Roundup
Study: Math Gains Found From 'Ready To Learn'
The multiplatform games, projects, and apps created through the grant program boosted young children's math skills, an evaluation has found.