December 13, 1995

Education Week, Vol. 15, Issue 15
Education Court Knocks Justice Dept. Out of Race-Bias Case
A federal appeals court has ousted the Clinton administration from the closely watched case of a white Piscataway, N.J., teacher whose discrimination lawsuit has become part of the national debate over affirmative action.
Mark Walsh, December 13, 1995
2 min read
Education Federal File: Spin delay; Back in town

Spin Delay


Creating a blueprint for bringing the nation's schools into the information age has become far more complicated now that the White House has taken an interest in the project.
December 13, 1995
2 min read
Education Deadlock Over D.C. Voucher Proposal Threatens City Budget
Members of Congress are so at odds over a proposal to give tuition vouchers to District of Columbia schoolchildren that the deadlock could prevent passage of a budget bill for the nation's capital.
Peter Schmidt, December 13, 1995
2 min read
Education Education, Civil-Rights Coalition Backs Task-Based Assessments
At a time of some backlash against using hands-on tasks to assess student learning, a coalition of education and civil-rights groups last week endorsed just that kind of measurement.
Millicent Lawton, December 13, 1995
2 min read
Education Teachers
When it comes to curriculum, textbook, and course decisions, who's really in charge? It depends on which state you're looking at, according to a U.S. Department of Education survey of public school teachers' perceptions of their control over such classroom matters.
December 13, 1995
1 min read
Education Publishing Column
What is billed by its publishers as "the first national magazine created especially for black parents" was launched this fall.
December 13, 1995
1 min read
Education Appeals Court Upholds School's AIDS-Prevention Talk
A Massachusetts high school's decision to hire a company to give its students a streetwise, extremely explicit talk on AIDS prevention without notifying parents may not have been a wise one. But it didn't violate the rights of parents to direct their children's upbringing, a federal appeals court has ruled.
Mark Walsh, December 13, 1995
4 min read
English-Language Learners News in Brief: Plan On Special-Ed. Discipline; State Assessment Grants; Bilingual-Education

Senate Panel Unveils Plan On Special-Ed. Discipline

December 13, 1995
3 min read
Education Wis. Court To Decide Balance of Policy Power
Wisconsin educators hope the new year will bring resolution to a yearlong drama about who will have the starring role in shaping school policy: the governor or the elected state superintendent.
Lonnie Harp, December 13, 1995
4 min read
Education Head of Minn. Graduation-Standards Project Quits
A leading figure in Minnesota's long-running effort to create tougher graduation standards has resigned, charging that Gov. Arne Carlson is retreating from key parts of the idea.
Drew Lindsay, December 13, 1995
2 min read
Education People
When Joe Dulin returned to Michigan from the Million Man March on Washington in October, he resolved to do something that would build upon the spirit of the massive gathering of African-American men. (See Education Week, Oct. 25, 1995.) After brainstorming for ideas, he organized a National African-American Parent Involvement Day.
December 13, 1995
1 min read
Education The Redefined Principal
Otho Thompson, the principal of Morristown Elementary School, sits in a conference room alongside many of the familiar faces that show up at strategy sessions on how to serve families better.
December 13, 1995
2 min read
Education `Translators' Seen Needed To Ease Transition to Jobs
Helping inner-city students make a successful transition from the schoolroom to the workplace requires special expertise that does not exist exclusively in either of those institutions, said participants at a conference held here last week.
Peter West, December 13, 1995
2 min read
Education Literacy Performance Levels
Findings from the first international study of adult literacy show the United States falling roughly in the middle range for what is termed "document literacy"--the ability to decipher tables, schedules, and maps--among adults ages 16 to 65. The following tables explain the lowest level for document literacy, 1, and the highest, 5, followed by the percentage of adults in each country performing at that level.
December 13, 1995
1 min read
Education Schools Usurp Parents' Rights, Lawmakers Told
Advocates for strengthening parents' rights took their case to Capitol Hill last week, arguing that schools are usurping the family's role as the primary teacher of values. In separate House and Senate hearings, parents complained that schools are making birth control available to their children without their consent, advocating homosexual lifestyles, and presenting questionable AIDS-awareness programs.
Ann Bradley, December 13, 1995
5 min read
Education State Journal: Line items; Clinic control

Line Items


The pet projects of Alabama legislators often pop up as line items in the state education budget. This year, for example, lawmakers earmarked $200,000 for a Sports Hall of Fame and $2.4 million for Alabama Science in Motion, a moving van full of science instructors and equipment that travels from high school to high school.
December 13, 1995
2 min read
Education Update on the News

Software Sales Soar As Home Market Kicks In

December 13, 1995
1 min read
Education Districts View Desegregation In a New Light
When a federal court declared the Denver public schools desegregated, local school officials hailed the decision as the dawning of a bright new day.
Peter Schmidt, December 13, 1995
10 min read
Education Districts of Two Minds Over Who Should Get Tax Revenue
A huge discount store built about 30 miles south of St. Louis may be a blessing to budget-conscious shoppers there, but it's become something of a curse to the like-minded school districts it straddles.
Laura Miller, December 13, 1995
3 min read
Education Capital Update
Capital Update tracks the movement of legislation, the introduction of notable bills, and routine regulatory announcements.
December 13, 1995
1 min read
Education N.Y.C. Teachers Turn Down 5-Year Contract
New York City teachers rejected a five-year contract last week that would have frozen their pay for two years and relieved them of many nonprofessional assignments.
Jeanne Ponessa, December 13, 1995
2 min read
Education L.A. Set To Overhaul Special-Education System
The Los Angeles school district is poised to revamp much of its special-education system to settle a 1993 lawsuit.
December 13, 1995
2 min read
Education Common Causes
When others were questioning whether schools would ever be suitable or willing partners in efforts to help distressed families raise healthy and literate children, the Harvard Family Research Project was busy tracking down programs that were already working.
December 13, 1995
2 min read
Education Rules Require Annual Reports on College Sports
Beginning next fall, students, prospective students, and the public will have a better opportunity to gauge how colleges and universities treat men's and women's intercollegiate sports.
December 13, 1995
1 min read
Education Urban Renewal
Photos by Benjamin Tice Smith
Washington
Ann Bradley, December 13, 1995
26 min read
Education Sciences Group Quietly Unveils Final Standards
After four years of intense work involving hundreds of people, the National Academy of Sciences last week quietly released the final version of the national science standards.
Meg Sommerfeld, December 13, 1995
5 min read
Education Take Note: Farm aid; Submarines and substitutes

Farm Aid


School officials in Bradleyville, Mo., thought their ship had come in when a property-tax reassessment almost tripled land values in their district to $9 million.
December 13, 1995
1 min read
Education NCAA Rules Violate ADA, Student Charges
A high school student with a learning disability is challenging the NCAA's latest set of eligibility standards, saying that they violate his rights.
Karen Diegmueller, December 13, 1995
5 min read
Education Policy End Run: Taking a Case For Change to the People's Court
The Salvation Army worker posted at the entrance to the Top Food grocery store here stands motionless, her bell silent, her eyes narrowed to a squint that almost challenges shoppers to pass without dropping a coin in her kettle.
Drew Lindsay, December 13, 1995
8 min read