March 29, 2000
Education Week, Vol. 19, Issue 29
English-Language Learners
Calif. District Criticized Over Services for LEP Students
A California district is violating various state and federal laws by neglecting its students who are still learning English, state officials concluded in a report this month.
School & District Management
Knight Survey Finds Solid Public Support for Schools
Six in 10 Americans believe their public schools are doing a good or excellent job, but that opinion varies depending on the community in which they live, a national survey has found.
School & District Management
College Admissions Adapts To Students Taught at Home
Many colleges and universities that once viewed home-schooled applicants with skepticism have recently begun to change that outlook, a new survey suggests, with some even going so far as to craft special admissions policies to simplify the assessment process for students who have been taught at home.
School & District Management
ACLU, Calif. Settle Lawsuit Over Compton
The long-troubled Compton, Calif., schools moved a step closer to independence from state management last week as civil rights advocates and state officials settled a lawsuit claiming the district's 31,000 students had been denied the opportunity to receive an adequate education.
Education
People in the News
Barbara Gardner will join the Massachusetts Department of Education as the associate commissioner for school readiness.
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Education
Compromise Sought On School Construction Money
A pair of House lawmakers have created a bipartisan plan that they hope will break Congress' three-year logjam over federal aid for school construction.
Assessment
Conservative Group Seeks To End State NAEP Program
While political leaders from both parties are aiming to raise the stakes for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, some conservatives are mounting a campaign to scale it back.
Law & Courts
Court Lets Stand Ruling On Student Transfers
The U.S. Supreme Court last week declined an invitation from an array of education groups to use a Maryland case to decide whether school districts may voluntarily consider race in making student assignments. Includes another Supreme Court decision, "FDA Lacks Authority To Regulate Tobacco, Court Rules."
Accountability
News in Brief: A State Capitals Roundup
- Georgia Accountability Bill Moves to Governor's Desk
- Missouri Schools Chief To Retire
- Utah Sex Education Bill Vetoed
- Diversity Found in Texas Charters
- Charters in Pa. Get Mixed Reviews
- Ohio School Policymakers Chided
Teaching Profession
Higher Teacher Pay Is Goal Of Florida's GOP Senators
Florida school groups are applauding an education budget proposal by the state Senate's Republican leaders that would give districts enough money for an 8 percent increase in teachers' salaries, while providing financial incentives for teachers who agree to serve in the state's lowest-performing schools.
School Choice & Charters
Catholic Schools Ask Parents To Pay More
Catholic schools are increasingly moving to a cost-based model—where parents who can afford it are asked to pay more.
Education
For-Profits Tapping Into Teacher Training
What matters to Felicia Messina-D'Haiti is getting a full license to teach middle school art, the job she has come to love since leaving the Smithsonian Institution last year. That a private company is providing her on-the-job training is of secondary importance—at least to her.
Reading & Literacy
Move Over, Big Bird: 'The Lions' Is Ready To Hit PBS Stations
After children outgrow Big Bird and his friends at "Sesame Street," few other TV programs are around to help them through their first years of school. But now, some of the creators of that long-running public-television series are hoping that a new show and new characters will fill the gap and build reading skills in children ages 4 to 7.
Education
News in Brief: A National Roundup
- Federal Suit Over Abuse Settled in Massachusetts
- Storms Hit Ala. School Again
- Donor Extends K-12 Fellowships
- Officials Teach During Strike
- Limits Seen Helping Teen Drivers
- CDF Tracks Extreme Poverty
- Selected Characteristics of Persons Under Age 18
Admitted to State Prison, 1985-97
Accountability
Md. Picks Edison To Run Three Baltimore Schools
Maryland school officials tapped the for-profit school-management company Edison Schools Inc. last week to restaff and operate three Baltimore elementary schools that are among the state's lowest-performing public schools.
Education
Honors & Awards
SUPERINTENDENTS OF THE YEAR
The American Association of School Administrators has announced the Superintendents of the Year for 2000. The honorees for the annual award, co- sponsored by the ServiceMaster Co., a commercial cleaning company, are chosen by state panels. Each winner received a medallion and a plaque. F. Donald Saul of Colorado was named the National Superintendent of the Year. The honorees and their school districts are listed below by state:
School Choice & Charters
Answer to a Prayer
A $55 million gift from a Utah businessman has led to a stunning new Catholic school that's in a class by itself.
Education
Events
1—Economics: Teaching the Basics of Savings and Investing, sponsored by the National Association of Securities Dealers, for educators, administrators, and librarians, at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Hilton in Minneapolis. Contact: West Glen Communications, 1430 Broadway, New York, NY 10018; phone: (888) 822-5775; fax: (212) 912-9536; e-mail: nasd@westglen.com; Web site: www.wgen.com/nasd.htm.
April
1—Economics: Teaching the Basics of Savings and Investing, sponsored by the National Association of Securities Dealers, for educators, administrators, and librarians, at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Hilton in Minneapolis. Contact: West Glen Communications, 1430 Broadway, New York, NY 10018; phone: (888) 822-5775; fax: (212) 912-9536; e-mail: nasd@westglen.com; Web site: www.wgen.com/nasd.htm.
Education Funding
House OKs Spending Blueprint
House Republicans last week ushered through a budget blueprint for fiscal 2001 that calls for raising Department of Education spending by about $2.2 billion, most of it designated for special education.
Education
Support Building for Renewed Focus On Gifted Education
Education for gifted and talented students could receive a renewed focus and a big increase in authorized funding through revisions to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act now being considered in Congress.
Education for gifted and talented students could receive a renewed focus and a big increase in authorized funding through revisions to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act now being considered in Congress.
Student Well-Being
Educators Back White House On Psychiatric-Drug Plan
Teachers' unions and school health workers last week championed the Clinton administration's campaign to reverse a recent upswing in the prescription of psychiatric drugs to preschoolers.
Education
Federal File
Off the topic
A seminar on diversity for Department of Education employees has come under fire for containing politically charged remarks.
Student Well-Being
FDA Lacks Authority To Regulate Tobacco, Court Rules
The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow last week to the Clinton administration's efforts to curb youth smoking by ruling that the Food and Drug Administration lacks the authority to regulate tobacco.
States
Kentucky Teacher-Quality Plan Fights for Life
What had been touted as a bold push to raise teacher quality in Kentucky has recently turned into a last-ditch effort to salvage at least part of the plan before the state's regular legislative session wraps up this week.
Equity & Diversity
Minority Gaps Smaller In Some Pentagon Schools
Black and Hispanic students in schools run by the U.S. Department of Defense outside the United States do better than their counterparts almost anywhere in the U.S. on NAEP.