August 28, 2013
Education Week, Vol. 33, Issue 02
Classroom Technology
Florida E-Learning Policy Shift Puts Spotlight on K12 Inc.
The state is pursuing policy and funding changes meant to open up the world of online education to more providers, such as K12 Inc., the largest for-profit virtual education provider in the country.
States
Florida Virtual School Faces Hard Times
The country's largest state-sponsored K-12 online school is confronting declines in funding and enrollment, a sign of major policy shifts now reshaping the world of online education.
Curriculum
Museums, Researchers Shifting to Online Science Ed. Outreach
Cultural institutions are offering open online training sessions, virtual activities, and tech-enhanced projects to bring the subject alive in the nation's schools.
Curriculum
Linking Real-World Science to Schools
Initiatives are using technology to give K-12 science educators opportunities to create science content and explore virtual environments for learning.
School Climate & Safety
Tensions Accompany Growth of PBIS Discipline Model
Developers of some school climate reform models say their programs are often bypassed in favor of strategies promoted by a federally funded technical-assistance center.
Education
News in Brief
Transitions
Stephen Bowen, Maine's commissioner of education, will step down Sept. 12 to become the strategic innovation director at the Council of Chief State School Officers.
Education
Correction
Correction
A column about a leadership transition at the Center for Education Reform in the Aug. 7, 2013, issue of Education Week should have said that Jeanne Allen will step down as president of the organization in October. She will remain on its board of directors and will become a senior fellow.
IT Infrastructure & Management
New Sites Aim to Help Pick Best Ed-Tech Tools
The effectiveness of such review sites is still a big question mark, but their existence comes at a critical time, as schools face a multitude of decisions about what technologies to use.
States
Louisiana's 'Course Choice' Program Gets Underway
A challenge to the state's funding plan delayed the program last spring, but now more than 3,700 participating high schoolers select from a diverse menu of online and face-to-face classes.
Standards
Common Core Grinds Along Amid Michigan Debate
A heated fight over sticking with the common core hasn't halted its momentum in the state, though some local school officials take a cautious approach.
Teaching Profession
Common Core: A Puzzle to Public
Most respondents to a PDK/Gallup poll had never heard of the common standards—and among those who had, fewer than half said the standards would help make students more competitive internationally.
Equity & Diversity
Alabama Vouchers Target of Federal Court Suit
The Southern Poverty Law Center says Alabama's new tax-credit scholarships discriminate against poor children.
Education Funding
Report Roundup
NCES Puts K-12 Spending At $500 Billion in 2010-11
New financial data released by the National Center on Education Statistics show that 50 states and the District of Columbia spent more than $527 billion on public K-12 education in fiscal 2011, including $322.5 billion on instruction.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
High Schools
Principals and teachers in the 25 highest-performing small high schools in New York City credit academic rigor and personalization with their schools' rising graduation rates, according to the latest in a series of studies of the Big Apple's small-schools initiative.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
Research Report: Bullying
Adults who both bullied and were bullies as children develop worse health problems than those who were not bullied or victims who never bullied others, according to a study published online last week in Psychological Science.
Special Education
Report Roundup
Autism
Students with autism and average intelligence regularly outperform nonautistic peers with the same IQ levels on mathematics problems, and their brains may approach the problems differently, according to a study published online last week in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
English-Language Learners
Report Roundup
Research Report: English-Language Learners
More than a third of charter schools in 2010-11 did not disclose the number of English-language learners in their data reports to the federal government, says a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Research Report: Achievement Gap
Girls' expectations for higher education have risen significantly since the 1980s, while boys' expectations have remained flat, finds a study posted online by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Federal Judge Upholds Ban Against 'Boobies' Bracelets
A federal district judge in Indiana has ruled that school administrators may prohibit "I <3 Boobies" breast-cancer-awareness bracelets, saying they could be considered lewd or vulgar student speech.
Federal
News in Brief
Ed. Dept. Addresses Bullying of Students With Disabilities
Severe bullying of a student with disabilities could deny that student's right to a free, appropriate public education and would need to be addressed under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, according to a guidance letter for districts, states, and building administrators last week by the U.S. Department of Education.
Assessment
News in Brief
Minn.: Test Glitches Did Not Affect Results
Recurring problems with an online system for administering proficiency tests had minimal impact on Minnesota students' scores this past spring, state education officials say.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Legislator Pulls Son Over Transgender Law
A California legislator has pulled one of his sons from public school after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill that provides transgender students explicit protection on campus.
Federal
News in Brief
Ga. Governor Requests Common-Core Review
Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia has asked the state board of education to review the Common Core State Standards. The governor, a Republican, indicated he is particularly concerned about certain suggested readings with the English/language arts portion of the standards.
Federal
News in Brief
Site Launches to Track School Board Elections
To encourage civic engagement in local school boards, Ballotpedia recently launched a new portal devoted to covering school board elections in the nation's 1,000 largest districts.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Armed Intruder Causes School to Evacuate
A man with an assault rifle and other weapons exchanged gunfire with officers last week at an Atlanta-area elementary school before surrendering.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Licensing in Tennessee to Follow Performance
Tennessee teachers won't be able to renew their licenses in a few years unless they meet a minimum performance standard, according to rules approved by the state school board last week.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Flaws Cited in Certifying Computer Teachers
A detailed examination of state systems for certifying computer science teachers concludes that there are fundamental problems with the approaches nationwide and argues that the situation is a major barrier to ensuring high-quality educators in the subject and preparing students for a promising field.
College & Workforce Readiness
News in Brief
Obama College Plan Would Gauge Costs
Targeting the soaring cost of higher education, President Barack Obama last week unveiled a broad new government rating system for colleges that would judge schools on their affordability and perhaps be used to allocate federal financial aid.