February 10, 1982

Education Week, Vol. 01, Issue 20
Education Survey Finds 27 Carcinogens in Science Labs
An informal survey by the staff of the Consumer Product Safety Commission has found 27 recognized or suspected cancer-causing chemicals in high-school laboratories.

In a report to the three-member federal consumer-protection commission, the staff also asserted that existing laboratory safety information "does not adequately address potential chronic adverse health effects associated with exposure to laboratory chemicals" and that "chemical storage and disposal practices appear to vary widely."

February 10, 1982
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2 min read
Education Bill To Propose Defensee-Industry Jobs Program
Members of a House subcommittee are considering a bill that would provide money to state vocational-education programs to train skilled workers for jobs in areas with critical manpower shortages.
Susan G. Foster, February 10, 1982
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1 min read
English Learners Policy Reversal on Bilingual Efforts Charted in Memo
Proposals that would radically shift national policy on bilingual education may be part of the Administration's new budget package, an internal Education Department document suggests.
Susan G. Foster & Eileen White, February 10, 1982
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5 min read
Education Testing Legitimate If Used Properly Panel Concludes
The standardized tests used by schools and employers for placement, admissions, and hiring are not intrinsically biased against minority groups, a panel of experts has reported after studying such tests over a four-year period.
Susan Walton, February 10, 1982
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4 min read
Education New York Panel Recommends Overhaul of Schhol Finance
A New York State task force on school-finance reform last week submitted to Gov. Hugh L. Carey recommendations for reducing disparities between rich and poor school districts in the state.
Thomas Toch, February 10, 1982
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5 min read
Education Bill in Alabama Would Require Honesty and Decency in Texts
If the Alabama legislature approves two bills now before it, the state's students may see the equivalent of "book burnings," according to one opponent of the proposed legislation.
Cynthia Smith, February 10, 1982
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4 min read
Education Studs Terkel Fights for Working in Person
Girard, Pa--Studs Terkel, the popular author and journalist, visited this town of 4,000 near Lake Erie last week to learn why some parents don't want his book, Working, taught in an English class for 15 vocational-education students.
Rich Scheinin, February 10, 1982
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1 min read
Education College Groups Protest 50% Cuts in Student Aid
Representatives of 13 higher-education associations warned at a press conference here last week that President Reagan's expected decision to seek massive cuts in student postsecondary-aid programs in his fiscal 1983 budget request to Congress would jeopardize the higher-education plans of thousands of college-bound high-school seniors.
Tom Mirga, February 10, 1982
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5 min read
Education Ford Foundation To Reward Improvement in Urban Schools
The Ford Foundation last week announced the creation of a $1.1-million grant program aimed at rewarding typical urban high schools that can document that they have made significant improvements in their overall performance over the past decade.
Tom Mirga, February 10, 1982
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4 min read
Education Reagan Proposal on Tax Exemptions Meets Opposittion, Doubts in
Support for President Reagan's proposed bill to deny tax-exempt status to racially discriminatory private schools dwindled last week, as the Administration's position was attacked strongly from all sides.
Alex Heard, February 10, 1982
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7 min read
Education Legislatures News Roundup
A measure has been introduced in the Washington House of Representatives that would afford the state's public schools some protection from state budget cuts.

The bill, which was offered with bipartisan support, would limit cuts in state funding for basic education to half the percentage cut from the budgets of other state-government agencies. It would also prohibit state officials from seeking education cuts greater than 5 percent.

February 10, 1982
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2 min read
Education People News
Harold Howe II has added yet another accolade to his distinguished career in education.

The former U.S. commissioner of education (1965-68) has been named to the board of trustees of Teachers College, Columbia University.

February 10, 1982
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3 min read
Education Use of Competency Tests Subject to Legal Challenge
Legal as well as scientific considerations may shape the design and uses of minimum-competency tests for students, two Indiana University researchers suggested here last week.
Peggy Caldwell, February 10, 1982
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3 min read
Education President Reportedly Will Seek Block Grants For Handicapped and
On the eve of the President's formal release of the federal budget for 1983, Administration officials disclosed that they were hedging their bets on the future of the Education Department by preparing alternative budget proposals--for the department as it is and for the foundation they would like to have.
Eileen White, February 10, 1982
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2 min read
Education Study Finds Students Conservative, Materialistic
The latest findings of a nationwide survey of college freshmen that has been conducted annually for the last 16 years lend strong support to the perception that today's youth are substantially more materialistic and politically conservative than their counterparts of a decade ago.
Tom Mirga, February 10, 1982
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3 min read
Education Illinois Ponders Cutting Special-Education Rules
Special-interest groups in Illinois, wary of altering requirements that protect the rights of the handicapped, are resisting a move by the state board of education to reduce special-education regulations and to curb red tape for local school districts.
Don Sevener, February 10, 1982
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4 min read
Education Research and Reports
Teachers in states with collective- bargaining legislation generally have fared no better in salary gains than their colleagues who work in states with no collective-bargaining laws for teachers, according to a study by the Public Service Research Council, a nonprofit research organization.

Using data supplied by the National Center for Education Statistics, the researchers examined changes in teachers' salaries between 1969-1970 and 1979-80, and again between 1977-1978 and 1979-1980.

February 10, 1982
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2 min read
Education States News Roundup
A controversial proposal to teach values in public schools has been shelved, at least temporarily, by Donald G. Gill, Illinois state superintendent of education.

Mr. Gill told the policy and planning committee of the state board of education last week that the project would be given a low priority until next fall.

February 10, 1982
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2 min read
Education Baltimore Superintendent's Book Touts His City's Schools
Just as this city has drawn national acclaim for its urban-renewal efforts, John L. Crew, superintendent of schools here, wants educators around the country to associate it with a revitalized school system.
Robert C. Benjamin, February 10, 1982
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4 min read
Education New York Times Guides To Colleges Awards Stars and Stirs
With the competition for students among the nation's 3,000 colleges and universities running at a fever pitch, The New York Times has recently jumped into the equally heated competition among college guidebooks--some say over its head.
E. Patrick McQuaid , February 10, 1982
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7 min read
Education NIE To Focus on Excellence and Freedom
Research sponsored by the National Institute of Education (nie) should focus on "excellence" and "freedom" in fiscal years 1983 and 1984, according to an internal planning document prepared and circulated by the office of the institute's director, Edward Curran.
Peggy Caldwell & Eileen White, February 10, 1982
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3 min read
Education Maryland Board Says District Erred in Banning School Play
The Maryland State Board of Education has ruled that the Anne Arundel County school board "erred" when it banned a production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in the spring of 1980.

The controversy began when Arthur E. Smelkinson, then a drama teacher at Old Mill High School, decided to produce the play after the school's principal, Leroy G. Carter, refused to give him permission to produce Hair.

February 10, 1982
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3 min read
Education Budget Cuts, Ideology called Threats to Research
Educational research under the Reagan Administration will be marked not only by severe budget cuts, but also, quite possibly, by radical changes in what is studied, by whom, and how, according to researchers meeting here last week.
Peggy Caldwell, February 10, 1982
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5 min read
Education New Tactics Found To Cut Costs: They're Even Taking Prunes
The large chunk of funding already carved off the budget for the National School Lunch Program--and the near-certain prospect of more slicing ahead--may have enhanced the resourcefulness of some school-lunch officials. Following is a sampling of the strategies they are using to minimize the effects of the cuts.

Enlisting the aid of other school officials. Without the assistance of principals, teachers, unions, and system administrators, the New York City schools might have been forced to raise the prices on school lunches. Instead, according to Elizabeth Cagan, the district mounted an all-out effort to cut costs and notify parents of the changes in the eligibility for free and reduced-price lunches. "It's the first time in the history of the program when everybody worked together," Ms. Cagan said. "I think we've done very well."

February 10, 1982
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1 min read
Education Cities News Roundup
The 20-year-old school-desegregation case in Los Angeles went back to court last week, with the plaintiffs asking that their federal suit be certified as a class action.

The current suit was filed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People last April, after the district dropped its mandatory busing program under the terms of a statewide referendum. That referendum, known as Proposition 1, repealed a California law that in effect required racial balance in the schools, regardless of whether segregation was intentionally caused by official action. Proposition 1 is currently being challenged before the U.S. Supreme Court.

February 10, 1982
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2 min read
Education Federal News Roundup
The policy-making arm of the National Conference of State Legislatures has gone on record as opposing the Reagan Administration's plan to disperse federal education programs among several federal agencies.

"Such an act would create undue administrative burdens for the states, local school districts, and individual educational institutions," reads a resolution passed by the conference's 900-member State-Federal Assembly.

February 10, 1982
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2 min read
Education Up To 15% of Students Drop Out of Lunch Program
Participation in the National School Lunch Program has dropped between 5 percent and 15 percent in many cities across the country, a recent informal survey by food-service administrators suggests.
Susan Walton, February 10, 1982
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5 min read
Education Events
2-4--Industrial arts: Conference for teachers and supervisors in industrial-arts education, Virginia Department of Education, Holiday Inn-Bells Rd., Richmond.
February 10, 1982
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8 min read
Education A.V.A Head Criticizes Bills To Replace CETA
Existing vocational schools are in a better position to provide job training than are agencies that would be charged with that responsibility under legislation recently introduced in both the House and the Senate, officials of the American Vocational Association (ava) maintain.
Susan G. Foster, February 10, 1982
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4 min read
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