May 25, 1983
Education Week, Vol. 02, Issue 35
Education
'Alternative Schools' in Public Settings Found Growing Rapidly
Alternative schools in public-school systems have grown dramatically in recent years in both number and size, and the teachers and students at such schools generally have better attitudes about school than their peers in regular programs, a recent study has concluded.
Education
Colleges Column
The National Governors Associ0 ation, with the support of the Mary 0 Reynolds Babcock Foundation and 0 Duke University, is establishing a 0 center for the study of state govern0 ment. The new "academic arm" of 0 the governors'association, as the an0 nouncement of the project words it, 0 will be situated at Duke's Institute 0 of Policy Sciences.$ 
Education
National News Roundup
Enrollment in noncollegiate postsecondary schools with occupational programs has stayed at roughly the same level as in 1980--1.9 million students--according to a new survey from the National Center for Education Statistics.
The survey examined 1982 enrollment trends at 7,603 noncollegiate schools, but did not include data from the 1,603 colleges and universities that offer occupational programs.
Education
Jack Coons: From Serrano to School Vouchers
Some 20 years ago, as a young law professor at his alma mater, Northwestern University, John E. Coons got a fateful call from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Education
District News Roundup
The Barnard (Vt.) Central School District has filed suit in U.S. District Court challenging the decision of a state hearing officer that the schools must provide psychotherapy for an emotionally disturbed pupil.
The Barnard (Vt.) Central School District has filed suit in U.S. District Court challenging the decision of a state hearing officer that the schools must provide psychotherapy for an emotionally disturbed pupil.
Education
States News Roundup
Tennessee's state board of education voted last month to increase high-school graduation requirements in science and mathematics from one to two years each.
Although the state's education commissioner recommended delaying the change until 1984 to avoid creating unexpected costs for districts, the board's majority voted to implement the change this fall. Students who begin the 9th grade then will be the first class to be affected by the change.
Education
Business, Education Group Asks President To Guide Industry
Arguing that "the central objective of domestic policy" for the next 10 years should be to improve the nation's ability to compete with other industrialized countries, a 16-member task force of college presidents and corporation executives last week called for a coordinated national effort to "rebuild the nation's economy and strengthen our educational system."
Education
'Thousands' of Educators Bought False Diplomas
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (fbi) is planning to turn over to state education departments the names of "thousands" of elementary- and secondary-school educators nationwide who have "bought" degrees from nonexistent "universities."
Education
Crowded Houston Schools To Open Year-Round
The Janowski Elementary School here hardly seems overcrowded. Spacious green lawns wind around the one-story orange brick building, and several acres of athletic fields extend out behind it.
Education
Scholar, Bell-Commission Member Laud Reactions to Report
Even though commissions and critics have been recommending radical reforms in the American educational system since the early 1950's, "little in the way of restoration of learning has been accomplished," said one of the nation's foremost conservative scholars last week, in a response to the report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education.
Ed-Tech Policy
Computers Firms Said Uncertain of Potential of School Market
Despite talk of a rush on the education market by computer manufacturers, many experts say the companies are skeptical of the potential profits to be made from sales to schools compared with other areas of the market.
Education
Louisiana Cites Schooling Goals
The Louisiana Board of Regents last month sent parents of 72,000 8th-grade students throughout the state copies of a booklet outlining what students should know to be successful in college.
The booklet, entitled "Preparing the High School Student for College," also made recommendations to parents, school districts, and textbook-selection committees. It was prepared by the regents' committee on the academic preparation of college-bound students.
Education
Supreme Court Refuses To Decide Boston Affirmative-Action Lawsuit
The U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to rule on the constitutionality of lower-court orders requiring the city of Boston to lay off senior white firefighters and police officers in order to protect the jobs of recently hired minority workers.
Education
U.S., Washington State Must Pay for Districts' Legal Costs
The State of Washington and the federal government have been ordered to pay $474,000 in attorneys' fees for losing an antibusing suit that was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court last June.
U.S. District Judge Donald Voorhees of Seattle last week ordered that the fees be paid to the Seattle School District and several civil-rights groups that participated in the case.
Education
Bell, House Education Panel Debate Vocational-Ed. Change
Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell appeared before a House education panel last week to urge legislators to enact the Reagan Administration's proposal to consolidate existing federal vocational- and adult-education programs into a new state block-grant program.
Education
Appeals Court Upsets Prayer Ruling in Alabama
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit has ruled that Alabama's laws allowing school prayer are unconstitutional. The ruling reverses a January decision by a lower-court judge who said the U.S. Supreme Court "erred in its reading of history" when it struck down public-school prayer 21 years ago.
Education
Secretary Bell Calls On States To Carry Out Education Reforms
At the first of a series of forums on the report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell challenged state governors, legislators, and local school boards to develop "master plans" to bring about the improvements called for in the report, which documented the deteriorating condition of American education.
Education
San Jose Ordered To Pay Deferred Raise
Arbitrator Paul Staudohor ruled this month that the San Jose Unified School District must pay its employees a 6.1-percent raise it had deferred this year because of its serious financial problems--plus an additional 7 percent in interest on the amount of the raise.
Education
Appeals Court Affirms Special-Ed. Services Ruling
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has upheld a lower-court ruling that requires a Texas school district to provide catheterization treatment for a special-education student under the related-services provision of the federal law protecting the educational rights of the handicapped.
Education
Minn. Governor Names School Chief After Battle Over Appointment Power
Gov. Rudy A. Perpich of Minnesota announced the appointment of a new state commissioner of education last week, only moments after signing into law a bill that removed the authority for such an appointment from the jurisdiction of the state board of education.
Education
One-Fourth of L.A. Pupils On Year-Round Schedule
Three years ago, Los Angeles became the first district in the nation to start using a year-round school calendar on a large scale to alleviate overcrowding in inner-city schools.
Education
House Panel Concludes Probe of N.J. Spending
A House education subcommittee completed an extensive investigation last week of the alleged mismanagement of millions of dollars in federal funds by New Jersey school officials during the 1970's.
Education
U.S. Science Board Solicits Planning Guidance
Offering suggestions that may influence the distribution of federal science-education funds, the National Science Board's Commission on Precollege Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology last week outlined for the science board the areas in which it believes the federal government should play a major role.
Education
Private Schools Column
Enrollment in the schools that the National Association of Independent Schools calls "junior" boarding schools--those enrolling elementary or middle-school students--has shown a "marked increase" over the past seven years, according to a new nais survey.
Overall enrollment in the junior schools has increased 18.4 percent from 1976-77 to 1982-83; the number of students attending such schools rose from 1,837 to 2,175.
Curriculum
New Test Measures Students' Reading 'Power'
In 1982, the Boston Public Schools began administering a reading test that yields no complex subscores of "skills" and makes no mention of the grade level at which the students are reading.
Education
For The Record
President Reagan, responding to reporters' questions during a White House news conference on May 17:
Education
U.S. Judge Permits Student Prayer-Group Sessions in Pa. School
A federal district judge in Pennsylvania has upheld the right of a group of Williamsport high-school students to form a prayer group and hold meetings during school hours.
Education
Tax-Credit Conflict Renewed as Senate Committee Considers Bill
The heated debate that marked the Senate Finance Committee's deliberations on the Reagan Administration's tuition tax-credit proposal last fall was rekindled last week, as the committee met to reconsider the bill before sending it to the Senate floor for a vote.
Education
Pagan Idol Benched, Offers No Retribution So Far
An Oriental idol that has reportedly been providing a Utica, Mich., high-school track team with good luck for 14 years apparently ran out of good fortune last week when squad members voted to bench it permanently.
Team members decided to get rid of the 18-inch-tall statue, named Ho-Tai, after several parents in the community complained that pregame activities involving the figure were beginning to resemble a pagan cult.