May 1, 2002
Education Week, Vol. 21, Issue 33
Law & Courts
Back in Court, Sheff Plaintiffs Say Conn. Integration Lacking
Nearly six years after Connecticut's landmark desegregation order, the group that initiated the lawsuit that led to the ruling is asking the courts to step in again—this time with a plan of its own that proposes how state leaders should carry out the mandate.
Education
News in Brief: A State Capitals Roundup
- Texas Commissioner to Name 'Dropout Czar'
- Plan to Abolish Hawaii Board Dies
- State, Schools to Pay Ohio Mediator
- Illinois Requires New Vaccinations
Education Funding
Partnerships & Philanthropy
- Despite Economic Woes, Foundation Giving Rises
- Mentoring Advice
- Voter Education
- Grant Hunters
School & District Management
S.D. District Sued Over At-Large Election System
Several members of an American Indian tribe in rural South Dakota are suing the local school district in federal court, claiming its method for electing board members discriminates against Native Americans by weakening their voting power.
Curriculum
Computer Science Attracting Fewer Applicants
With the slumping technology economy, some of the nation's top undergraduate computer-science programs have seen a major drop in applications from seniors around the country.
Education
People in the News
Chauncey Veatch, a social studies teacher from Thermal, Calif., was honored as the 2002 National Teacher of the Year at a White House ceremony in the Rose Garden last week.
Law & Courts
Court Mulls Who Can Sue Under Privacy Law
The argument that students and parents should be able to go to court to enforce the 1974 federal law that guarantees the privacy of student records met with skepticism in the U.S. Supreme Court last week.
College & Workforce Readiness
Lawmakers, White House At Odds Over Pell Grant Hike
The Pell Grants financial-aid plan has paid tuition, defrayed the financial hit from room and board, and helped millions of college students cover costs they couldn't on their own. But their popularity has carried a price.
Education
News in Brief: A Washington Roundup
- Ed. Dept. Sets Meetings
On Draft Rules for New ESEA - Court Declines Religious-Mural Case
- Second Teacher Eyes Senate Seat
School & District Management
Mich. May Intervene In Inkster-Edison Standoff
A tussle between the Inkster, Mich., school district and Edison Schools Inc. may lead to state intervention in order to force the system to pay its $1.2 million bill for the company's services.
Education
Environmental Guidelines
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released voluntary guidelines and set up a Web site, www.epa.gov/iaq/schools, to help schools become more aware of daily cleaning and maintenance practices that could harm air quality in schools. Below is a partial list of the recommendations. The full list of guidelines is available at the Web site.
Education
Bill Seeks Timely Supply Of Textbooks for Visually Impaired
A bipartisan bill introduced by Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., on April 24 aims to speed up the way students with visual impairments receive instructional materials.
Education
Pell Grant Growth
Pell Grants were established in 1972 by Congress as the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant program and took effect a year later. The grants were created to help low-income students pay the costs of postsecondary education. Many experts in student aid, however, say the amount of the awards has failed to keep pace with the rising costs of college. Adjusting the $1,400 maximum award in 1975 for inflation, the maximum grant's value fell from $4,205 to $3,300 in 2000-01, according to a study by the American Council on Education.The following table shows how participation in the program, and the amount of money the federal government has devoted to it, have grown over time:
Recruitment & Retention
New Orleans Soliciting Businesses For Bonuses
The school district in New Orleans is offering bonuses to newly certified teachers—and looking for help to pay for the incentive.
Education
Student Travel Business On the Rebound
The resilience of students from the 19,000-student Arlington district and elsewhere is leading to a faster-than-expected recovery for the growing student-tour industry in a school year marked by unusual worries over travel.
The resilience of students from the 19,000-student Arlington district and elsewhere is leading to a faster-than-expected recovery for the growing student-tour industry in a school year marked by unusual worries over travel.
Education
Federal File
In the Neighborhod
Sitting in the cozy library at Washington's Margaret Amidon Elementary School, Secretary of Education Rod Paige read a poem with a 4th grader to celebrate National Volunteer Week.
College & Workforce Readiness
Scoring Backlogs, Paperwork Problems Accompany New GED
Revisions to the General Educational Development certificate that took effect earlier this year have caused headaches for testing officials from several states as they struggle to implement the changes to the high school equivalency program.
Reading & Literacy
States Unclear On ESEA Rules About Reading
Lawmakers, reading experts, and publishers are urging the Department of Education to clarify reading requirements under the "No Child Left Behind Act" of 2001, amid widespread perceptions that a small number of commercial programs will win favor while other popular approaches might be discouraged or spurned.
Early Childhood
The Little Scientists
Some preschools are testing a new program that makes science the foundation for virtually everything youngsters are learning in school.
Federal
Senate Panel Examines Ed. Department Efforts To Enforce New ESEA
If a Senate committee hearing last week was any indication, the congressional authors of the "No Child Left Behind" Act of 2001 will be keeping close tabs on the Department of Education's efforts to translate the law into practice.
If a Senate committee hearing last week was any indication, the congressional authors of the "No Child Left Behind" Act of 2001 will be keeping close tabs on the Department of Education's efforts to translate the law into practice.
Education
Facilities
What better way to expose students to architecture than have them redesign the buildings they spend most of their days in—their schools.
Future Building
What better way to expose students to architecture than have them redesign the buildings they spend most of their days in—their schools.
Teacher Preparation
Texas College to Require Education Students to Buy Laptops
Prospective teachers training at the University of Texas at Austin will be required to purchase Apple laptop computers next fall for use in their education classes and student-teaching assignments.
Education
Retrospective
Officials in more than half the nation's major cities are bracing themselves for the worst because of unprecedented unemployment rates among teenagers; censorship in schools and libraries more than triples; Utah officials brace for an enrollment boom; Texas is raising standards for would-be teachers; and more.
Officials in more than half the nation's major cities are bracing themselves for the worst because of unprecedented unemployment rates among teenagers; censorship in schools and libraries more than triples; Utah officials brace for an enrollment boom; Texas is raising standards for would-be teachers; and more.
Equity & Diversity
N.H. Court: Accountability A Constitutional Duty
New Hampshire's highest court, in a decision that school finance experts around the country will likely be studying in the coming months, has ruled that the Granite State is not doing enough to hold local schools accountable for the quality of education they provide.
States
Gov. Dean Questions Wisdom Of Accepting ESEA Money
Giving voice to mounting frustration among state officials, the governor of Vermont says it might make sense for his state to reject $26 million in federal money rather than comply with the new education law President Bush engineered.
Education
Clarification
A photograph of a Lego robot that appeared on Page 35 of the April 24, 2002, issue of Education Week as part of a story on "microdevelopment" research ("Research: Under the Microscope"), should have noted that the photo was published courtesy of professor Nira Granott of the University of Texas at Dallas, and was used in research she conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab.
Education
State Journal
Parent Power
In a state education budget of more than $6 billion, a $2 million program that serves just 2 percent of Georgia's elementary students might not seem too important.
Education
News in Brief: A National Roundup
- Florida Board Approves Gay Sensitivity Training
- Michigan Judge Orders Truant's Mother to School
- Mother-Daughter Work Day to Shift Focus, Include Boys
- Reno Casinos Roll Dice, Support Arts in Schools
- L.A. School Bars Recruiters After Muslim Student Detained
- Priest Returns to Fla. School; Allegations Deemed Unfounded
- Two Columbine Students Suspended for 'Hit List'