Add single-gender classes to the list of casualties of the economic downturn.
South Carolina, a “national leader in offering single-gender programs in public schools,” is seeing a significant decline in the number of schools offering boys-only and girls-only courses, reports the Associated Press.
The story says the practice had rapidly expanded to nearly 220 last spring, and more schools had hoped to add the option. But about 60 schools have had to drop the option after losing teachers to budget cuts, since there were no longer enough faculty members to teach co-ed and single-gender courses, the story explains.
For the bigger picture on state and school budgets, check out a recent story by my colleague Lesli Maxwell. She cites one state budget analyst as concluding that about half the states are poised to slash spending on K-12 education in fiscal 2011.