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Nine districts submit waiver for relief from NCLB
A collaborative of nine California school districts is submitting today a first-of-its-kind waiver seeking relief from the harshest sanctions of the No Child Left Behind law. The proposal would commit the participating districts to a new accountability system, focusing on student achievement but deemphasizing standardized test scores. The existing requirements and penalties would remain in effect for all of the other districts in the state. If U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan consents, the districts in … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discipline, Equity issues, Evaluations, Featured, No Child Left Behind, Reporting & Analysis, Teachers, Tests & Assessments, U.S. Education Policy
Districts drop at-large elections to comply with voting rights law
Next week, Pasadena Unified voters will elect school board members by trustee areas for the first time, switching from at-large elections in which all candidates compete districtwide. Education Week reports that dozens of California school districts have switched to trustee areas to encourage racial and ethnic diversity on their boards and avoid being sued under the California Voting Rights Act of 2001. The law outlaws at-large elections that thwart minority voters from electing candidates of their choice. The EdWeek piece quotes Peter Fagan, a partner in the Los Angeles-based law firm Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost, who says, “While not all school districts are rushing to shift, in today’s budget climate very few have the desire to fight these lawsuits. The only safe harbor for districts is to shift to trustee-area elections, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Quick Hits, School Boards, State Board of Education
NIH study shows early math matters
Another in a series of peer reviewed studies demonstrating the importance of early math was released Wednesday. A study conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Development, one of the National Institutes of Health, found that children’s 1st grade math skills predicted their math abilities in 7th grade. The study followed nearly 200 children of varying socioeconomic backgrounds from several elementary schools in Columbia, MO. Researchers tested students on math tasks that measured students’ basic understanding of how numbers work, known in the fielld as “numeracy skills.” Specifically, researchers tested children’s competence with addition strategies, number line estimates and number set manipulation. In plain English, researchers asked children how they arrived at the answer to simple addition problems, had them place a number in the correct spot on a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Early Childhood, Quick Hits, Science, Math (STEM)
Academy backs alternatives to ‘zero tolerance’ discipline
Pediatricians should encourage schools to rely on alternatives to expulsions and out-of-school suspensions except in the most severe situations where safety is an issue, the American Academy of Pediatrics said in a policy statement published this week. In its paper, the Academy is reiterating its position that zero tolerance practices are “of such severity that their application and appropriateness for a developing child require periodic review.” The paper adds that “out-of-school suspensions and expulsions can contribute to the risk of a student dropping out of high school.” The policy statement is in line with legislation (Assembly Bill 420) proposed by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson, D-Sacramento, to eliminate the use of “willful defiance” as a reason for expulsions or out-of-school suspensions. That category accounts for more than 40 percent of suspensions statewide and has … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discipline, Dropout prevention, K-12 Challenges, Interventions, Quick Hits
For now, K-12 districts can wait and watch sequestration unroll
K-12 districts have one advantage over meat inspectors, military contractors, national parks staff, air traffic controllers, Head Start operators (see story) and others facing immediate cuts in federal funding as of Friday’s sequester deadline: time. Because of how districts budget their money, the 5.1 percent reductions in federal revenue that would go into effect March 1 under sequestration won’t be felt by districts until the start of their new fiscal year, July 1. That gives … Read entire article »
Filed under: Disabilities education, English learners, Featured, Poverty, Reporting & Analysis, Special Needs, Title I, U.S. Education Policy
Head Start administrators get little guidance on impact of sequester
UPDATE: March 5, 2013 – Five days into the sequester, Head Start administrators are still reporting that they have had no communication from the federal government about how or when the cuts will begin to affect their programs. EdSource Today will continue to follow this story. Just weeks after President Barack Obama proposed a massive expansion of preschool in his State of the Union address, Head Start administrators are bracing for sequester cuts that could reduce … Read entire article »
Filed under: Early Childhood, Featured, Funding and Taxation, Head Start, Reporting & Analysis
LAO would cut money from basic aid districts, other programs Brown would protect
The Legislative Analyst’s Office has added its endorsement of Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal for sweeping school finance reform, praising the simplicity and clarity of Brown’s funding formula and the “reasonable” amounts of extra money he’d direct to high-needs students. At the same time, in an analysis released last week, the LAO is suggesting a half-dozen changes to the plan, including two that would stir up controversies that Brown woud just as soon avoid. Both changes would … Read entire article »
Filed under: English learners, Featured, Funding and Taxation, Jerry Brown, Poverty, Reporting & Analysis, Revenue and taxes, Weighted Student Funding (Local Control Funding Formula)
Bill would open the door to undergraduate teaching credentials
For the first time in decades, aspiring teachers in California would be able to major in education as undergraduates and get both a preliminary teaching credential and a baccalaureate degree in four years if a bill in the Legislature becomes law. Senate Bill 5, sponsored by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, could result in a dramatic shift in teacher preparation. Distinct among the states, students wishing to become teachers in California are required to major in subjects … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commission on Teacher Credentialing, Featured, Reporting & Analysis, Teachers
Study compliments and questions Brown’s funding formula
An analysis by the Public Policy Institute of California, released Wednesday, praises Gov. Jerry Brown’s overall plan for school finance reform, while raising questions about elements of the formula that would steer substantially more money to disadvantaged students. “The governor’s series of reform proposals are in keeping with many of the principles of good school finance reform,” conclude Margaret Weston, a PPIC research fellow, and Heather Rose, a UC Davis associate professor of education. And his … Read entire article »
Filed under: Categorical Funding, Featured, Finance, Reporting & Analysis, Student spending, Weighted Student Funding (Local Control Funding Formula)
Brown’s new funding formula should be just the first step
February 25th, 2013 | 11 Comments
By Seth Rosenblatt / commentary ~ EdSource Extra
I want to like the governor’s proposal — I really do. Governor Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula is certainly the first sign of real and meaningful education finance reform in decades. As a very active voice decrying our dysfunctional system, I should be jumping for joy right now, shouldn’t I? The governor absolutely needs to be commended for his political courage and vision to change this system, and the notion of directing more money to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, Featured, Funding and Taxation, Weighted Student Funding (Local Control Funding Formula)