麻豆原创

School Funding Litigation/Policy

• IL school districts wait for state aid; if the money is received after June 30, it could affect how much it will cost districts to borrow money
  

State Roundup

• KY immigrant teenagers are five times more likely to drop out of high school than their American-born counterparts, says study
  
• KY committee joins in movement to recruit older adults as advocates for pre-kindergarten programs serving 3- and 4-year-olds
  
• PA Board of Education's controversial proposal for high school exit exams takes another hit, this time from the state House Education Committee
  

Other News

• House approves budget plan for controversial private school voucher program for the District of Columbia
  

• Study says ambitious OK public pre-kindergarten program boosts skills dramatically, and says that universal preschool benefits both low-income and middle-class kids
  
• A large majority of Americans believe schools should focus on math, according to poll
  

• Schools that report low achievement for English-language learners also report low achievement for white and African-American students
  
• Elementary-school teachers are poorly prepared by education schools to teach math
  

School Funding Litigation/Policy

• MI lawmakers agree on a new budget that would increase per-pupil funding by about $72 in the basic state K-12 grant to public school districts
  
• SC Supreme Court hears school funding arguments
  
• SC advocates approach state Supreme Court to direct the Legislature to provide students with a better opportunity to receive a constitutionally mandated education
  

State Roundup

• CA court reconsiders a sweeping ruling that undercuts the thriving home school movement
  
• CT student population will drop 17 percent in the next 12 years, according to a new study
  
• Parents of special-needs children in NC call on lawmakers to approve an annual tax credit to let their children attend private schools when public schools fail to address their needs
  
• Environmentalists and community activists urge governor to order studies to assure NJ schools will not be erected on dangerously polluted properties
  

Federal/NCLB

• Achievement in mathematics and reading has risen on state tests and the gap between white and minority students has narrowed since the passage of NCLB, says study
  

Other News

• New law reflects a growing national movement to award high school credit for foreign language proficiency
  
• Film suggests that for inner-city schools to succeed, they need more than standardized tests to measure students' reading and math skills
  

School Funding Litigation/Policy

• AZ Senate appears to reach a bipartisan budget deal that would close a $1.9 billion shortfall in fiscal 2009 and avert state shutdown
  
• CA Assembly approves legislation that appears destined for a showdown with Gov. Schwarzenegger over penalties for the state's lowest-performing school districts
  

State Roundup

• CA advocates urge state appellate court to overturn decision that restricts the ability of parents to educate their children at home, but lawyers call for a more narrow ruling from the lower court
  
• GA, the first state to offer universal voluntary pre-kindergarten, now falls behind other states in educational programs for 4-year-olds
  
• NY students improve significantly in reading and math scores, with particularly striking leaps in large urban areas
  

• Education's moment in the national political sun has come and gone, but whoever grabs the country's highest bully pulpit could impact every classroom in

School Funding Litigation/Policy

• MI will implement changes for the 2008-09 school year, districts will receive state funding proportionate to the number of students enrolled for the first time since Katrina
  
• NJ legislature adds $1.4 billion to a $2.5 billion bond issue for building public schools
  
• Glitch in OH’s funding formula will force some schools to pay back the state for extra money they received, even though they were unaware that they were getting more than they were supposed to
  

State Roundup

• AR exam scores show a narrowing of the achievement gap between whites and minorities on most tests
  
• CA appeals court will meet to reconsider its ruling to require in-home instructors to have teaching credentials
  
• MA governor will unveil recommendations that seek to dramatically change the way education is delivered and funded
  
• TX might adopt stricter standards to certify teachers, but some districts fear the proposal will deepen struggles to fill classroom jobs
  
• VA parents brace for changes in special education; proposal would allow school officials to end special services for a child without parents' approval
  
  
  

Published Thursday, Jul. 3, 2008