Public schools

TEK task force will be catalyst to reinvigorate public support for K-12 education

October 19, 2009 -- LEXINGTON, Ky. – In a move to re-energize the support of public schools that nearly 20 years ago sparked Kentucky to implement the nation’s most comprehensive school reform, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear today launched his new education initiative, Transforming Education in Kentucky (TEK). The goal is to create a unified vision of what schools in the Commonwealth need to offer in order to better serve students today and tomorrow.    » read more »

Number of Children with Food Allergies and Number of Severe Allergic Reactions Have Skyrocketed in Recent Years

October 7, 2009 -- Today U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that he will push legislation to address the growing problem of potentially life-threatening allergic reactions in school age children. Schumer said that despite growing numbers of allergic reactions, schools lack resources to train parents, students, faculty and staff in the best way to prevent and treat these incidents. He also said that there are no federal guidelines that detail how schools can address student allergies, which has resulted in neighboring school districts, and even neighboring schools, having different policies with wildly different results.    » read more »

Secretary Duncan Announces $3.5 Billion in Title I School Improvement Grants to Fund Transformational Changes Where Children Have Long Been Underserved

August 26, 2009 -- Today, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced draft requirements for $3.5 billion in Title I School Improvement grants to turn around the nation's lowest performing schools.    » read more »

6/19/2009 -- Raleigh -- North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue today signed Senate Bill 754, enabling North Carolina schools to use interest-free bonds for school construction, repair and renovation as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

“Our children need a welcoming and encouraging learning environment, one that makes them excited to come to school every day,” Perdue said. “These bonds create a win-win situation – new jobs and better classrooms.”

The bill enables local education agencies to administer $275,772,000 in bonding authority for new, qualified school construction bonds (QSCB) and gives $56,699,000 in bonding authority to continue qualified zone academy bonds (QZAB).    » read more »

June 19, 2009 -- AUGUSTA – Maine Governor John E. Baldacci today signed LD 285, An Act to Amend the Laws Governing the Consolidation of School Administrative Units to Delay All Penalties for One Year.

“Our intention has never been to punish school districts,” Governor Baldacci said. “What we want is a more efficient and affordable system that puts available resources to work for students instead of paying for unnecessary administration.”

“After careful consideration, I have decided to sign this legislation, which will delay penalties for one year for school districts that have not reorganized. This delay will give those districts working in good faith toward restructuring time to complete their work.”    » read more »

Legislation Prompted by Sudden Death of NFA Student

June 18, 2009 -- Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell today signed a bill that makes automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) available in schools and ensures at least two staff members are trained to use the live-saving equipment.

“This is legislation is intended to do one thing – save lives, precious lives,” Governor Rell said during a bill-signing ceremony at Norwich Free Academy. “It is in the best interest of our children and our communities.”    » read more »

June 8, 2009 -- U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said today that school reforms should be monitored and judged by results that can be backed up by research proving their effectiveness.

Speaking at the fourth annual conference of the Institute of Education Sciences, Duncan told an audience of education researchers that supporting states' efforts to build warehouses of data on student achievement is one of his top priorities.

"Education reform is not about sweeping mandates or grand gestures," Duncan told the group of researchers who conduct research for IES, which is an independent section of the Education Department. "It's about systematically examining and learning, building on what we've done right, and scrapping what hasn't worked for kids."    » read more »

Legislation Named for Ohio High School Student Would Place Defibrillators in Schools

June 8, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators George V. Voinovich (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) reintroduced a bill to establish a grant program to put automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in elementary and secondary schools across the country.

“Josh Miller’s untimely passing stands as a tragic reminder that our schools need better life-saving equipment to handle sudden cardiac arrest,” Sen. Voinovich said. “In addition to being houses of learning, schools are also central gathering places in our communities. These easy-to-use devices have the potential to save millions of lives of children, teachers, administrators, parents and staff.”    » read more »

Educators emphasize concerns about ineffective evaluation systems

WASHINGTON - June 01, 2009 - A report released today by The New Teacher Project identifies how poor teacher performance is rarely identified or addressed, and argues that the reasons school districts retain low-performing teachers have less to do with tenure and due process and more to do with flawed evaluation systems.

The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in Teacher Effectiveness highlights a position that NEA has long advocated: the need for comprehensive evaluation systems designed to help teachers enhance their own professional practice. Using case studies in four districts, the report shows how schools fail to identify or act on differences in teacher performance.    » read more »

June 1, 2009 -- Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri and Commissioner of Primary and Secondary Education Peter McWalters today joined the Common Core State Standards Initiative, a state-led process to develop common English-language arts and mathematics standards. The Common Core State Standards Initiative will be jointly led by the NGA Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).    » read more »

May 31, 2009 -- As legislative conferees continue talking about the Fiscal Year 2010 budget, it’s important they and the public know the facts about education funding. For school year 2009-2010, our K-12 schools will receive nearly $200 million more than they have ever received in any fiscal year, a 7.8 percent increase over the previous highest year’s funding and a 10.6 percent increase over the funding public education actually received last year.    » read more »

June 1, 2009 -- HONOLULU – Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle and State School Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto today announced Hawaii’s participation in a nationwide program led by the states to ensure public school students have the knowledge and skills they need to compete in the global economy.

Governor Lingle and Superintendent Hamamoto have co-signed a Memorandum of Agreement that commits Hawaii to participate in the process of developing a common core of state standards that are internationally benchmarked. The national effort will be led by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices.    » read more »

PHOENIX – During a bill signing ceremony at the State Capitol, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer today signed HB2001 into law. HB 2001 will allow parents of disabled and foster children to continue to choose and utilize the school that best serves the needs of their children.

“I am so honored and proud to sign into law this important legislation,” Governor Brewer stated. “These foster parents and parents of disabled students selected an educational environment that is best suited for their children, and this bill will allow them to continue on the educational path that they have chosen."    » read more »

May 31, 2009, Anchorage, Alaska – Alaska Governor Sarah Palin announced that the State of Alaska has chosen to monitor but not yet actively participate in the upcoming initiative to create nationwide common core state standards in reading and math.

The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers have announced they intend to work with states to formulate standards in English and math for kindergarten through grade 12 by December 2009.    » read more »