Alabama Schools Worry About Effects of Immigration Law

By Rebecca Bright As students in Alabama began a new school year in August, many returned to the same classrooms, cafeterias, and hallways they left in May—yet behind the scenes, their schools have become a battleground, the latest in a national debate over immigration policy. Alabama’s new immigration law, which was signed last June and [...]

Obama Jobs Plan May Call for Repairing Nation’s Schools

President Obama, as part of his jobs plan to be unveiled next week, may ask Congress to invest federal money in districts where school repair work has been delayed for years. Supporters of the idea argue that, unlike projects in which machinery plays a crucial role, fixing up schools would create more jobs. Source: USA Today  

States Push to Teach Personal Finance in Schools

Four states—Utah, Missouri, Tennessee, and Virginia—currently require high school students to take a one-semester course devoted to personal finance, and other states are trying to fit into their schedule. Advocates of financial literacy say one-semester is a good start, but that students need to learn about personal finance over a long period of time. Source: [...]

“Education and the Economy” Back to School Tour – September 7-9

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and senior Department officials will visit states throughout the Midwest for “Education and the Economy,” the Department’s second annual back-to-school bus tour from Sept.7 to Sept. 9. The tour will kick off in Pennsylvania before heading to states around the Great Lakes, including Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and Illinois.

As School Year Begins, States Reel From Education Cuts

By Alain Jehlen and Tim Walker Most school districts are heading into their third straight year of funding cuts, and students will pay the price. The Center for Education Policy (CEP) and the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), two independent think tanks, recently surveyed the national budget landscape and detailed the extent of [...]

Feds Loosen Rules on Reducing Special Ed. Spending

School districts that want to reduce special education spending from one year to the next without restoring what was cut now have the go-ahead from the U.S. Department of Education. This is a shift from previous years when districts, once their special ed, budget was fixed, were not permitted to reduce this funding except for very specific [...]

Analysis: Public School Choice Program Failed to Spark Academic Gains

According to a new independent study, the majority of schools that participated in Los Angeles Unified School District school choice program failed to meet or exceed the district’s average growth in English and math proficiency. Source: Los Angeles Daily News

STEM Education – It’s Elementary

Anthony Murphy, executive director of the National Center for STEM Elementary Education, argues that creating a STEM-educated workforce requires a robust science, technology and math education in elementary school and maybe even earlier. Source: U.S. News & World Report

International Literacy Day – September 8

Celebrated since 1965, when it was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), this event focuses on reading from a global perspective. Visit UNESCO and International Reading Association for more information and activity ideas.

Hurricane Irene Shuts Down Schools Along East Coast

Although it was less ferocious than feared, Hurricane Irene still packed enough of a wallop to keep students out of school in dozens of districts along the Eastern Seaboard and in New England. Source: Education Week

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