Free Republic

LINCOLN, Neb. In a move decried by some as state-sponsored segregation, the Legislature voted Thursday to divide the Omaha school system into three districts _ one mostly black, one predominantly white and one largely Hispanic. Supporters said the plan would give minorities control over their own school board and ensure that their children are not shortchanged in favor of white youngsters. Republican Gov. Dave Heineman signed the measure into law.

Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein yesterday accelerated his drive to hold educators accountable for student achievement, announcing that New York City's more than 1,400 schools will be graded each year just like students, from A to F. Principals whose schools persistently fail could be removed, he said. Mr. Klein said schools' grades would be determined largely by a more sophisticated analysis of annual standardized test scores. In addition, officials would look at a new set of satisfaction surveys, to be completed by parents, teachers and students. Any effort to remove principals based on the new grades could require changes in...

TALLAHASSEE — When students go to school, they usually have to go to school. That is, walk into a classroom setting, sit down with a teacher and scribble some notes while surrounded by their peers. The Internet age is changing that, and state lawmakers seem ready to jump on the wagon for good. Committees in the [FL] House and Senate advanced bills with little opposition Tuesday that would make Florida's pilot "virtual school" program a permanent reality. The [FL] state Department of Education has been paying private companies to run a pilot program that allows 800 students from kindergarten through...

UNHINGED TEACHER OF THE WEEK By Michelle Malkin   ·   April 08, 2006 09:40 AM The latest government education outrage from Alabama: Christy Jackson does not want a teacher showing her 13-year-old son a video calling the president of the United States an a—hole during class. Nor does she believe her son should be shown Internet videos — which are barred to students by school system controls —that use obscenities. But that is what West Limestone High School eighth grade science teacher Steve White, a Democratic candidate for the District 4 seat on the House of Representatives, is accused of doing....

SCHOOL CREDIT FOR PRO-ILLEGAL KIDS?! By Michelle Malkin   ·   April 08, 2006 04:59 PM Monday is national illegal alien day. (List of events here.) Some schools are suspending students who walk out, but not here in the People's Republic of Montgomery County, Md. They're going to earn school credit for skipping school and protesting enforcement of our immigration laws (via WaPo): The Montgomery County schools' decision to grant students community service credit for attending Monday's immigration rights protest is raising concern among some parents as well as activists who say officials should focus on education, not political advocacy. Montgomery is...

U.S. public school districts spent an average of $8,287 per student in 2004, up from the previous year’s total of $8,019. In all, public elementary and secondary education received $462.7 billion from federal, state and local sources in 2004, up 5.1 percent from 2003. Findings from the 2004 Annual Survey of Local Government Finances – School Systems show that New Jersey spent $12,981 per student in 2004 -- the most among states and state equivalents -- the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. Utah, at $5,008, spent the least per student. New York ($12,930) and the District of Columbia ($12,801) were...

TALLAHASSEE -- Virtually every parent in the state could receive a taxpayer-provided voucher to send their children to private school under a plan approved by a Senate committee Wednesday. The plan would also override the state constitutional ban on the use of public money for religious instruction. While Democrats howled that the proposal would kill the public school system and require the state to fund Taliban schools in Florida, the lukewarm endorsement from Republicans to Gov. Jeb Bush's proposal portends future failure for the effort. It was the latest twist in Bush's torturous efforts to overcome the Florida Supreme Court...

The Neshaminy School District, attempting to end school bullying as we know it, has a policy that punishes not only bullies, but heroes who take on bullies. Say a kid goes to the aid of some poor soul getting the spit kicked out of him, and the hero ends up scuffling with the bully or throwing a punch in self-defense. Neshaminy will punish the hero along with the bully. A case similar to this allegedly occurred about three weeks ago at Ferderbar Elementary School in Feasterville, according to the parents of an 11-year-old student. The parents say the boy is...

In a big win for conservatives, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano has opted not to veto a controversial bill that offers tax credits to businesses that donate to private schools. Napolitano, a Democrat, informed Republican legislative leaders Wednesday that she would not veto and would let a private school tax credit bill become law without her signature. The governor vetoed previous versions of the private school tax credit bill earlier this year and last year during budget and education spending disputes with GOP lawmakers. The vetoes soured already tart relations between Napolitano and state Senate President Ken Bennett and House Speaker...

MARSHALL, Mo. -- An eighth-grader was taken out of class Tuesday because of her hair coloring, KMBC-TV in Kansas City reported. An administrator at Bueker Middle School said the girl's red highlights were distracting to other students. School officials said there is a rule at Bueker that hairstyles that are distracting to the educational process are not allowed. "Doing this is taking away from people's individuality," student Kristen McCorkle said. The 14-year-old, who is a straight-A student, said the school's assistant principal told her she had to go to in-school suspension and that she would be there until her hair...

This past week my organization, CURE, along with the Alliance for School Choice, filed legal action in California against the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Compton Unified School District demanding compliance with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. Specifically, our complaint demands these two major school districts implement provisions under NCLB requiring them to provide and publicize school transfer options for children in failing schools (those not meeting standards set in their own state for two consecutive years). NCLB's provisions for choice, although limited, are vitally important for the success of the law. How can kids be...

Thousands of schools across the nation are responding to the reading and math testing requirements laid out in No Child Left Behind, President Bush's signature education law, by reducing class time spent on other subjects and, for some low-proficiency students, eliminating it. Schools from Vermont to California are increasing — in some cases tripling — the class time that low-proficiency students spend on reading and math, mainly because the federal law, signed in 2002, requires annual exams only in those subjects and punishes schools that fall short of rising benchmarks. The changes appear to principally affect schools and students who...

SCOOP: WHO ARE THE WHINY KIDS? By Michelle Malkin   ·   March 23, 2006 04:11 PM An anonymous tipster sends some intriguing information about the "whiny kids grow up to be conservatives" study conducted by left-wing UC Berkeley prof Jack Block. Wondering where the nursery school kids who were the subjects of the study came from? Check this out: I know exactly which "nursery school" was used as the basis of this study. It is not mentioned anywhere in the text of the 16-page pdf you provided for downloading, but I know because -- well, because I know people who were...

TALLAHASSEE - The Florida House passed Gov. Jeb Bush's "A-plus-plus" plan Thursday despite questions from opponents about its constitutionality. The bill, which passed 85-35, substantially revises Bush's 1999 A-plus education plan, adding subject majors for high-school students and enforcing performance-based pay for teachers. The bill now heads to the Senate... The House also approved a bill denying financial aid to foreign college students on temporary visas from all but Caribbean and Latin American countries. Amid Democrats' accusations of xenophobia, the House voted 96-23 Thursday for the proposal from Rep. Dick Kravitz, R-Orange Park, which would deny state-funded financial assistance to...

March 23, 2006 -- WHAT Florida's teachers unions consider a menace, and what Florida's Supreme Court considers an affront to the state's Constitution, weighs 105 pounds, smiles shyly, speaks softly and wants to be a nurse. Octavia Lopez, 17, an 11th-grader at Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School in the heart of this polyglot city, was enabled to come to this school because of the smallest of three school-choice programs enacted under Gov. Jeb Bush. The Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) currently serves just 733 children statewide, 62 of whom are at this school .... Archbishop Curley, which in 1960 - just...

As a certified Florida teacher, I will give a brief update to those of you who do not have time to wade through all the news now coming out of the FL legislature: the GOP is doing right by teachers, students and parents, and the Dem leaders are dragging their feet, as usual. Also, speaking as an independent, it’s times like these when I can’t help but think: Good thing FL voters elected more GOP leaders in the FL House than Dem leaders, because these Dem leaders don’t seem to know anything about education, as explained below. First of all,...

I watched a small bit of prophecy being fulfilled last week—and sadly, it was happening right on schedule. I had first heard the prediction about 20 years ago. "I know you hear everywhere," said Roy Lowrie, "that the public-school system is about ready to fall apart. Such forecasts are premature. I think that such a collapse is surely coming—but probably not for a decade or two." Mr. Lowrie was a veteran of the educational scene. He was the founding headmaster of the pace-setting Delaware County Christian School in Philadelphia's west suburbs. He was a national leader of the Christian school...

Too many students fail to meet California's standard for proficiency, sparking a simple solution under consideration in the Capitol: redefine "proficient." By changing a few words in state law, legislators could dramatically affect how the federal government rates the state's education system. "I think it's a totally sensible thing to do," said Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley. Critics of Hancock's proposal, Assembly Bill 2975, say the state's goal should be to improve schools, not alter words. Hancock counters that both are needed to avoid severe sanctions in coming years under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, or NCLB. "What all...

In Martha Zoller's recent column, she writes that parents should assert the control that they have by right over the government schools we fund through our taxes. I couldn't agree more. But she makes one comment that merits a challenge: "America is tired of being told we have lousy parents, bad kids and we can’t do anything without the help of government ..." While I'd be the first one to dispute the effectiveness of government “help,” I have enough friends and colleagues who are public school educators to say with confidence that there are many, many good teachers out there,...

A first-year teacher is out of a job for using "vulgar and inappropriate sexual language," according to Brevard County school officials. The School Board dismissed Bayside High math teacher Sylvester Jones for violating the district's code of ethics during a confrontation with students three weeks ago. School officials said Jones read a note passed between students before he made the inappropriate remarks. Thirteen students gave consistent accounts of Jones' comments at Tuesday's board meeting, but Jones said the students misinterpreted his response, which was meant "to get down on their level" and "capture their attention." Jones said he plans to...