Archive for February 2013
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February 28, 2013
Student panel offers expert advice to lawmakers on evaluating schools
If the state wants an accurate accounting of how its schools are performing, it should find a way to include student input in its Academic Performance Index, said those perhaps closest to the issue - the students themselves - at a state hearing Wednesday.
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February 27, 2013
Assembly student suspension bill fits newest pediatric advice
Democratic Assemblyman Roger Dickinson is back with another bill aimed at limiting school suspensions or expulsions -- butt this time with support from new guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics that says kicking kids out of school is ineffective, counterproductive and contributes to the risk of a student dropping out of school.
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February 26, 2013
CTC confronts possible litigation over English learners and internship duties
A long-festering dispute over the classroom capabilities of enrollees in teacher internship programs is set to break open again, as state credentialing officials consider a legal challenge to its policies governing English learner instruction.
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February 26, 2013
Annual ed survey finds serious skepticism over common core
Only 17 percent of teachers and 22 percent of school principals believe the new common core curriculum standards will improve student achievement or prepare them for college and the workforce, according to findings of a new national poll.
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February 26, 2013
Reminder: Sequester cuts will be delayed until July
As Friday's sequestration deadline looms closer, the White House released over the weekend a detailed, state-by-state analysis of the impacts of the automatic cuts - with an emphasis on education. But a memo last summer set July, 2013 as the date when cuts would begin.
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February 25, 2013
LAO calls for Title I-like compliance on extra state money for disadvantaged
To better ensure school districts spend billions of dollars in support of disadvantaged students - as proposed by the governor - lawmakers should adopt compliance requirements similar to the federal Title I program, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst recommended late last week.
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February 24, 2013
Lawmakers consider priority options in awarding billions for energy projects
School districts with above-average utility bills and those in economically-disadvantaged communities would be first in line for a share of some $2.5 billion in energy efficiency money, under legislation proposed by two powerful state senators.
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February 22, 2013
LAO calls for rejection of Brown’s plans for Prop. 39, adult ed
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst took exception Thursday to key parts of the governor's education budget but generally supported the plan to use a big share of new tax dollars in the coming years to pay off longstanding debts to schools.
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February 22, 2013
Nation’s mega states achieve some improvements but big challenges remain
New analysis from the National Center for Education Statistics shows student performance in California does not fare too well when compared to the nation's four other mega states." "
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February 20, 2013
Bill to suspend STAR next year comes as CA schools pilot new testing
The first large-scale pilot testing of new assessments based on common core curriculum standards got underway Wednesday, a key milestone in which a handful of California schools participated.
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