Afternoon Announcements: August 1, 2011

Education Week reports that the debt ceiling fix could mean problems for schools, citing Rep. George Miller, the top Democrat on the House education committee, who warned that the reductions contained in the debt ceiling legislation are “going to make life much more difficult" for public schools.

The Los Angeles Times reports that after a particularly brutal budgeting season this summer, states and school districts across the country have fired thousands of teachers, raised college tuition, relaxed standards, slashed days off the academic calendar and gutted pre-kindergarten and summer school programs.

The Save Our Schools march on Saturday called for teacher-backed reform, reports the Huffington Post. And the Washington Post shares Matt Damon’s speech during the rally. In his opening remarks, he says, “I landed in New York a few hours ago and caught a flight down here because I needed to tell you all in person that I think you’re awesome.”

The Atlantic reports that according to Missouri Senate Bill 54, just signed by state Governor Jay Nixon, any social networking is prohibited between teachers and students; this includes not only Facebook, but any social network “that is exclusive and allows for private communication,” according to ABC News.

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Morning Announcements: July 14, 2011

Education Week reports that the list of delays states are encountering in implementing their Race to the Top plans keeps getting longer; every state but Georgia has now amended its Race to the Top plan in some way, usually to push back a timeline or scale back an initiative.

Yesterday, the House Education and the Workforce Committee approved the State and Local Funding Flexibility Act , which would provide states and school districts with maximum flexibility to shift federal dollars now aimed at particular populations—such as children in poverty—to other programs. Education Week reports that Republicans say the measure, part of a move to begin reauthorizing the ESEA piecemeal, would make it easier for districts and states to direct federal money to where it is needed most, while Democrats argue that the Republicans are proposing too much leeway, and that it would allow districts and states to ignore the students most at risk—poor and minority kids—and trample on students’ civil rights.

 

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