NATIONAL

America’s K-12 Education Strategy
Forbes, January 15, 2010
Notice, though, that typical public school kids are not at K12. “The range of kids is enormous, but they all share one thing in common: a local school that for some reason is not meeting their needs.

FROM THE STATES

Alabama

State BOE Supports Charter School Legislation
Montgomery Advertiser, AL, January 15, 2010
The state school board approved a resolution Thursday supporting legislation to allow charter schools in Alabama, a step that could help the state’s application for $200 million in federal funds.

California

Bidders for LAUSD Schools Begin Presenting Plans To Parents Today
Los Angeles Times, CA, January 14, 2010
Parents today will attend the first formal presentations by groups competing to take over their neighborhood schools. The gatherings are the next step in a plan that allows groups inside or outside the Los Angeles Unified School District to bid for control of 12 existing schools and 18 new campuses. The plan was approved by the school board in August.

Delaware

Delaware’s Education Plan Approved by State Board
Dover Post, DE, January 14, 2010
The Delaware State Board of Education approved key elements of Governor Jack Markell’s education reform plan Jan. 14. The new regulations improve the system for evaluating teacher and administrator performance, while also targeting schools that need more assistance to ensure that all of Delaware’s children have the opportunity to succeed.

Florida

Florida Council of 100 Business Group Makes Suggestions for Tenure, Bright Futures
Miami Herald, FL, January 15, 2010
A new report by a business group takes aim at two heavily-defended aspects of Florida education.

Georgia

Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Change
WCTV, GA, January 14, 2010
For parents of the 1,200 special needs kids in the Lowndes County school system, this means parents will have more time to explore their transfer options.

Illinois

The GA Races For “Race To The Top” Funding
Progress Illinois, IL, January 14, 2010
Yesterday, the General Assembly returned to Springfield and, as expected, the state’s mounting budget crisis was remained on the back-burner thanks to the looming primary election. In lieu of debating ways to fill the deficit, lawmakers focused their efforts on education legislation — specifically, a bill aimed at boosting Illinois’ chances of snagging upwards of $500 million in “Race to the Top” (RTTT) federal funding.

Indiana

So Where’s The Reform Part?
Indianapolis Star, IN, January 15, 2010
Kevin Chavous, who will speak to the Economic Club on Wednesday at the Convention Center, helped win an internal debate about education among the president’s advisers last year. Obama, siding with the reformers, called for merit pay for teachers and federal incentives to promote charter schools.

Kentucky

Charter School Debate Continues
Lexington News-Leader, KY, January 15, 2010
Thanks to Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr of Lexington for averting a train wreck by casting the deciding vote against a charter school amendment.

Maryland

No. 1 in Education Isn’t Good Enough
Baltimore Sun, MD, January 15, 2010
Maryland achieved an odd distinction this week. It was rated by Education Week magazine as having the top school system in the nation for the second year in a row. And it was ranked by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools as having the worst charter school law in the country. It would be easy to dismiss the report by the charter schools advocacy group — after all, if we’re No. 1, why bother with charter schools?

Massachusetts

Lawmakers Approve Education Bill
Boston Globe, MA, January 15, 2010
Governor Deval Patrick predicted last night that the Legislature’s approval of a sweeping education bill would bring to an end a chronic achievement gap between students of different socioeconomic backgrounds and would probably enhance the state’s chances of receiving $250 million in new federal stimulus money.

New York

Throwing the Race: Assembly Must Not Wreck Charter Schools And Lose Federal Aid
New York Daily News, NY, January 15, 2010
With just days to go before the Legislature must pass education reforms for New York to have a shot at up to $700 million in federal Race to the Top aid, fears are mounting that Albany is about to attempt a destructive bait-and-switch con.

School Labor Pains
New York Post, NY, January 15, 2010
The state’s powerful, 2.5-million-member AFL-CIO is using its muscle in a bid to thwart Gov. Paterson’s plan to lift the cap on charter schools and undermine cash-starved New York’s effort to qualify for $700 million in federal education aid, sources said.

Pennsylvania

It Shouldn’t Matter Where Students Succeed
The Morning Call, PA, January 15, 2010
Since when is it bad for students to excel in spite of the failings of the public school? Ms. Scott asks why the taxpayer should ”get the bill” for a charter school while not questioning excessive taxes paid to the public school system. Homeowners of charter school students also pay school taxes.

Rhode Island

We Need ‘Race to Top’
Providence Journal, RI, January 15, 2010
Whatever the stance of Rhode Island’s two teachers unions (which tend to favor the status quo), we suspect most Rhode Islanders applaud the effort by state officials to bring in $100 million from the U.S. Education Department under the “Race to the Top” program — especially in this deep recession.

South Carolina

Change Needed To Fix Education
Anderson Independent Mail, SC, January 15, 2010
Thursday, Jan. 7, more than 150 people met in Columbia to hear plans to improve education in South Carolina. South Carolina has a high school graduation rate of 55 percent, the lowest SAT scores in the South and still spends 40 percent of the general fund on education. Substantial change is needed to fix the system.

Tennessee

Teacher Tenure Plan Advances
The Tennessean, TN, January 15, 2010
Gov. Phil Bredesen’s proposal to base up to half of teacher evaluations and tenure decisions on student achievement data is headed for a full Senate vote and is advancing in the House.

Tenn. Gubernatorial Hopefuls Hold Education Forum
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN, January 15, 2010
Tennessee’s seven major gubernatorial hopefuls touted their education goals in a candidate forum at Belmont University on Thursday.

Washington

Governor Shares Plan for School Reform
Seattle Times, WA, January 15, 2010
Gov. Chris Gregoire has a long list of education reforms she’d like the Legislature to approve to set Washington up to compete for federal Race to the Top dollars, including a plan to put experienced teachers on probation after several years of poor evaluations.