Beth’s Briefings (10-14-15)

Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:

 

College affordability got a few minutes during the Democratic presidential debate Tuesday night, with front-runner Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) promoting their competing ideas to lower student debt and eliminate tuition costs at public colleges and universities. (The Washington Post)

 

There were plenty of quick shout-outs to education during the Democratic presidential candidates’ very first debate in Las Vegas. But if you were hoping for a meaty discussion of the big issues facing K-12—testing, teacher evaluation, fixing low-performing schools—you were out of luck. (That’s been a trend in the Democratic primary so far.) (Education Week)

 

In the 1990s, many institutions made a concerted effort to hire more black faculty members. The universities were propelled by a number of civil-rights lawsuits in higher education whose outcomes mandated swift action by states to remedy the effects of segregation in higher education and by White House guidelines reaffirming the need for affirmative action. These schools, including Duke University and the University of Michigan, sought intentionally to recruit faculty of color to their ranks. (The Atlantic)

 

Hoping to offer more alternatives, particularly to low-income students considering substandard for-profit colleges, the Education Department is unveiling a pilot program on Wednesday to allow students to use federal loans and grants for nontraditional education like boot camp software coding programs and MOOCs, or massive open online courses. (The New York Times)

 

The former chief executive of the nation’s third-largest school district pleaded guilty to fraud Tuesday, just days after being indicted in what prosecutors described as a kickback and bribery scheme. (The Wall Street Journal)

 

The union representing Los Angeles teachers has pulled together a coalition of other employee unions to oppose a controversial plan to more than double the number of local students attending charter schools. (Los Angeles Times)

 

Tiffany Hall, a social worker, says her 4-year-old daughter can count to 100, use an extensive vocabulary and admonish her parents with precocious phrases, such as, “You are not communicating clearly with me.” (The Wall Street Journal)