Beth’s Briefings (3-22-16)

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

 

Sometimes it pays for Washington officials to hear directly from the kinds of students they want to help. About a dozen students and recent graduates from minority-serving colleges visited the Education Department in Washington late last week to tell about their experiences and what they think helps and doesn’t help in the quest to get a college diploma. Among them were African Americans, native Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and first-generation immigrants. (The Washington Post)

 

Before and even after John B. King Jr. was confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Education last week, many people who discussed him assumed that he would be sticking around just for the next 10 months or so. After that, a new presidential administration will take over, and many believe that King will be replaced. (Education Week)

 

The moment for many Americans is seared into their memories. More than 71 million people watched election night on network and cable TV on November 4, 2008—the highest-rated election coverage in almost three decades—and nearly a quarter-million crowded into Grant Park in Chicago to await the results with anticipation. That night, a centuries-old taboo was broken, and a new era in U.S. politics was ushered in with Barack Obama’s sweeping triumph. Beyond the political ramifications, America had elected its first black president and the reactions were swift and dramatic. (The Atlantic)

 

If you sat through the long, first day of negotiated rulemaking at the U.S. Department  of Education on the Every Student Succeeds Act, you heard a lot of high-level ideas about funding inequities and testing—but probably don’t have a clear idea about exactly what regulations for the new law will look like. (Education Week)

 

Next summer, in addition to textbooks, laptops and double-strength coffee, Kansas college students will be able to bring something else to class: guns. By July 2017, all six state universities plus dozens of community colleges and technical schools must allow students to carry concealed weapons on campus. (NPR)

 

The newly elected head of New York state’s education policymaking body said if she were a parent, she would likely opt her child out of the state tests — and would not say if she hopes the boycotts shrink in number this year. (Chalkbeat New York)