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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
If you’ve been paying attention to Congress this week, you’ve probably noticed lawmakers feverishly trying to come to an agreement about how to avert a government shut-down, which could occur Dec. 11 when the current stop-gap measure that’s financing the U.S. Department of Education is set to expire. (Education Week)
As more states race toward the Common Core’s first spring testing season, the academic standards’ most ardent critics are looking for every chance to eliminate them from state policies. (Real Clear Politics)
Federal officials have again granted Louisiana a waiver from compliance with the Bush-era No Child Left Behind education law. In 2011, the Education Department announced that states could petition for waivers from the law’s ambitious requirements, such as having all students read at grade level by 2014 or else risk their federal funding. In exchange, states pledged to improve how they prepare and evaluate students. The federal Department of Education said Monday that Louisiana, which received a waiver in 2012, had adopted reforms that went above and beyond the law’s requirements. (New York Times)
New York
Britain’s Prince William sat down with President Barack Obama in Washington on Monday and unveiled an effort to curtail illegal wildlife trading while his wife, Kate, made an impression of a down-to-earth duchess on preschoolers and prominent British expats in New York. (ABC News)
The legal fight over job protections for New York teachers is continuing, as the lawyers for the parent plaintiffs have filed a formal rebuttal to teachers unions’ requests to dismiss the lawsuit altogether. (Chalkbeat)