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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
The California Supreme Court announced Aug. 22 that it would not hear Vergara v. California, a landmark case fighting for the educational rights of public-school students. The court’s unwillingness even to consider an issue that Justice Goodwin Liu called “one of the most consequential to the future of California” demonstrates why the federal courts must intervene and recognize that the U.S. Constitution guarantees a fundamental right to education. (The Wall Street Journal)
The New York Times is creating a new, digital-based team of journalists to cover education with new ways of storytelling aimed primarily at the venerable newspaper’s growing online audience. (Education Week)
Recent studies and government reports continue to highlight what many American’s know by their wallets: Rising income differences, debt and stagnant real wages are among the biggest problems besetting the nation. That economic inequality is reflected in America’s schools, right? Absolutely. But a study just out shows that the gap in school readiness between rich and poor children entering kindergarten closed significantly — by 10 to 16 percent —from 1998 to 2010. Some ethnic/racial achievement gaps declined as well. (NPR)
Donald Trump’s campaign for president so far has been, to put it diplomatically, unusual. He has no background in politics, nor experience in elected office. He contradicts himself repeatedly, and then screams press bias when they highlight those very flip-flops. (The Seventy-Four)
Back-to-school season is in full swing, and despite the crispness of new notebook paper and the allure of Friday night lights, it’s hard to ignore the serious inequities, debates, and issues currently hampering America’s education system. Students will walk down hallways they haven’t seen since June with questions of segregation raging around them. Teachers will greet their pupils as public-school systems around the country are flailing. (The Atlantic)
Declines in state support for public universities have helped reshape the geography of public college admissions, leading many students to attend universities far from home, where they pay higher, out-of-state tuition. An analysis of migration patterns among college freshmen shows the states students leave each year and where they go. (The New York Times)
Sandy Hook Elementary is gearing up for the first day of school tomorrow, nearly four years after a gunman killed 20 students and 6 teachers. Students will be entering a brand-new school for the first time, located at the same site as the scene of the tragedy. (NPR)
The school board in this small Birmingham suburb meets monthly, debates district policies and pays a superintendent’s salary. But the Gardendale Board of Education oversees no schools, employs no teachers and enrolls no students. (The Washington Post)