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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News & analysis:
Sandy’s Storm Damage Keeps Schools Closed in N.Y.C., N.J.
Two days after Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the Eastern Seaboard, widespread power outages, flooding, and other aftereffects of the storm continued to keep thousands of schools shuttered and millions of students out of classrooms in what is shaping up to be one of the largest disruptions to schooling in the United States in recent years. (Education Week)
LA Loses $40 Million Of Race To The Top Funds Because Of Teachers’ Union Resistance To Evaluations
The Los Angeles Unifed School District (LAUSD) has just lost out on $40 million of free federal money because the teachers union has declined to sign the district’s Race to the Top grant application. (Huffington Post)
Wis. judge overturns gov’s education powers
A portion of state law that gives the governor the power to approve or block new education rules and policies is unconstitutional, a Madison judge ruled Tuesday. (San Francisco Gate)
Craig Barrett, Ex-Intel CEO And Charter School Executive, Praises Arizona’s ‘Massive’ Educational Transformation
Craig Barrett has expressed strong opinions on Arizona’s education system. In 2011, Barrett, former chief executive of Intel, told lawmakers and business leaders that Arizona would not be on Intel’s list of top 10 choices if his former company was looking to build a new operation. (Huffington Post)
Texas School Funding Must Increase By $8 Billion Per Year To Meet State’s Rigorous New Academic Standards, Expert Says
Texas will need to spend an additional $8 billion annually in order for its students to meet the state’s new college and career-readiness standards, school funding expert and educational consultant Lynn Moak testified on Monday. (Huffington Post)
In Ohio, Teachers Run For Statehouse — And Could Give Obama A Boost
Teachers unions in Ohio are supporting President Obama in the race for the White House. But way down the ballot, in races for the state Legislature, it’s teachers themselves who want some support on Nov. 6. A dozen teachers, all of them Democrats, are running for seats in Ohio’s House and Senate. The surge is a byproduct of last year’s fight over Senate Bill 5, the state law that would have curbed public employees’ collective bargaining rights. (NPR)
View Points:
Jeanne Allen: Why Mitt Romney is a better choice for education reform
“We can fix our schools because we don’t get the biggest share of our campaign donations from the teachers’ unions.” This short, simple statement from Gov. Mitt Romney in an October 24 speech in Nevada sums up the real distinction between education reformers and protectors of the status quo, and reveals why when it comes to education policy, Romney would be a superior president – because he promised to put children, parents and teachers first, and to “put the teachers’ unions behind.” (CNN – Schools of Thought)