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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis:
Early-College High Schools Show Promise
Evidence is mounting that early-college high schools work. And as high schools look to redesign, some researchers are examining the model with great hope for engaging students. Students in early-college high schools have a 93 percent graduation rate, compared with the national average of about 78 percent, according to Jobs for the Future, which has 246 early-college schools with 75,000 students in its network. (Education Week – College Bound)
The Precedent for NCLB District Waivers
State education officials in California have offered a tepid blessing of the No Child Left Behind waiver application that a group of nine districts have submitted to the U.S. Department of Education. (Education Week – Politics K-12)
CPS School Closing Fight: Protests By Students Heat Up As Concern Over Violence From Closures Grows
Just days after the Chicago Public School district revealed its list of 54 school closings — plus six turnaround schools and 11 consolidations — students have taken to the streets in protest. (Huffington Post)
Congress Tweaks State Special Education Spending Mandates
States that run afoul of federal rules for special education funding will be punished—though not forever—under a technical, but important tweak to state maintenance of effort under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The change, which was crafted with the help of the U.S. Department of Education, was included in the giant spending bill for the rest of this fiscal year (better known in Inside the Beltway as a continuing resolution, or CR) that Congress passed this month. (Education Week – Politics K-12)
Rand Paul pushes federal school vouchers
Sen. Rand Paul, a rising star in the Republican Party, is pushing for a federal voucher program that sounds similar to one advanced by Mitt Romney when he was running for president. (Washington Post – Answer Sheet)
New York:
Deal May End City’s Standoff With Teachers
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and legislative leaders said on Monday that they had reached an agreement to help New York City and its teachers’ union settle on a teacher evaluation system and save the city from losing hundreds of millions of dollars in future education financing. (New York Times)