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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News & analysis:
Bennett Loses Indiana Chief’s Post, Charters Win in Georgia
Indiana schools chief Tony Bennett, a Republican who implemented major changes to teacher evaluations and school accountability since taking office in 2008, was unseated Tuesday by Democratic Glenda Ritz, among the state-level electoral outcomes nationwide with implications for education policy. (Education Week – State Ed Watch)
Voters approve Brown’s tax measure, Proposition 30, AP says
California voters have approved Gov. Jerry Brown’s measure to temporarily increase the state sales tax by a quarter-cent and income taxes on the wealthy by 1% to 3%, according to the Associated Press. Brown had warned that if voters rejected the measure, billions of dollars would be cut from public education. (Los Angeles Times)
Congress Likely to Stay Divided, Will Gridlock on K-12 Continue?
The U.S. House of Representatives is likely to stay in GOP hands and the Senate under Democratic control, according to the Associated Press. Over the past two years, that combination has meant a lot of sniping and not much action on big issues, including the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. (Education Week – Politics K-12)
Graduation Rates Latest NCLB Waiver Flash Point
A growing chorus of education policy advocates is urging the U.S. Department of Education to strengthen graduation-rate accountability in states that have earned waivers under the No Child Left Behind Act . (Education Week)
Republican incumbent loses spot on education board
The social conservatives on the Texas Board of Education lost a key vote on Tuesday when Republican incumbent Carlos “Charlie” Garza lost to Democrat Martha Dominguez, likely helping move the board in a more moderate direction. “Two years ago, their dominance started to wane. And this cycle it has further waned,” said Monty Exter, a lobbyist with the Association of Texas Professional Educators. (Education Week)
View Points:
Rick Hess: Four More Years: What Now?
President Obama won reelection last night, after a campaign that featured a lot of talk of “Romnesia” and much less discussion of what he’d do in a second term. It gave me a strong sense of deja vu: not for 2008, but for 2004, when President Bush slogged to a similarly narrow, ugly victory by dousing Senator John Kerry in buckets of mud. As the Washington Post’s Charles Lane mentioned yesterday, President Obama is “the second president in a row to win election as a uniter- and then campaign for reelection by trashing his opponent.” (Education Week – Rick Hess Straight Up)