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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
National
Exclusive: Ahead of a Key Supreme Court Decision, America’s Largest Teachers Union Slashes Budget by $50 Million, Projects That 300,000 Members May Leave
The nation’s largest teachers union plans to reduce its budget by $50 million in anticipation of an unfavorable verdict in Janus v. AFSCME, a case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in February that challenges the right of government unions to charge non-members for representing them. When delegates to the National Education Association meet in Minneapolis in July, union leaders will introduce a two-year budget that cuts expenditures by $50 million, an estimated 13 percent reduction from this year. (The 74)
Education Department Launches ‘Top-To-Bottom’ Review Of Teachers’ Grant Program
It’s a financial nightmare for public school teachers around the country: Federal grants they received to work in low-income schools were converted to thousands of dollars in loans that they now must pay back. NPR revealed these problems in a series of recent stories. The Department of Education now tells NPR it has launched a new, “top-to-bottom” internal review of all aspects of the TEACH grant program. Officials say the review is aimed at fixing the issues and that the department is “absolutely committed to improving” the program. (NPR)
Report: Evidence-Building Opportunities Under ESSA: How States Can and Should Generate Evidence to Drive Better Outcomes for Students
The December 2015 passage of the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) marked a dramatic shift in recent federal education policy by granting states and school districts significantly more authority and flexibility to design education systems that reflect local needs and priorities. However, with increased flexibility comes increased responsibility and accountability for results. This is especially true with respect to states’ charge to improve outcomes in the lowest-performing schools. (Chiefs for Change)
States
New Jersey
New Jersey hit with major lawsuit arguing it must end school segregation
The New Jersey law that requires most children to attend public school within their communities has led to some of the worst school segregation in the nation, prompting a coalition to sue the state to overturn that law and potentially reshape the state’s system into one that is very different, and integrated. To judge the magnitude of the legal action, it’s headed by former associate justice of the state Supreme Court Gary Stein, chair of the New Jersey Coalition for Diverse and Inclusive Schools, which coordinated the suit. Stein has been joined by other notable activists and social organizations. (WHYY)
Pennsylvania
Phila. Schools Take a Systematic Route to Better Discipline
Philadelphia leaders hope that digging into the culture, training, and assistance for schools will help them make headway on one of the thorniest problems facing educators today: curbing schools’ use of discipline practices that take students out of the classroom. Philadelphia is one of many districts nationwide that has been trying to limit out-of-school suspensions and reduce racial gaps among students who receive exclusionary discipline, but results so far have been uneven both in Philadelphia and across the country. (Education Week)
Tennessee
School boards across Tennessee scrap TNReady scores from students’ grade
As the school year comes to a close following the standardized testing debacle that concluded in Tennessee this month, many school districts have decided the scores won’t count toward students’ final grades. Shelby County Schools, the state’s largest district, will take up the issue Tuesday when the school board meets in a work session. Earlier this year, the district was one of about half of the state’s school systems that reported to the state it likely would not use the scores because the results were not expected to be received at least five school days before the end of the year. But that early tally was unofficial. (Chalkbeat)