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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
More than halfway through Joel Klein’s forthcoming book on his time as the chancellor of New York City’s public schools, he zeros in on what he calls “the biggest factor in the education equation.” (New York Times)
The media and observers across the ideological spectrum were surprised and, in some cases, disconcerted in July 2014 when at the annual American Federation of Teachers (AFT) convention in Los Angeles, the union’s leadership team announced that its Innovation Fund grants of $20,000 to $30,000 were going to be made available to state and local affiliates to critique the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the massive multistate effort to improve student achievement. (Education Next)
Earlier this month, Arne Duncan, the secretary of education, sent what he described as “guidance” to states and school districts reminding them of their obligation to provide schoolchildren with equal resources regardless of race. The guidance, in the form of a “Dear Colleague” letter, invoked the Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision in warning that school districts that shunted minority kids to inferior schools could be held accountable under federal civil rights law. (New York Times)
Public school teachers are divided on the merits of the Common Core State Standards, with 44 percent having a negative opinion of the shared academic goals and another 40 percent of teachers favoring it, according to a new poll released by Gallup this morning. (Education Week)
New Jersey
Acting state Education Commissioner David Hespe told school board members from across the state Tuesday that 90 percent of New Jersey districts are ready for the new computer-based state tests in 2015. (Press of Atlantic City)
New York
The city teachers union has taken another step to thwart a high-profile lawsuit against teacher tenure in New York State, asking the court to throw out the suit altogether. (Chalkbeat)