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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
The Obama Administration will release draft accountability rules for the nation’s teacher-preparation programs this summer. Among other things, they would require states to improve their procedures for identifying strong and weak teacher-preparation programs, and would likely bar the worst from offering federal TEACH financial-aid grants. (Education Week)
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings sees an “incredible tailwind” ahead for the education technology industry, a boom he predicts will be driven by increases in cloud computing and overall digital access, among other factors. (Education Week)
Despite the Obama administration’s best efforts, union membership remains at all-time lows. Meanwhile, public disapproval of labor unions is near all-time highs. Teachers’ unions have been a main catalyst of public antipathy. During the last presidential election campaign, Gov. Mitt Romney tried to make teachers’ unions a lightning rod to rally support. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has likewise used antipathy toward teachers’ unions as a populist tool. (Commentary Magazine)
North Carolina
North Carolina’s top charter official warned schools Thursday that they could lose their charters, which authorize them to get public money, if they refuse to comply with public records requests for salaries. (News and Observer)
Republican lawmakers sound ready to separate North Carolina from the nationally developed K-12 academic standards after complaints from parents, think tanks and other groups that Common Core requirements are controlling curriculum and classrooms. (Winston-Salem Journal)