Idaho has been granted a waiver from the No Child Left Behind law by the U.S. Department of Education, which also approved the state's new accountability system that uses academic growth and other measures to assess student achievement. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna believes the new system will better gauge student achievement and better identify schools performing well and those that are struggling.
South Dakota Education Secretary Melody Schopp says that voters will get a say in education reform on Nov. 6 when they decide whether Referred Law 16 should be implemented. The law will enable local school districts to create their own programs to reward teachers, though schools can opt out of the merit-based program; but the program will provide annual state-funded merit bonuses to a district's full-time certified teachers.
Like seven states that have parent triggers on the books, Oklahoma State Senator David Holt has proposed legislation to allow parents to drive change in low performing schools. If 51 percent of parents sign a petition, changes could be made to staffing or turning a school into a charter, among other things.
The U.S. Department of Education announced on Oct. 1 that 22 states -- Alabama, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin -- will receive $24 million in grants to improve personnel training systems to help children with disabilities.
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced its fourth round of Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grants, a program that backs differentiated compensation systems. The program has expanded to include career ladders, where teachers not only get pay bumps but are given additional professional responsibilities; grantees now must secure more support from teachers' unions and others up front, rather than during a planning year; and more attention is paid to the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
About 893 school districts or groups of districts have filed applications for $400 million in U.S. Department of Education grants in the Race to the Top competition to spur local improvements. Nearly 200 large districts are eligible for top awards of between $30 million and $40 million, while 433 small districts plan to compete for $10 million to $20 million in awards.
North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson testified in front of the U.S. Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee today about concerns over the impact of sequestration and drastic funding cuts to education. Atkinson testified in opposition to automatic funding cuts that will be detrimental to education reform occurring across the country, and outlined the immediate need for clear guidance from the federal government on how sequestration will work, if it goes into effect on Jan. 2 2013.
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) announced today that executive director Gene Wilhoit will retire. The CCSSO board of directors has begun a national search for a successor. Wilhoit plans to remain at CCSSO until a new executive director assumes the post.
April 23, 2012, Washington, DC – The Council of Chief State School Officers announced today that Rebecca Mieliwocki, a 7th grade English teacher in California is the 62nd National Teacher of the Year. Mieliwocki, along with all 2012 State Teachers of the Year will be recognized by President Barack Obama in a ceremony at the White House, on Tuesday, April 24.
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) announced today that Peter Zamora will join CCSSO’s government affairs team as Director of Federal Relations.
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