Governor's budget would shift Wisconsin's approach to school funding

Gov. Scott Walker's budget would do more than just increase state aid to schools—it would also double down on a significant change to how that aid gets divvied up among districts. Under the two-year budget bill, the state would put $509 million more into a relatively new form of school aid that doesn't account for the poverty of school districts or their students. Read more>>

Tennessee plans to better define the rules of authorizing charter schools with a bill introduced on behalf of the state's education department. The proposed legislation would make districts adhere to national best practices in authorizing charter schools and allow districts to require a fee from charters based on how many charter schools operate within a district. Read more>>

Hundreds of the Illinois school district's principals face a narrow window to trim expenses on textbooks and programs after the district announced a $46 million "spending freeze" in its latest bid to cover $215 million in state assistance that didn't come through. Read more>>

DA Staff

Nadia Lopez, principal at Mott Hall Bridges Academy in Brooklyn, New York, helps students become more successful in school and helps instructors teach more effectively using innovative teaching methods and field trips. Read more>>

Leaders of a Union County middle school are considering offering single-gender classrooms as an idea to strengthen student engagement. Still in its early stages, the school is getting feedback on the proposal for upcoming seventh-graders and their parents. Read more>>

Louisiana's new public school report card has moved one step closer to prime time with the release of the state's latest proposal. It has two major changes. One-quarter of the grade for elementary and middle schools would come from students' growth on tests, not their absolute score. And 5 percent would measure the "interests and opportunities" a school provides to students. Read more>>

School districts with persistently failing schools that are on the state's potential closure list could find themselves even deeper in financial problems, according to a new report. School districts in Michigan receive funding based on the number of students who are enrolled, and student enrollment losses mean less state aid. Read more>>

High school student journalists, if they’re doing their work well, enjoy all the responsibilities and opportunities of professional reporters—except their work can be censored by school administrators in Washington state. The Washington Legislature should join 10 other states this year that rolled back that power and pass the editing pen back to student journalists. Read more>>

Next year, high school seniors in the state's public schools will be in a program that eventually will require all those who don’t meet criteria to take remedial courses. But when remedial courses become pretty standard for so many, legislators ought to be looking at what more can be done so that a diploma can be won in a standard amount of time. Read more>>

A House committee is looking into classroom-based funding, where the "actual cost of instruction” in a classroom is figured out. Funds are then allocated based on the number of classrooms in a district. Alas, the devil is in the details. Classroom cost would be determined by congressional district—an arbitrary restriction that could mean more money for urban districts, where costs can be higher. Read more>>

The new VoiceLift Pro Microphone System's wireless technology utilizes digital transmission to evenly distribute the teacher’s voice throughout the classroom. Benefits include higher sound quality, increased reliability, and greater transmission distance with reduced interference. Read more>>

In a new stage of its collaboration with Discovery Education, educators in more than 20 Rapides Parish School District schools will now be empowered to support the district's transition to student-centered learning environments with Discovery Education’s digital social studies and science textbooks. Read more>>

The Huddle Space Collaboration Hub is an easy-to-implement device for one-to-one applications that facilitates the collaboration process in such a way that all members of the group are active participants. As it requires no network resources or software and does not interfere with the student’s wireless connection, the Huddle Space works well in many classroom applications. Read more>>

Indiana is one step closer to making the superintendent of public instruction an appointed office. Under the proposal, the appointed position would take effect January 2025 but the governor would like to see it take place four years sooner, in 2021. Read more>>

Mississippi senators want to raise the bar for school district chiefs but are not certain about doing the same for those who select them. The Senate approved a bill that would heighten requirements for superintendents but recommitted a measure that would have raised education qualifications for public school board members. Read more>>

After two years without a permanent superintendent, the Hamilton Township School District has found its new leader. Scott Rocco, a township resident who has been the superintendent of Spotswood Public Schools for the last four years,has been named to head up the New Jersey district. Read more>>