Education Week - May 14, 2014 - 4

NeWS IN BrIeF
COMING HOME
Districts Warned Against
Discouraging Immigrants
The U.S. departments of justice and
education last week warned school
district officials to cease using policies
and practices that "chill" or discourage
students from enrolling because
they, or their parents, may not have
legal immigration status.
In a four-page guidance, top civil
rights officials write that they've
recently become aware of such practices.
"These practices contravene federal
law," the letter says.
The guidance includes a fact sheet
and a frequently-asked-questions
document that outline the documentation
districts may request when
students enroll.
-LESLI A. MAXWELL
House Bill Would Make Over
Federal Education Research
The U.S. House of Representatives
has given quick and quiet approval
to a bipartisan bill that would reauthorize
the Education Science Reform
Act, with an eye toward making federal
K-12 research more relevant and
timely for those in the field.
The legislation approved May 8
also calls for new or improved collection
of data on areas such as high
school graduation rates, school safety,
discipline, and teacher preparation
and evaluation. And it would add a
new focus on examining the implementation
of a particular policy or
strategy, not just its impact.
It also makes changes to a federal
program that helps states bolster
their longitudinal data systems, shifting
the focus of grants away from just
building data systems to using them
to improve student outcomes. The
measure would also beef up privacy
protections for student data.
-ALYSON KLEIN
PARCC Group Lowers Price
Of Common-Core Tests
The parcc testing consortium
has announced that it has lowered
the price of its common-core assessments
by more than $5 per
student.
The Partnership for Assessment of
Readiness for College and Careers
said its tests would cost, at most,
about $24 per student, a significant
drop from the initial projection of
$29.50. The new price is for the computer-based
version of the tests. The
decrease means that for just over half
of parcc's member states, the tests
| TRANSITION |
Antwan Wilson, the assistant schools superintendent
in Denver, will be the new superintendent
of the Oakland, Calif., public schools.
Mr. Wilson, 42, will step into the lead administrative
position of the 37,000-student district
on July 1, replacing interim superintendent
Gary Yee.
In Denver-a district of about 87,000 students-he
oversaw the middle and high
schools and college readiness, and he was lauded for his turnaround
efforts there.
Lt. Col. Kevin Kohl
embraces his
children, Grace
and Austin, after
he appeared from
under a giant science
beaker at Chisholm
Elementary School in
Enid, Okla. Lt. Col.
Kohl, who has been
deployed to Iraq,
and his wife,
Melissa, planned
the surprise along
with the school's
administrators.
are more affordable than those the
states currently use.
The precise price won't be made
final until the number of test-takers
is known.
-CATHERINE GEWERTZ
Phila. Educators Charged
In Test-Cheating Scandal
Five Philadelphia educators, including
an elementary principal, face
multiple felony charges for their alleged
role in cheating on Pennsylvania
state exams over a period of five
years.
Pennsylvania Attorney General
Kathleen G. Kane last week outlined
the charges-including perjury, tampering
with public records, forgery,
and criminal conspiracy-against
four teachers and the principal.
District officials had already fired
three high school principals and said
more than 130 other current and former
educators faced disciplinary actions
for their alleged involvement in
cheating.
-L.A.M.
K12 Inc.'s Revenue Rises;
Company Plans Expansion
K12 Inc., the largest for-profit provider
of precollegiate online education,
posted nearly 8 percent revenue
growth in its third quarter, and
is expecting to expand in the states
it already operates in, officials announced
last week.
The news marked a bright spot for
the Herndon, Va.-based company,
which has been entangled in legal
problems and questions about the
quality of its virtual coursework.
-MICHELE MOLNAR
Report Card Gives Youths
D-Minus for Physical Activity
Children and youths ages 6 to 15
received a D-minus for their overall
physical-activity levels in the
first United States Report Card on
Physical Activity for Children and
Youth.
The report card, released last
month by the National Physical Activity
Plan Alliance and the American
College of Sports Medicine, drew on
multiple nationally representative
surveys to give grades for 10 indicators:
overall physical activity, sedentary
behaviors, organized-sports participation,
and health-related fitness,
among them.
-BRYAN TOPOREK
California Districts Request
Extensions for NCLB Waivers
The group of California districts
that won a first-of-its-kind waiver
from some requirements of the No
Child Left Behind Act has asked
the U.S. Department of Education
to extend the reprieve beyond the
current school year.
The districts are also asking to
fully implement their teacher-evaluation
systems by 2016-17, a year
behind schedule.
If approved, the seven districts
known as core-for the California
Office to Reform Education-would
continue to operate under an accountability
system that is different
4 | EDUCATION WEEK | May 14, 2014 | www.edweek.org
from California's.
The request also calls for delaying
other parts of the new accountability
system, some of which are
connected to California's decision
to drop its state content tests in
English/language arts and math
this year in favor of common-corealigned
field tests.
-L.A.M.
Bipartisan Charter Measure
Clears Congressional Hurdle
Bipartisan legislation aimed at
helping charter schools with a track
record of success expand their reach
was poised to sail through the U.S.
House of Representatives late last
week. But its path in the Senate-
where a nearly identical bill is pending-remains
unclear.
The House measure was written
by Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., the
chairman of the House education
committee, and Rep. George Miller,
D-Calif. It's also gotten high-profile
backing from Rep. Eric Cantor,
R-Va., the House Majority Leader, a
proponent of school choice.
Among other provisions, it would
combine programs aimed at helping
charter developers open new
schools with money to help charters
find and fix up facilities. It also
includes language aimed at ensuring
that charter schools enroll-
and retain-students in special
education and English-language
learners.
-A.K.
After Scandal, Ohio Issues
New School Report Cards
Six Ohio school districts that were
found to have altered student data to
improve their performance ratings
received new state report cards last
week.
The state education department
released the report cards for
all 143 schools in the six districts,
Chicago Union Comes Out
Against Common Core
The Chicago Teachers Union last
week passed a resolution saying
that it opposes the Common Core
State Standards.
Unions have a complicated relationship
with the standards. Both
the American Federation of Teachers-ctu's
parent-and the National
Education Association say they support
the standards but think implementation
has been poor.
The resolution from the Chicago
union, which represents teachers
in the nation's third-largest
district, adds a new wrinkle to
the conversation. It does not distinguish
between standards and
implementation.
Among other points, the resolution
contends that the standards
contain "numerous developmentally
inappropriate expectations,"
"reflect the interests and priorities
of corporate education reformers,"
and "emphasize pedagogical techniques,
such as close reading, out
of proportion to the actual value of
these methods."
-STEPHEN SAWCHUK
CORRECTION:
A Commentary in the May 7, 2014,
issue of Education Week, "Charting a
Common-Sense Course for the Common
Core," mischaracterized action
on the common core and teacher
evaluation by the New York legislature.
The bill had passed only the
lower house, the Assembly.
including Cincinnati and Cleveland.
The
state changed grades for
20 schools for the 2010-11 school
year. Grades at 10 Cleveland
schools dropped. The only two that
rose were in Cincinnati.
-ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bonnie Vculek/Enid News & Eagle/AP
http://www.edweek.org
Education Week - May 14, 2014

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