WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 10, 2008         

GEORGIA BOARD ACCEPTS PLAN FOR STATE TAKEOVER OF TROUBLED DISTRICTS — The Georgia State Board of Education unanimously accepted a proposal to give the state the power to take over distressed local districts. The Commission for School Board Excellence plan was devised by a group of education experts and business leaders at the state board’s request in the wake of problems that led to the loss of accreditation of the Clayton County school district. The commission recommended changes that included no longer paying local board members, prohibiting educators from sitting on school boards, and legislation that would allow the state board to take over local districts and remove board members. Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (10/9/08)

HAWAII BOARD APPROVES $46 MILLION IN BUDGET CUTS TO MEET GOVERNOR’S DEADLINE — The Hawaii State Board of Education, caught between public discontent and Gov. Linda Lingle’s Friday deadline for massive budget cuts, approved budget cuts of about $46.5 million late Thursday night. The cuts amount to approximately 15 percent of the education department’s discretionary budget, but the total falls well short of the $69 million worst-case scenario of proposed cuts. These cuts follow $20 million in previous reductions, including a $10 million budget reduction by the legislature. While most school-level jobs were saved, 244 state-level jobs were pared, as well as $800,000 for athletics, among other programs. Sources: Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu Star-Bulletin (10/10/08)

WISCONSIN CHIEF WON’T RUN AGAIN — Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction Elizabeth Burmaster announced this week that she will not seek a third term as the state’s top schools chief. The election takes place next April, and Burmaster would have been strongly favored had she chosen to run. “I want some new challenges,” Burmaster said, and indicated she would like to be “even more hands-on” in working to improve achievement results for disadvantaged students. Tony Evers, who has been Burmaster’s deputy since she first took office in 2001, said he would run for the job, and Burmaster gave him her support. Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (10/7/08)

IOWA PUBLIC SCHOOLS BARRED FROM CHARGING FEES FOR FIELD TRIPS — Iowa public schools will no longer be permitted to charge parents fees for field trips following a state Department of Education order forbidding such practices. According to Iowa law, costs incurred for field trips tied to class instruction fall under the category of tuition and therefore should not be supplemented with funds received directly from parents. The department issued its directive after the Ames School District asked in February about the legality of its own fees. Schools can, however, raise funds for field trips through various organizations such as the PTA. Sources: Burlington Hawk Eye (10/4/2008); Quad-City Times (10/6/08)

NEW JERSEY BILL TO BAN DIPLOMA MILL DEGREES MOVES FORWARD — New Jersey’s Senate Education Committee advanced a bill that would bar educators from obtaining a master’s or doctorate degree from a nonaccredited university. The problem was discovered this summer when three top school administrators, including the superintendent of the Freehold Regional School District, received diplomas from so-called “diploma mills” and received pay raises as a result. Currently, diploma mill degrees are legal under the contract signed with administrators in the Freehold Regional School District. The education committee approved the bill unanimously; it is now headed to the full Senate for a vote. Source: Associated Press (10/02/08)

CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR VETOES EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY BILL; SIGNS FREE SPEECH, TWO PRE-K MEASURES — Adding to a stack of veto actions, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger rejected an academic accountability measure (SB325) that would have established statewide educational goals and data measurements for the state's three public higher education institutions. He did, however, sign a law that will prohibit high school and college administrators from retaliating against school newspaper advisors who act to protect a student's free speech. Source: Chronicle of Higher Education (10/8/08)

Schwarzenegger also signed laws to better regulate pre-K programs and to increase access to pre-K programs statewide. The first law established the Early Learning Quality Improvement System Advisory Committee, which will recommend how to rate and improve development services for children from birth to age five. It also establishes a framework for future resources necessary to achieve and maintain future resources. The second law establishes the California State Preschool Program, which consolidates all existing early childhood programs in the state by streamlining funding processes, as well as reducing administrative costs while also expanding program availability. Sources: KCRAchannel.com (9/26/08); Imperial Valley News (9/27/08)

** ANNOUNCEMENTS **

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