Archive for May 2016
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May 31, 2016
Developer fees for school building OK’d, impacts abound
(Calif.) The state panel charged with overseeing school construction funding gave the green light to districts last week to level maximum fees on housing developers – the first time this step has been taken since the program was created 30 years ago.
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May 31, 2016
ESSA regs point to new conflict over federal accountability role
(District of Columbia) Newly proposed regulations governing implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act would require states to adopt strategies for supporting low-performing schools from a long list of interventions not contemplated in the law itself.
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May 26, 2016
Hazing bans being extended to high schools
(Pa.) Thirty years after Pennsylvania law banned hazing on college campuses, the state this week moved to extend that prohibition to high schools – a decision some health professionals say is long overdue.
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May 26, 2016
Advocates asking for a boost to after school program funding
(Calif.) An effort to bring funding for after-school programs more in line with their actual cost faces a deadline this week for legislation to move forward from committee review to floor debate.
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May 26, 2016
Carry over federal funds once and once only!
“Today’s money for today’s kids” is an oft repeated slogan describing the proper use of federal money but it is also allowable to carry forward revenue from a single year under certain rules.
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May 25, 2016
Expanding opportunities to take AP courses
(Colo.) After establishing itself as the first state in the nation to enact a comprehensive policy aimed at encouraging participation in advanced placement courses, Arkansas reported nearly half of all its high school students had taken at least one of the college level classes in 2013.
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May 25, 2016
Emergency loan pool proposed for school construction needs
(Calif.) School construction officials are set today to consider a new loan program for districts in dire need of building capital once provided through state bond funds which are no longer available.
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May 24, 2016
Expanding the awareness of child abuse
(Fla.) Every employee in one of Florida’s largest school districts would be required to participate in annual training to report child abuse and neglect as part of a plan pending before district trustees to assure the wellbeing of students.
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May 24, 2016
Putting a spotlight on the needs of foster youth
(Calif.) As a population targeted for new state support, foster youth continue to struggle – a fact that prompted the California School Boards Association to launch an initiative to raise awareness and offer strategies for improving safety, stability and uninterrupted access to education for this at-risk group of students.
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May 24, 2016
How to avoid snafuing plans for transgender pupils
When it comes to transgender youth, individualized education and 504 plans should provide accommodations, modifications, and supports to compensate for or remediate disabilities. These plans are not the proper vehicles for enforcement of civil liberties. As pointed out in last week’s Insider, “the two subjects may overlap philosophically but they are quite distinct in application.”[1]
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