Education News: June 24, 2005

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending June 24, 2005.

Schools and Military Face Off
(Source: The Washington Post, 6/19/05)
Public schools and the military are engaged in a nationwide debate regarding the degree to which the military should be able to recruit in public schools—a debate set off by the ongoing conflict in Iraq. A little-known clause of the No Child Left Behind law requires schools to relinquish students’ contact information to military recruiters as a condition for receiving federal funds. The principals of many schools, however, say this sort of disclosure violates students’ privacy.

Taught at Home, but Seeking to Join Activities at Public Schools
(Source: The New York Times, 6/22/05)
An increasing number of parents across the country are pushing schools to allow their home-schooled children to participate in school sports, extracurricular activities, and certain specialized classes. This year alone, bills pertaining to this issue were tabled in at least 14 different state legislatures. Presently, fourteen states require that home-schooled students be granted access to public school activities, while most other states let individual school boards decide. As the issue gains momentum, however, more and more schools may be required to open certain school activities to home-schooled students.

Thousands Rally Against Education Cuts
(Source: The Detroit News, 6/22/05)
A record-breaking crowd of 11,000 public school supporters converged on the Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, on June 21. Parents, teachers, students, and school administrators gathered with signs and slogans to protest the fact that the state has not increased the minimum $6,700-per-pupil aid grant in three years and has also diminished students’ quality of education with mid-year cuts. Bills to increase spending have sat in the state legislature for months, but passing them has proven difficult, and they, anyway, don’t specify a source for the increased funds.

Virginia Alters Test for Teacher Licensing
(Source: The Washington Post, 6/22/05)
The Virginia State Board of Education has dramatically altered the teacher licensing process by eliminating a basic skills test and instituting a more extensive reading and comprehension exam. The result of these changes is that teachers will have to be more well versed in their own subjects, but will not be required to pass tests in topics like math if that isn’t their area of expertise. These changes were partially spurred by a requirement of NCLB that all teachers be “highly qualified,” a clause that has prompted states to revisit their teacher certification processes.

Teachers Paid an Average Salary of $46,752, Survey Finds
(Source: Boston.com, 6/24/05)
Teachers, on average, earned $46,752 last year, a slight increase that, according to the National Education Association, did not keep pace with inflation. The NEA’s polling of state education agencies has shown that over the past decade, fifteen states have seen a real decline in teacher salaries when inflation is taken into account.

Study: States Mislead With Faulty Graduation Rates
(Source: CNN.com, 6/24/05)
A private analysis has shown that most states are reporting on-time graduation rates that far exceed the actual rates. According to the study, 36 states report that anywhere from 80 percent to 97 percent of high school students graduate in four years. The actual number across the states is closer to 70 percent.