Education News: January 6, 2006

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending January 6, 2006.

School vouchers struck down in Florida courts
(Source: NYTimes.com, 01/01/06) The Florida Supreme Court struck down the voucher system that would allow children to attend private schools at the expense of taxpayers. By diverting money into the private sector the court claims that the state is creating competition with the education system that Florida’s constitution promises to provide. The school voucher system, known as the Opportunity Scholarship Program in Florida, a program of which Gov. Jeb Bush is very proud of creating, exists in a similar format in other states, such as Wisconsin, Ohio, Colorado, and Utah. Florida is the first state to create a statewide system of vouchers in the education sector.

Vote on voucher program on hold
(Source: Kansas City Star, 01/06/06) Kansas school officials will now shelve the controversial school voucher program, now that Florida’s Supreme Court struck down a similar voucher program in that state. Kansas Board of Education Chairman Steve Abrams and Education Commissioner Bob Corkins claim that now is not the right time for the board to vote on the proposal that would give at-risk and special education students in Kansas public money to attend private school. A vote on the proposal was intended to take place next week. Abrams claims that the decision to postpone the vote was not due to the Florida ruling. It was unclear whether a majority of board members would support the proposal, which is not supported by many public school teachers, superintendents, and local boards of education members.

A bigger say for parents in education
(Source: washingtonpost.com, 01/05/06) The state of Maryland is seeking to improve schools by increasing parent power. Maryland Superintendent of Schools, Nancy S. Grasmick states that she will create a permanent parent involvement advisory council. The department of education will survey the schools in Maryland to see how they can help improve parent involvement. They are also looking into having families involved when deciding on giving awards to principals, teachers, and schools.

Schools see first hurricane relief money
(Source: CBS News, 01/05/06) The funds that were allocated by Congress toward the end of December are now being handed out. The total funding put aside in hurricane relief payments for education is $1.6 billion, of which Louisiana and Mississippi get $100 million each, Texas gets $50 million and Alabama get $3.75 million. The money is allocated for books, transportation, courses, and teachers. More money will be allocated to each state, as the state provides more information on exactly how much money it needs and for what purpose.

Taking AP exams to 10th grade is taking them too far?
(Source: washingtonpost.com, 01/05/06) An editorial recently addressed the problems that could emerge if the trend of 10th grade students taking AP courses continues. Teachers could be pressured to make the class seem as if the students are “successful,” in turn lessening the quality of the class.  The social pressures on parents and students would mean that the honors and “regular” classes are robbed of bright students, creating a vicious cycle in which parents pressure their children to take AP courses. It is argued that the quality of AP courses is decreasing as a result of having even younger students take the classes.

'Intelligent Design' Policy Axed
(Source: CBS News and Associated Press, 01/03/06) The Dover Area School Board in Pennsylvania that approved a policy of presenting “intelligent design,” rescinded the policy today.  The decision came 2 weeks after US District Judge John E. Jones III concluded that the concept was religious and not scientific. The policy approved in October 2004 including the reading of a statement to the students about “intelligent design” before lessons on evolution, referring to Darwin’s theory as “not a fact” and having “gaps,” and it recommended an “intelligent design” book to the students. The school board saw the policy as a way to improve science education by introducing alternatives. The Judge saw it as a way “to promote religion in the public school classroom” and said that “intelligent design” could not be taught as an alternative to evolution in biology classes. The policy and federal lawsuit added fuel to the national debate over “intelligent design.”

Chinese language is becoming popular in US schools
(Source: CNN.com, 01/02/06) A 2003 survey of US high schools showed that 10 times the number of schools wanted to add Chinese over Russian, Italian, and Japanese. The Foreign Relations Committee is currently deciding in the Senate whether to allocate $1.3 billion to encourage Chinese language and culture classes in public schools. This is a bid to prepare the US as China’s emerging as a global superpower.