Education News: July 20, 2007

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending July 20, 2007.

Senate Approves Major Overhaul of the Federal Student Aid Program
(Source: The New York Times, 7/20/07): Early Friday morning, the Senate passed a bill that reforms the federal student aid program by taking subsidies for lenders and channeling them to lower and middle income students.

Will Kids Eat ‘Good’ Food?
(Source: The News & Observer, 7/20/07): The United States Agriculture Department will issue new standards for food in school cafeterias this summer. They are expected to significantly strengthen restrictions in an effort to encourage students to make healthier choices about eating..

Philadelphia Schools Under Closer Scrutiny
(Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/20/07): The Pennsylvania state education bill that was recently passed includes a stipulation that the Philadelphia school district carefully report its finances or risk losing $1.3 billion in state funding.

Broward Teacher May Lose Job Over MySpace
(Source: The Miami Herald, 7/19/07): A high school band teacher in Florida who included references to alcohol, drugs, depression and sexual activity on his MySpace profile is facing the potential loss of his job. The school board of Broward county will review his case.

Payday Long Time Coming for Many Chicago Teachers
(Source: The Chicago Tribune, 7/19/07): The Chicago school district is continuing to experience the repercussions of a glitch in a new payment system that was implemented in March. Some frustrated teachers still haven’t received past due paychecks.

GOP Plan: Slash Aid to Schools?
(Source: The Los Angeles Times, 7/18/07): The Republican Party in California is reportedly proposing a $400 million reduction in funding for schools as part of an effort to reduce the overall budget. State education leaders are up in arms over the proposal.

A Lesson in Energy Efficiency
(Source: The Seattle Times, 7/18/07): A new school in the Seattle area is employing cutting-edge techniques to be as energy efficient as possible when it opens this fall.

Lawsuit Says Teachers Are Overcharged on Annuities
(Source: The New York Times, 7/17/07): Two NEA members filed a suit in Washington state last week, alleging that NEA Member Benefits did not properly disclose money that it was receiving from financial companies in return for an NEA endorsement.