DeVos rips Oklahoma teachers over strike: ‘Serve the students’

BY MORGAN GSTALTER – 04/09/18 10:43 AM EDT Education Secretary Betsy DeVos criticized Oklahoma teachers who are on strike over school funding cuts, telling them to “serve the students,” according to the Dallas Morning News. “I think about the kids,” DeVos said last week while touring a Dallas middle school. “I think we need to stay focused on what’s right for kids. And…

California closes in on compromise for complying with federal education law

By: John Fensterwald After a high-level, face-to-face meeting in Washington and continued negotiations, state officials are expressing confidence that the federal Department of Education will approve California’s plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act and avert a standoff with U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos over differing interpretations of the federal law. As a result…

California Governor’s Community College Funding Proposal Creates Controversy

by Sammy G. Allen California Gov. Jerry Brown’s bold new budget proposal that awards community college districts funding not just for each enrolled student, but also based on the number of low-income students being served, has drawn praise and criticism. Under the funding formula in the new proposal, a district would receive an incentive grant…

Funding Education: Online Sales Tax Bill Clears Oklahoma State House

  BY BONNIE CAMPO, NEWS 9 OKLAHOMA CITY – House Bill1019XX, touting $20.5 million towards education, passed the Oklahoma house Wednesday evening. The online tax revenue bill allows the state to collect sales tax from third-party vendors that don’t have brick and mortar stores, like Amazon. That measure, along with “ball and dice” legislation, could…

Teachers seize every floor of Oklahoma Capitol during strike {#iBelieve}

BY MORGAN GSTALTER – 04/04/18 11:38 AM EDT Oklahoma teachers seized every floor of the state Capitol on Tuesday during their ongoing strike for more education funding. Teachers and other school staff filled the Capitol on the second day of organized strikes, vowing not to leave until the Republican-controlled legislature passes more funding for school resources, ABC News reported Tuesday….

Kentucky, Oklahoma teachers rally as rebellion grows {#iBelieve}

By Sean Murphy and Bruce Schreiner, The Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY — The state Capitol in Kentucky filled with teachers protesting pension changes and demanding generous school funding Monday, and thousands of Oklahoma educators walked out of classrooms in the latest evidence of teacher rebellion in some Republican-led states. Many Oklahoma schools were closed Monday, and…

From teens to teachers, activism stirs the electorate {#iBelieve}

by Stephen Collinson, Updated 1:02 AM ET, Tue April 3, 2018 It’s too early to declare a season of American revolt, but forces of activism and protest are stirring across the country that may yet nurture a genuine political pivot point. Tens of thousands of teachers left their classrooms behind Monday to rally at state capitols in…

Fed up with school spending cuts, Oklahoma teachers prepare to walk out

By Moriah Balingit April 2 at 6:00 AM DUNCAN, Okla. — On Easter morning, at the nearby Baptist church, Kenita Self closed her eyes and bowed her head in prayer. The teacher prayed for her third-grade students, who face a high-stakes reading test this year that will determine whether they advance to fourth grade. She prayed for…