BY JIM SAUNDERS JANUARY 04, 2019 TALLAHASSEE A fiercely divided Florida Supreme Court on Friday rejected a nearly decade-long lawsuit that challenged whether the state has properly carried out a 1998 constitutional amendment that called for ensuring a “high quality” system of public schools. The decision upheld lower-court rulings and focused heavily on…
Tag: Tax
Harsh critic turned public education advocate to speak at CenturyLink Center
Jan 7, 2019 BOSSIER PARISH, LA) – What do blueberries have to do with public education? Everything, as respected businessman and attorney Jamie Vollmer learned after being taken to task by a teacher after he vocally condemned public schools. Once a harsh critic, Vollmer is now an award-winning champion of public education and author of…
Rural Republican proposes tax increase for public education
By: Ben Giles January 7, 2019 Republican Sen. Sylvia Allen wants voters to approve a sales tax hike to boost funding for K-12 schools and higher education. Voters already approved the 0.6-cent sales tax for education in 2000, a levy that generated more than $700 million in the previous fiscal year. Allen, a Snowflake Republican, wants…
Education year in review: Alabama 2018 edition
By Trisha Powell Crain January 1, 2019 From the hiring of a new superintendent to school safety dominating the national conversation to a charter school leading the way, 2018 was a busy year in education in Alabama. Here’s a look back at 2018. Data, data, and more data As is happening nationally, educators and policymakers…
Los Angeles Teachers Prepare to Strike
Esther Wang December 20, 2018 This year saw a wave of teacher strikes, from West Virginia to Oklahomaand Arizona. Now, educators in Los Angeles, who work in the second-largest school district in the country, have announced that unless the district meets their demands for, among other things, a salary increase and additional hires, they will go on strike on January 10. As Jacobin noted, “The…
“It’s About the Students!” 50,000 LA Teachers Join Protest, Accusing District of Hoarding Funds Instead of Investing in Schools
“The community is united behind a UTLA strike if that’s what it takes to reinvest in public education instead of cut it to the bone.” byJulia Conley, staff writer Tens of thousands of Los Angeles teachers rallied in the city’s downtown area Saturday, ahead of a possible strike. (Photo: @magoo_tweets_2u/Twitter) Los Angeles teachers set out to…
Thousands of Los Angeles teachers march as potential strike looms
By SONALI KOHLI DEC 15, 2018 Thousands of teachers, students and union allies marched through downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, from City Hall to the Broad Museum, a month ahead of a possible strike that L.A. educators have threatened if Los Angeles Unified doesn’t meet demands that include retroactive raises, smaller class sizes and more nurses…
What to know about MD Department of Education’s new report card
Meg Ryan, Dec. 5, 2018 Maryland State Department of Education released its 2018-19 report card this week, displaying schools’ performances across the state and in Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset counties. The data includes a broad number of performance indicators. Along with student success and growth on state tests in English Language Arts and mathematics, the…
Maryland’s teacher salaries are low. Officials have a plan to raise them
Meg Ryan, Dec. 14, 2018 Erin Davis once heard from a student that becoming a teacher would mean she needed to marry rich. The 16-year veteran art teacher at James M. Bennett High School in Wicomico County was surprised to hear the stigma around teacher salaries is so ingrained that even students don’t want to…
Alabama Public schools systems prepare to monitor juvenile sex offenders
Krista Johnson, Dec. 13, 2018 State education officials will create a model policy to ensure all Alabama public school systems are ready to monitor student sex offenders in two years. A committee will draft the policy – required by the passage of Annalyn’s Law earlier this year — that each local education authority can use for their…
Standing Strong for Public Education! 