Tag: public education

Cursive writing bill passes Senate education committee

April 24, 2013 at 12:46 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Perhaps having heard the buzz this morning about the link between the Back to Basics bill and the for-profit handwriting instruction company Zaner Bloser, Sen. Allran decided to move the cursive writing legislation through the Senate Education Committee this morning without any further discussion, saying that everyone had already heard enough on the bill.

The bill would mandate cursive writing instruction and memorization of multiplication tables for elementary school students. The legislation passed through committee without any objections.

Home schoolers supporting SB 189, which would change the definition of home schools to include the option of instructional delivery via online technologies, got a win when that bill passed through committee. The change in law could open the door for online virtual schools to move their products into the home schooling market. There is another bill moving through the assembly now that would provide income tax credits to those who home school their children.

Sen. Tillman’s bill to reduce public school reporting requirements passed through committee with one notable change. As previously reported, the bill would have repealed the law mandating personal education plans (PEPs) for at-risk students. In the end, Tillman decided to keep PEPs, as was reflected in the Proposed Committee Substitute (PCS) that was handed out before the committee today.

Free-market education reform, anyone?

April 17, 2013 at 3:58 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Will Huntsberry has a great article in this week’s issue of INDY Week that takes a close look at all of the education reform bills being rammed through by mostly Republican lawmakers.

In particular, Huntsberry’s piece focuses in on how the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has served as a playbook for ed reform in North Carolina, highlighting which bills are “ALEC approved.”

Take a minute, it’s worth a read…

The GOP’s free-market reforms are aimed at public education

Local School Systems Face Challenging Budget Environments for Upcoming School Year

April 16, 2013 at 9:07 amCategory:NC Budget and Tax Center

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As local school boards begin to plan K-12 budgets for the coming school year, they continue to feel the squeeze from a still-fragile economy and continued cuts in state support for public education. Since FY2009, state support for K-12 education has been cut by more than $1.3 billion and Governor McCrory’s proposed budget for FY2014 continues this trend with $85 million in cuts to K-12 education.

The budgeting environment will likely be even more challenging for the upcoming school year with the expiration of one-time federal funding. North Carolina received $297 million in federal dollars for K-12 education (“Ed Jobs” funding) as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act approved by Congress in 2010. All local school systems received Ed Jobs funding, which was used to retain existing employees, recall or rehire former employees and to hire new employees. Local school systems were required to spend all Ed Jobs funds by October 2012 and no additional funding will be available for the upcoming school year. Read More…

Berger’s Excellent Public Schools Act Moves Forward

April 10, 2013 at 11:33 amCategory:Uncategorized

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Today the Senate Education Committee passed Sen. Phil Berger’s (R-Rockingham) SB 361 – the Excellent Public Schools Act of 2013. The bill is similar in scope to the Senator’s 2012 legislation and calls for the end of teacher tenure and further specifications on the A-F school grading system and teacher licensure (see my previous post on the breakdown of the bill).

Sen. Josh Stein pressed Berger on his A-F school grading system, pointing out the fact that the changes made to how schools are graded still do not account for student growth on test scores. Instead, there is a separate measure that is not factored into a school’s grade but instead stands next to it.

Stein noted that 12 other states employ the A-F grading system, including Florida, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Ten of those 12 states factor a school’s growth into their grades. “In Florida, two-thirds of the grade comes from school improvement,” Stein said. “Can we adjust to Florida’s model,” Stein asked?

Berger explained that the growth score was a “subjective analysis” and that two separate scores would be more transparent for parents. Read More…

School safety bill moves forward; arts education requirement squeaks by

April 9, 2013 at 4:28 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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This morning the House Education Committee took up HB 452, the 2013 School Safety Act. Rep. Holloway, co-sponsor of the bipartisan bill, hailed it as the most comprehensive school safety legislation in the country since the Newtown tragedy.

The bill would enact numerous provisions with regard to how schools plan for and mitigate acts of violence. Ten million dollars in both 2013-14 and again in 2014-15 would be appropriated to LEAs as grant money to provide more school resources officers (SROs) and their training in elementary and middle schools—but the money must be matched locally. For every $1 that the LEA directs toward increased SROs and their training, the state would match the LEA $2. Read More…