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NJ Spotlight--AGENDA: STATE BOARD TAKES UP SCHOOL MONITORING, AGAIN
State accountability system gets a fresh look, while old topics get last hearing
Date: Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Time: 10 a.m.
Where: New Jersey Department of Education, 1st-floor conference room, 100 River View Plaza, Trenton
Key votes: The State Board of Education will have its first discussion of new regulations concerning the state’s oft-discussed school monitoring system — known as the Quality School Accountability Continuum, or QSAC. The system sets the benchmarks required of every district and is a critical piece in determining the state’s intervention in schools. In addition, the board will hear what is likely to be the last public testimony regarding controversial proposals for deregulating charter schools and for stricter regulation of private special education schools. The board will also take up a rare request for emergency financial relief, this time for the little-known Educational Information and Resource Center, a state agency that provides broadband and other technology support to districts.
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/17/04/03/agenda-state-board-takes-up-school-monitoring-again/
John Mooney | April 4, 2017
Star Ledger--New problem with EpiPens: Some don't work
Some of the devices slipped into many a student's backpack as an emergency treatment for an allergic reaction - the EpiPen - have been recalled because they have a defective part that renders them useless.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said 13 lots of Mylan's EpiPen and EpiPen Jr may contain a defective part that may result in the devices' failure to activate. The recalled product was manufactured by Meridian Medical Technologies and distributed by Mylan Specialty.
Kathleen O'Brien | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com| April 03, 2017 at 9:10 AM
The Record--After-school programs on chopping block
Trump's proposed budget includes the elimination of $1.2 billion in funding to 21st Century Learning Centers, which include more than 50 after school and summer programs in NJ Viorel Florescu/NorthJersey.com
School districts across New Jersey are bracing for potential cuts to after-school programs next year under the president's proposed federal budget, worrying families who say they depend on the care and academic help these programs provide.
President Donald Trump has called for cutting $1.2 billion in grants for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which includes after-school and summer programs in high-poverty areas, as he seeks to reduce Department of Education spending by more than 13 percent.
Hannan Adely , Staff Writer, @AdelyReporter Published 6:03 a.m. ET April 4, 2017 | Updated 29 minutes ago
Associated Press (via Philadelphia Inquirer)--We the pupils: More states teaching founding US documents
NORTH SMITHFIELD, R.I. (AP) - Should U.S. high school students know at least as much about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Federalist papers as immigrants passing a citizenship test?
We the pupils: More states teaching founding US documents
In a growing number of school systems, having such a basic knowledge is now a graduation requirement. But states are taking different approaches to combating what's seen as a widespread lack of knowledge about how government works.
Kentucky last week and Arkansas on March 16 became the latest of more than a dozen states since 2015 that have required the high school social studies curriculum to include material covered by the 100 questions asked on the naturalization exam. Lawmakers in other states, including Minnesota, are hoping to foster even deeper understanding of the fundamentals of American democracy by adding a full course to study its most important documents.
"Rights might be inherent, but ideas need to be taught," said Maida Buckley, a retired classroom teacher in Fairbanks, Alaska, who testified last year to an Alaskan legislative task force on civics education. "When you have a system of government that's based on ideas, espoused in the Declaration of Independence and carried out with a working document in the Constitution, those ideas need to be taught."
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20170403_ap_9d907d5ba46646e28ef92bbb3e2f8b64.html
by MATT O'BRIEN, The Associated Press | Updated: April 3, 2017 — 3:43 PM EDT
Education Week--Educators Oppose Trump Plan to Scrap Teacher-Support Program
Federal funding for educator quality helped a small district outside Boston cut down class sizes for beginning teachers. A cadre of Delaware districts used it to help teachers better personalize instruction for students. And the school district in El Paso, Texas, which is always on the lookout for teachers with expertise in working with English-language learners, has used some of the money for recruitment.
Those activities—and thousands of educators’ jobs—could be in jeopardy if Congress takes President Donald Trump up on his proposal to get rid of the Supporting Effective Instruction State Grant program, better known to school districts as Title II, after the portion of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that governs it.
Eliminating the $2.3 billion program could hamper implementation of the law’s newest version, the Every Student Succeeds Act. It also could lead to teacher layoffs and make it tougher for educators to reach English-learners and other special populations and to make the most of technology in their classrooms, educators and advocates say.
By Alyson Klein| April 3, 2017
