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NJ Spotlight--Education Legislation: It’s Not Just About School Funding
Bills advancing in the State House address a variety of issues, from recess, seatbelts, and sexual abuse to helping private schools meet payroll for STEM teachers
The fate of school funding in the budget standoff may be the topic du jour for New Jersey’s school districts, but there are a few other bills advancing in the State House that could also have a lasting impact.
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/18/06/25/education-legislation-its-not-just-about-school-funding/
John Mooney | June 26, 2018
NJ Spotlight--Poll: Who’s Winning the Budget Battle for NJ’s Hearts and Minds?
Gov. Phil Murphy and state legislators have mounted an all-out messaging war about their spending plans. Is it just a media blitz or is one side edging closer to victory?
It’s now been more than three months since newly elected Gov. Phil Murphy submitted his proposed budget to the state Legislature. In the days and weeks following, he and legislative leaders Steve Sweeney and Craig Coughlin have been wrangling about how to raise revenues to pay for what they generally agree to be spending priorities. Murphy has taken his argument directly to voters. Is it working?
June 26, 2018
New Jersey Spotlight--Murphy Won’t Rule Out Line-Item Veto, but Keeps Talking with Legislators
Murphy and Democratic leaders try to bridge budget gap in closed-door talks and try to sway public opinion in competing press conferences
There were more closed-door budget talks in Trenton yesterday but also another round of news conferences, with Gov. Phil Murphy and legislative leaders now openly jockeying for public support as they remain deadlocked on the state’s next budget just days before a potential government shutdown.
John Reitmeyer | June 26, 2018
Star Ledger--Phil Murphy warns he'll make huge cuts if there's no budget deal with Democratic leaders
Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday that absent a last-minute deal with his fellow Democrats who run the New Jersey Legislature, he will be forced to cut $855 million in spending from the state budget lawmakers passed last week.
Samantha Marcus| Updated Jun 25, 8:43 PM; Posted Jun 25, 4:51 PM
Asbury Park Press--Brick, Toms River schools are 'kicked while we're down by Trenton Dems', say GOP
TRENTON — Nearly six years have passed since superstorm Sandy damaged thousands of homes in Ocean and Monmouth counties, but Republicans say the Democrat-lead Legislature is ready to take millions of dollars worth of state aid from Sandy-impacted schools here.
Amanda Oglesby, Asbury Park Press Published 5:00 a.m. ET June 26, 2018 | Updated 6:50 a.m. ET June 26, 2018
New York Times--Educators Turn to Programs for Top Students to Narrow the ‘Excellence Gap’
Consider two fifth graders. One struggles with math, reads below grade level and has trouble turning thoughts into paragraphs. The other is a high achiever who aces tests and thinks the homework her teacher assigns is too easy.
Education reformers have focused their efforts for years on the first student, and many have been wary of creating separate, more advanced classrooms for the second. Given the United States’ ugly history of denying certain groups access to a rigorous education, why devote resources to students who presumably already do well in school, when there are so many others who are behind?
Dana Goldstein| June 25, 2018
NBC News--Push to lower the voting age gains traction across the states
Teenagers fight to lower voting age to 16
WASHINGTON — Jenny Gonzalez, 16, a student at Woodrow Wilson High School here, insists she and her peers are ready to vote.
"We know about the issues, and we deserve a voice," she said.
Jenny is one of dozens of invigorated teens who are part of Vote16USA, a nationwide campaign created by Generation Citizen, a national civic engagement organization, and led by youths fighting to lower the voting age with the help of Charles Allen, a Democrat on the D.C. Council.
Devyn Rafols-Nuñez / Jun.24.2018 / 7:31 PM ET
Education Week--No Election-Year Lull for State Lawmakers on K-12 Issues
School safety, teachers top education issues
During election years, governors and state legislators generally try to avoid pushing aggressive K-12 policy agendas.
It's probably best, the thinking goes, not to rattle parents and teachers—a massive coalition of voters who, when it comes time to head to the polls, rarely forget.
But after a convulsive start to 2018 marked by school shootings, teacher strikes, and fiscal uncertainty in many states, legislatures stepped into high gear, scrapping governors' budget proposals, scrambling to address school security, and—at breakneck speed—forking over generous pay raises to teachers.
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/06/20/no-election-year-lull-for-state-lawmakers-on.html
Daarel Burnette II | June 19, 2018
