Friday Snippets: 4/4/08 - It's Always Something with Illinois

Here is another week's worth:

Arizona hits a snag on opting out of NCLB, but their efforts are not over yet.

The California homeschooling decision is still generating backlash and New Hampshire homeschoolers are also upset over a bill that require them to submit curriculum plans before they withdraw their children.

Nebraska governor signs changes to school funding formula into law, which prompts some school districts to drop their funding lawsuit against the state. Also, Nebraska school bus seatbelt bill failed.

Illinois is a mess again (I could do snippets just on Illinois stories each week). Here is this weeks top 10. 1) Gov. did end run through school to give money to a church. 2) Failed. 3) And doesn't want to talk about it.  4) Tony Resko (of Obama fame) implicates the Gov. in a Teacher's Pension System fraud. Also, 5) the legislature looks to remove some of Gov. power over education 6) and also sides with media against the high school athletic association over pictures of athletes. 7) the mayor of Chicago threatens the legislature with property tax hikes. as 8) the state board of education cuts another 25 million from the budget. 9) the Juvenile justice system can't find enough teachers.
10) Meanwhile the Washington Post reports that violence is out of
control in Chicago, with 20 students in CPS already dead this year as a
result of youth violence. 7 in March alone.

Louisiana is looking to do more and deeper background checks on teachers. (Minnesota wants to background check all coaches). Louisiana Superintendents are also upset about Legislators trying to force discipline rules on them.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association has been found discriminatory against girls.

Negotiations continue over Kentucky's anti-bullying bill.

There might be support for Vouchers in Maryland.


And in the Ed. Law Blogosphere this Week:

Scott McLeod (of Dangerously Irrelevant fame) passes along word of a ruling in Wisconsin which released the email files
of 5 teachers (including personal e-mails - student identifying
information removed) into the public domain. (Use proprietary email
systems for personal stuff folks, I like g-mail). 
Scott also passes along word of a new education news site that seems to
focus on bad behavior in schools, whether from teachers or students. Detentionslip.org. 

Jim Gerl continues his series on IDEA Procedural Safeguards.

Mark Walsh has the the Supremes declining cert.
to a case where a student text messaged a friend with an icon shooting
bullets at a head and the words "Kill Mr. VanderMolen," his teacher. But he also has a lot on the Supreme's accepting cert. in a teacher's union dues collection case.

Mitchell Rubenstein has more Garcetti fallout. This time a teacher complained that unqualified people were hired for positions within a school. Ruling = Not protected.

The latest Integration Report is out and has more about SES based diversity plans.

Jon Becker finds a school district blocking Google Docs (wow).

Jim Ryan, the law and education guy at the University of Virginia Law School, posts a Fixing NCLB article at Slate. And the Ed. Blogosphere busts his chops: Quick and the Ed; D-Ed Reckoning; Tim Stahmer
(For my part, I disagree with his first sentence. Education can't be
"fixed" with 1 law or tinkering with NCLB. That is the kind of surface
level thinking that produces laws like NCLB in the first place. But,
Jim is doing good work in education law otherwise, so I am going to give him a pass and chalk it up to Slate's request for a surface level article).

Kevin Carey (Quick and the Ed) also makes a good case that Law Schools should not complain about the U.S. News Rankings (see the ABA Journal article).
Law schools do, after all, rank their students (what horrid memories,
but I will never forget my law school ranking ... I was ranked ____ -
are you crazy, I am not sharing).

Michele McNeil finds the AFT running radio ads for Sen. Clinton that don't even mention education. This is the kind of spending that makes unions a hard sell to new teachers. Michele also has a great post on Sen. McCain's education.


And for your Friday Fun: Improv Everywhere - Mobile Desktop

Also watch (1) Frozen Grand Central and (2) Food Court Musical (probably the funniest)

Google Document Link: Friday Snippets 4/4/08

Comments

[Scott McLeod]

I have no idea what my exact rank was at U.Iowa law school, but I finished somewhere in the top third. Not the oh-so-important top 10%, but I seem to be doing okay... =)

My favorite memories of law school:

1. The learning (really. no kidding. I learned a ton.)
2. My buddies: Scott, why are you here? You don't even want to be a lawyer.
3. The stressed-out students smoking outside between classes: Scott, you're too damn cheery!

[Justin B.]

Alright, Scott, since you were forthcoming about it, I will admit that I was in about the same position as you. Not quite the top 10%, but solidly in the top 1/3. It was the first semester that killed me. I improved my rank every semester I was there, but I sort of started in a hole. I got something like a 2.2 or something in Legal Writing and a 2.6 or something in Torts.

I am totally with you on #1 and #2 of your favorite memories. My friends never understood what was wrong with me for not wanting the big firm jobs. All my friends would be doing on campus interviews while I was writing "reflections" at the Ed. School.