Industry News
Special Ed Teacher Layoffs in DISD? (TX)
May 10, 2010
The future of special education teachers in Dallas ISD is uncertain, with the district changing the way it calculates how many special needs teachers are required and opening the door for layoffs. AFT-Alliance president Rena Honea said the staffing formula change led DISD to the conclusion that it is overstaffed in the area of special […]
Special Ed Under-Funded; Educators and Parents Overwhelmed (TX)
May 10, 2010
There’s a huge gap between the current teaching model to serve special education students and the money available to fund it. On Tuesday, the Killeen ISD school board will vote on whether to approve 13 full-time and one part-time special education teachers for the next school year. This will take about $600,000 from the general […]
Uncertainty and Worry: Teachers Could Face More Pay Cuts (ID)
May 10, 2010
Cliff Garbett isn’t accustomed to days off. The physical education teacher at Vera C. O’Leary Middle School in Twin Falls supplements his income by coaching track, wrestling and football. On weekends he works as an emergency room nurse assistant. It adds up to 80-hour, seven-day workweeks for Garbett, who’s in his fourth year of teaching […]
School Districts Battle Rising Costs, Unknown State Aid (NY)
May 10, 2010
It’s rare in the world of education with contract ual salary increases and state mandates, but some area school districts will spend less next year than they are this year. Across the state, 36 percent of school districts have managed to cut spending as they continue to await the fate of the state budget and […]
Prince William County to Study Costs of Federal Health Law (DC)
May 10, 2010
Prince William County supervisors have directed staff members to assess the financial impact the new Medicaid regulations outlined in the federal health-care law will have on a county budget that looks bleak for the next few years. "We quantified the cost of illegal immigration on the county first, and that’s what we are doing here," […]
Hundreds Protest Proposed Cuts to School Funding (CA)
May 10, 2010
About 600 people rallied in Balboa Park on Saturday to protest a state budget proposal to cut funding to schools. The event, held at Sixth Avenue and Laurel Street, drew a range of concerned participants, including teachers, parents and children, many of whom chanted “No more cuts!” and carried signs urging citizens to voice their […]
Looming Special Education Cuts Worry Mt. Diablo Parents (CA)
May 10, 2010
Max Rosillo expresses his thoughts and emotions by pointing to pictures with his chin, with the help of his special education assistant. The 9-year-old boy uses a wheelchair and is on life-support machines, including oxygen and a ventilator, but is able to learn along with other special education students at Woodside Elementary in Concord, said […]
Harrisburg Schools Budget Won’t Be Pretty, Officials Say (PA)
May 10, 2010
It’s high-anxiety time in the Harrisburg School District. District officials must unveil a proposed budget this month for 2010-11 that, ac cording to some people, will be stained with red ink flowing from millions of dollars of deficit spending in recent years. It could make this budget a fiscal time bomb that is […]
Charter Schools’ New Cheerleaders: Financiers (NY)
May 10, 2010
When Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo wanted to meet certain members of the hedge fund crowd, seeking donors for his all-but-certain run for governor, what he heard was this: Talk to Joe. That would be Joe Williams, executive director of a political action committee that advances what has become a favorite cause of many of […]
Special Education The Law Is On Your Side (US)
May 8, 2010
Help is available– and the law is on your side. Its promise is simple: Every child counts. Every child is entitled to an education. Every eligible child with a disability is entitled to a “special” education – one that confers “meaningful benefits.” That is what Congress has said. That is what the United States Supreme […]