February 1, 2010
In Kansas’ special education community this year, the windfall of one school district has caused glares from others. The Legislature this week will begin debating changes to the formula that funds special education programs in the state in an attempt to curb explosive growth in the number of claims for "catastrophic" aid. Catastrophic aid payments […]
February 1, 2010
Amity Regional School District officials say it just doesn’t make sense: Why is the district being punished for having too many white autistic kids? And it’s the federal government’s punishment that is raising tempers: cutting the crucial funding used to eductate the austistic students. It’s a thorny issue for all sides. When one racial group […]
February 1, 2010
Tom Beebe has an idea for raising $850 million a year for Wisconsin schools, easing property taxes for homeowners and buying som e time to devise a long-term solution to the state’s Byzantine school funding system — raise the state’s 5 percent sales tax by 1 percentage point. It might not be politically viable. But […]
February 1, 2010
Many charter school supporters believe their hour has come. Locally, charters play an increasingly integral part in the school reform agenda of the Los Angeles Unified School District. At the state level, California charters recently received a boost from legislation that permits them access to new bond funding for school construction. And nationally, the U.S. […]
February 1, 2010
Despite allegations of "Medicaid fraud" within the Taos Municipal School District by school board members, a state Medicaid School-Based Service spokeswoman said this week that the Medicaid School Health Office does not have any recent program review findings for Taos and will not seek to recoup funds from the district. Allegations about Medicaid money being […]
February 1, 2010
Jan. 29–GUILFORD — Parents defended special education coordinators and paraprofessionals at a budget hearing this week, as proposed budget plans may require numerous educators to be laid off at the end of the school year. Superintendent Thomas Forcella has announced that the positions of two special education coordinators and seven paraprofessionals may be eliminated in […]
February 1, 2010
A three-year plan aimed at corralling escalating special education costs at the public school board is expected in the spring. Last June, Peel District School Board trustees instructed staff to develop a multi-year fiscal plan to control rising costs that are not fully funded by the provincial government. During a meeting on Tuesday, trustees were […]
February 1, 2010
A recent court decision in a Riverside County case says special-education teachers have the same standing to sue a school district as the special-needs students they serve. The ruling is reminiscent of the access to courts that civil rights workers gained during the 1960s – the right to take action on behalf of others, even […]
January 30, 2010
DAVIE, Fla. — A crucial experiment in the future of Medicaid is playing out in Florida, where both houses of the Legislature are vying to find ways to drastically cut costs, manage care and reduce waste and fraud. The cuts and changes being sought by the Republican-led Legislature and encouraged by the new Republican governor, […]
January 30, 2010
To improve its public schools, the United States should raise the status of the teaching profession by recruiting more qualified candidates, training them better and paying them more, according to a new report on comparative educational systems. Andreas Schleicher, who oversees the international achievement test known by its acronym Pisa, says in his report that […]