- Obama’s plan to provide pre-school for every 4-year-old in the country would cost state and federal governments as much as $15 billion more a year over the $9 billion already budgeted annually now.
- Under Obama’s NCLB waiver program, if a school has a statistically insignificant number of students from a specific racial group, those students will now be combined with other student groups for evaluation purposes. Under NCLB, they were not included at all.
- With those NCLB waivers now enjoyed by 34 states and D.C., the federal requirements for reporting and holding schools accountable for graduation rates are falling by the wayside.
- New Castle, PA teachers have decided to forfeit their $147,000 federal Race to the Top (RTTT) winnings, saying no to mandated teacher evaluations based on student test performance.
- Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s four priorities for the next four years: more money for early education for disadvantaged children, re-authorization of NCLB, leading the world in college graduates, and passing gun control legislation.
