1. The Obama administration has started requiring poorly-performing Head Start providers to compete against other local providers–and win–in order to keep their grants for the next five years.
2. The bi-partisan Success and Opportunity through Quality Charter Schools Act would “streamline two existing charter school programs, combine grants to open new schools, and renovate facilities, and ask for $50 million more in annual charter school funding for a total of $300 million.
3. The Chicago Teachers Union passed a resolution opposing the Common Core Standards in teaching and testing, with plans to lobby the state board of education to reverse its Common Core approval and ask the AFT to consider doing so, too.
4. Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr. and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have strongly warned districts across the country not to deny enrollment to illegal immigrant students.
5. As part of a new proposed NYC teacher contract under Mayor DeBlasio, there would be across-the-board raises of 18% over 9 years plus extra pay to the best teachers: “ambassador” or “model” teachers would get $5,700 more; a “master” teacher would get $20,000. Needless to say, not everyone is on board.
6. A federal judge agreed that Florida’s teacher evaluation law tying evaluations and pay to student test performance is unfair but found no legal reason to overturn it and so dismissed the lawsuit brought by 7 teachers from 3 counties and several teachers unions.