National Policy Watch

Romney issues his first statements on class sizes, and education policy, with changes to how Title I and IDEA money is spent. He names his George Bush-era potential education advisors.

Obama issues rebuttals, pushback on expansion of vouchers and big class sizes under Romney.

Take Action

United Opt Out [ongoing]

Save Our Schools March/Conference, August 3-5, 2012

Best Practices

See our Early Childhood Education Group for recommendations against Race to the Top guidelines by members of the Defending the Early Years coalition.

New recommendations to the states on Learning Disability diagnoses from the National Center for Learning Disability in our Parents of Disabled Children Group.

Arts Education -- we all know it's good for kids. Why do we treat it like an "extra"?

Authentic Parent Engagement -- examples from PEPs, the Colorado Parent Information and Resource Center.

Project Based Learning, what is it? A quick video exploration and more resources.

Go to the Best Practices Group for more.

State Surveys

Watch this space! Join as a member and you'll have a vote and a voice on education issues you care about.

Common Core test is on track, State Board told - by John Fensterwald

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By John Fensterwald Four states have encountered serious glitches and system meltdowns over the past several weeks as they have moved their own state assessments online. But the head of the state-led consortium creating the Common Core tests for California and two dozen other states expressed confidence Wednesday that his organization is working closely with [...]

Many charter schools to begin offering transitional kindergarten in fall 2013 - by Lillian Mongeau

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By Lillian Mongeau After a year’s delay, many charter schools will begin offering transitional kindergarten classes in the fall. There had been some disagreement with the California Department of Education over whether charters were required to offer the new program for children who turn five in the first few months of the school year. While school districts [...]

Brown fights back, responds to critics of his funding formula - by John Fensterwald

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By John Fensterwald Gov. Jerry Brown emphatically vowed Wednesday “to fight with everything I have and whatever we have to bring to bear” for passage this year of his school finance reform, as proposed. Back from a trip to China and re-engaged on a priority issue, Brown spoke at a news conference a day after [...]

The Illinois Charter Commission. An über committee with even less democratic oversight than the CPS board.

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By Fred Klonsky The Illinois State Charter Commission can almost be described as an über committee with even less oversight than Chicago’s mayoral controlled school board. If a privately managed charter application is rejected by a local school board, even a board that was democratically elected as all but the CPS board are, than the [...]

Pearson Error on NYS Gifted and Talented Education Screening Test

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BREAKING NEWS: Pearson errors on gifted and talented screening tests for NYS students mean that too few qualified students were identified. @GothamSchools reports: From Pearson re @nycschools G&T exams: “We are very sorry to report that errors at Pearson occurred …” Feel like we’ve heard this before — GothamSchools (@gothamschools) April 19, 2013 Pearson on [...]

Common Core Critics Want Republicans To Oppose Standards

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By John O’Connor Jonathan Ernst / Reuters/Landov Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus. The Republican National Committee is meeting in Hollywood this week, and could take up a resolution opposing new education standards fully adopted by Florida, 44 other states and the District of Columbia. The Source: State Impact Florida           

In the News: Top-performing school lands on closings list

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  By Cassandra West   Calhoun North Elementary in the East Garfield Park neighborhood has logged some of the best math scores in the city, but CPS says it’s significantly underenrolled and should be closed next fall in a sweeping cost-cutting effort pushed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.   Its students will be sent nearly a [...]

Weekend Edition - Pennsylvania Education Policy Roundup for April 13, 2013: Campbell’s law and Rhee-visiting the DC test cheating scandal

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By Lawrence A. Feinberg Daily postings from the Keystone State Education Coalition now reach more than 1900 Pennsylvania education policymakers – school directors, administrators, legislators, legislative and congressional staffers, PTO/PTA officers, parent advocates, teacher leaders, education professors, members of the press and a broad array ofSource: Keystone State Education Coalition