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A Kansas Senate committee has recommended approval of a non-binding resolution that tells schools districts not to sue the state over perceived funding inequities, The Lawrence Journal World says. The resolution, approved 6-5, says taxpayer funds shouldn’t be used to finance litigation against the state. School districts that successfully sued the state for more school […]

An Associated Press article in The Boston Globe reports that more states are requiring schools to use environmentally friendly cleaning products. Ten states require or encourage “green” floor waxes, window cleaners and other products in schools, according to Green Seal Inc. Similar bills are expected to be debated this year in at least […]

A 17-year-old Willows (Calif.) High School junior has been reinstated after the Glenn County Board of Education overturned the Willows Unified School District’s decision to expel him. The Chico Enterprise-Record says the Willows district removed Gary Tudesko from school after officials in October discovered two unloaded shotguns in his pickup truck, which was […]

Many states have adopted education reforms and put long hours into applications so they would have a chance to get some of the $4 billion in federal funds that are to be dispersed through the Department of Education’s Race to the Top program. But Texas Gov. Rick Perry has decided that the Lone Star State […]

After a bus accident this weekend in Hartford, Conn., that killed a high school student, a state lawmaker says he will introduce legislation to require seat belts on school buses. The Hartford Courant reports that over the past 20 years, 23 bills requiring seat belts on school buses have been introduced by state lawmakers, but […]

The Day in New London, Conn., reports that financial institutions in Connecticut now face tighter rules when they try to sign up public college and university students, including a ban on soliciting students during orientation, class registration and sporting events. The new law prohibits companies from pestering students’ families or spouses for debts unless they […]

A new study says school mergers don’t hurt student performance. The Des Moines Register says University of Northern Iowa research into eight merged school districts in Iowa found no drop-off in grades or test scores. The research comes as pressure to merge small districts in Iowa and other states has intensified because of shrinking enrollment […]

According to the a report from the National Center for Education Statistics, “Educational Technology in Public School Districts: Fall 2008,” 58 percent of public school districts say their teachers are receiving enough training so that they can use technology effectively for classroom instruction. However, 24 percent of districts say they do not believe their teachers […]

When something is called “the rubber room,” odds are that it’s not someplace you want to be. In the New York City school system, the rubber room is what the locals call the spaces where teachers spend their days after they have been accused of misconduct or some other situation that requires their removal from […]

The Chicago Tribune reports that three districts in suburban Chicago–New Lenox (Ill.) School District 122, Joliet Public Schools District 86 and Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School District 233 in Flossmoor–have begun using a security system that conducts background checks on school visitors to identify registered sex offenders or anyone who has committed violent crimes against children. […]