“Book bans, gassed up by state legislation pushed by conservative officials and groups, are stacking up at an alarming rate,” The Los Angeles Times reports.
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Designed to Fail: The Legislature’s McCleary solution has collapsed
Robert Cruickshank of Washington’s Paramount Duty argues that the Legislature’s response to the McCleary education funding lawsuit fell far short of providing the ample funding for public schools that the Washington State Constitution requires.
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KCLS pivots to digital during coronavirus pandemic
If people haven’t tried our digital resources, now is the time… We have access to many newspapers across the country, you just need a library
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The numbers that explain why teachers are in revolt
“By 2016, more than half of states controlled by Democrats had restored education spending per pupil to 2009 levels, but the same was true in only five of twenty-two states controlled by Republicans.”
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Don’t bolster education funding by selling out our environment
If the Legislature is not prepared to create a carbon tax that is scaled to meet the challenges we face, it will be up to
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Read Governor Inslee’s second inaugural address
“At a time when Washington’s towns and cities were just specks on a map, our state’s founders chose education as our paramount duty. Not roads or railroads. Not jails. They chose schools. So should we,” the Governor declared.
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How Texas keeps tens of thousands of children out of special education
This special report by the Houston Chronicle’s Brian Rosenthal (formerly of The Seattle Times) is a must-read: “In 2004, the Texas Education Agency arbitrarily decided what percentage of students should get special education services. Today, disabled children across Texas are paying the price.”
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These states allow teachers and staff to hit students
“Twenty-two states still allow corporal punishment in school: Fifteen expressly permit it while another seven do not prohibit it,” NPR explains. “That’s according to a recent letter written by U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. to the nation’s governors and state school chiefs.”
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Seaside’s crumbling schools: Infrastructure woes add to tsunami fears
“It’s one thing to hear about the crumbling condition of Seaside’s high school, middle school and Gearhart Elementary School. It’s another to take a tour and see them firsthand,” writes The Daily Astorian’s RJ Marx, beginning a report on the appalling, abysmal conditions of the Oregon coastal city’s schools.
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Holding on to what makes us human
Writing for the Chronicle of Higher Education, L.D. Burnett explains why the humanities are worth teaching in a skills-obsessed university.
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‘We should be screaming’ with outrage: Washington State doing little to protect schoolkids from earthquakes, tsunamis
The Seattle Times reports on Washington’s failure to seismically retrofit public schools and ensure schoolchildren in tsunami hazard zones have a way to get to higher ground.
LaunchInside Seattle’s grassroots uprising against high-stake tests
The emphasis on uniform education standards, high-stakes tests to measure student mastery of those standards, and the inherent value of a school with high test
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A mother’s battle exposed inequities and injustices. A state is held in contempt of court. But corporations save their tax breaks and promised education dollars aren’t flowing.
The Boston Globe tells the story of the McCleary legal case, brought against the State of Washington over the Legislature and governor’s failure to amply provide for the education of the state’s youth as required by Section IX of Washington’s Constitution.
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Three lessons from University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe’s resignation
“The administrators created a world in which universities revolve socially, politically, and economically around the exploited labor of football. Now let them reap what they sow,” writes The Nation’s Dave Zirin.
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School districts see teacher shortages after years of cuts
School districts see teacher shortages after years of cuts The Associated Press explores the impact that years of budget cuts, layoffs, and hiring freezes have
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Governor Inslee, legislative leaders to meet Monday to prepare for a new special session
At my request, legislative leaders agreed during a conference call earlier today to meet with me Monday to begin the necessary and difficult work before
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Hillary Clinton hits Jeb Bush first, and hard, in speech on race
People can’t rise if they can’t afford healthcare… They can’t rise if the minimum wage is too low to live on… They can’t rise if
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White House releases proposed student loan forgiveness payment cap rules
Good news to share today: The Obama administration has just released a draft of the new student loan rules going into effect in December 2015.
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Danny Westneat: Testing is cutting into class time
Hey, state senators: How about holding a hearing on something that actually is cutting into students’ class time? Your standardized testing regimen. — Danny Westneat:
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Watch nine-year old Sydney Smoot destroy Florida’s new standardized test in front of her local school board
VIDEO: Watch nine-year old Sydney Smoot destroy Florida’s new standardized test in front of her local school board PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT courtesy of The Washington Post:
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Tests are useless for measuring teacher effectiveness
Tests are useless for measuring teacher effectiveness The Washington Education Association’s Kim Mead explains why linking teacher performance to student test scores makes absolutely no
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