Southern Education Notes

Southern Education Notes is a service of the Southern office of The Council of State Governments/Southern Legislative Conference.  The links below lead to education-related news articles and reports from across the region

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Educational Attainment and Ethnicity
In 2007, some 87 percent of 25- to 29-year-olds had received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate. Although this percentage increased 7 percentage points between 1971 and 1976, the high school completion rate has remained between 85 and 88 percent over the last 30 years.
In 1971, a lower percentage of Blacks than Whites completed high school (59 vs. 82 percent). Between 1971 and 1982, the gap between Blacks and Whites decreased 15 percentage points to 8 percentage points, but since 1982 the gap has been between 4 and 10 percentage points. In 2007, the high school completion rate for Blacks was still below that of Whites (88 vs. 93 percent). The high school completion rate for Hispanics increased between 1971 and 2007 (48 vs. 65 percent). Unlike the gap between Blacks and Whites, the gap between Hispanics and Whites fluctuated but was not measurably different in 2007 than in 1971.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of Education 2008, U.S. Department of Education, 2008.

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AR: Children alone half the time, survey reports
About half of the Arkansas middle and high school respondents to a recent survey reported they are routinely without adult supervision after school but would consider participating in after-school activities if offered, according to a study by the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock.
Hispanic students statewide and students in Northwest Arkansas had the greatest unmet demand for after-school activities, while central Arkansas students had the greatest awareness and participation in such programs, according to the Clinton School project done in partnership with the Governor’s Task Force on Best Practices for After School and Summer School Programs.
The Arkansas News Bureau

US: Online 'textbooks' see college doors opening
As textbook prices skyrocket, college students and faculty seeking more affordable options increasingly are turning to "open textbooks" as an alternative.
Open textbooks are free textbooks available online that are licensed to allow users to download, customize and print any part of the text. Professors can change content to fit their teaching styles. Some authors offer a print-on-demand service that produces professionally bound copies for $10 to $20.
Textbook prices have outpaced inflation 2-to-1 in the past two decades, says a 2005 report by the Government Accountability Office. They account for 26% of tuition and fees at four-year public universities and nearly three-quarters of costs at community colleges, the GAO says.
USA Today

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TX: Attorney general rules Bible course in schools constitutional
A proposed Bible course for public schools would not violate the First Amendment, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Wednesday, although he would not approve any specific curriculum.
A letter from Abbott's office to the State Board of Education triggered conflicting interpretations. On a preliminary vote in March, the board adopted general curriculum standards for the new “Bible course,” prompting critics to argue it violated state law requiring specific standards.
The attorney general's letter makes it clear the board must develop new standards for the Bible course, said Texas Freedom Network President Kathy Miller.
San Antonio Express-News

FL: Florida schools earn record number of A's and B's
It's crowded at the top this year. Florida's nearly 2,900 public schools earned a record number of A's and B's on the 10th annual school-grades report card released Tuesday. The results had Central Florida educators celebrating.
Statewide, 74 percent of public schools earned A's or B's, up from 69 percent last year. In Central Florida, administrators had plenty of good news. In Lake County, East Ridge High went from D to B. In Orange County, Howard and Lee middle schools earned their first A's. In Seminole, 81 percent of the schools were A-rated. But the school district fell short of its goal of all A's and B's: Four schools got C's.
The number of F schools fell statewide, with just two local schools earning F's. The region's six F schools from 2007 all improved, with Evans and Oak Ridge high schools in Orange County and Poinciana High in Osceola County getting D's.
The Orlando Sentinel

AL: All Alabama high schools to have distance learning by fall 2009 - one year ahead of schedule
Funding to come from bond issue
All high schools in Alabama will have distance learning by the time school begins in 2009, one year ahead of schedule, Gov. Bob Riley and state school Superintendent Joe Morton announced Tuesday.
The program, called Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide, uses online and interactive video conferencing technology to link classrooms and offer coursework, including Advanced Placement and languages, to students in schools where those courses may not be available.
The Birmingham News

TX: Texas attorney general tells school districts to pay for teacher benefits
Attorney General Greg Abbott has sided with the Legislature in a $100 million dispute between the state and school districts over which should pay for teacher benefits stemming from a salary increase approved two years ago.
The attorney general said in an opinion that school districts – not the state – should have to fork over the required contributions to the teacher pension fund based on the $2,500 pay raise that teachers, librarians and counselors were given in the 2006-07 school year.
The contribution – 6.58 percent of each teacher's pay hike – means that school districts would have to pay an extra $100 million a year because of the state-mandated raise. The Dallas school district would have to contribute as much as $4 million.
The Dallas Morning News

MD: Teacher pay set by the results
Performance-based bonuses cropping up across Maryland
From rural Washington County to suburban Prince George's County, school systems around the state are beginning to wade into a promising but controversial topic in education: pay for performance.
School officials are starting to offer teachers and principals extra pay or bonuses when they take on challenging assignments or raise test scores.
So a Prince George's County teacher could earn a bonus of up to $10,000 a year, and a Baltimore principal might someday get an extra 10 percent for exemplary work.
The move toward pay for performance, driven by increasing pressure for schools to improve student achievement as well as by shortages of teachers, comes despite the influence of Maryland's powerful teachers union.
The Baltimore Sun

FL:  Flunked FCAT? Another test, such as ACT or SAT, may earn that high school diploma
A growing number of Florida high-school seniors who stumble on FCAT are making a last stab by taking either the ACT or the similar SAT college-entrance exam.
It has been a last-ditch option since 2003 for students who fail FCAT at least three times.
In 2003, only 152 students took that route to get a high-school diploma.
Last year, 4,452 high-school seniors across Florida met the FCAT standard for reading or math by taking a college-entrance exam.
That number is expected to rise again this year.
The Orlando Sentinel

MD: Maryland schools consider merit pay for teachers
School systems across Maryland are considering performance pay for teachers and principals.
Maryland's teachers union, like others across the country, has been skeptical about the prospect of bonuses and has voiced concern that rewards could be made unfairly.
A good teacher-evaluation system is more important to school systems than increasing pay for some teachers, said state Sen. Paul G. Pinsky, Prince George's Democrat, who is a former teacher and a field representative for the teachers union.
The Washington Times

AL: Waiver plan blends transfer, tutoring options for troubled schools
Instead of replacing one option offered to students in troubled schools with another, Alabama now wants to offer them both.
Alabama students attending Title I schools designated as "needing improvement" for the first time will have the choice of transferring to a higher-performing school or staying and receiving free tutoring, if the federal education department grants the state's waiver request.
The state Department of Education previously had requested a waiver from the federal education department to allow school systems to offer tutoring the first year and then giving them the opportunity to transfer their second year -- the opposite of the way it is now.
But the state is now amending that request, and asking that school systems be allowed to offer both options to students in Title I schools that don't meet the required performance benchmarks of the federal education law.
The Montgomery Advertiser

AL: Distance learning expansion continues
A distance learning program that allows students to take classes from anywhere in the state without leaving campus is poised to expand.
Gov. Bob Riley and state Superintendent of Education Joseph Morton will announce plans today to fully implement the Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide, or ACCESS distance learning initiative, in every high school in the state.

Launched in 2004, the ACCESS initiative allows high school students to use video-conferencing and the Internet to take courses that might not be offered at their own schools.
Riley's initial plan put the program in every high school by 2010, but it will be available throughout the state ahead of schedule, according to a press release from the governor's office.
The Montgomery Advertiser

US: Schools cutting bus service because of fuel prices
Schools are making more students walk to school and axing buses for extracurricular activities, and more operate on four-day weeks.
School administrators are spinning their wheels trying to cope with the soaring costs of fuel for school buses. The bottom line: More students will walk farther this fall.
Fuel costs are up 35%-40% since last year. Schools are making more students walk to school and axing buses for extracurricular activities, and more operate on four-day weeks:
USA Today

US: More commuter colleges are going residential
Change can boost enrollment and improve neighborhood
The neighborhood around Georgia State University was for years a maze of boarded up storefronts, aging buildings and parking lots that emptied at the close of each day.
But the downtown Atlanta campus is shedding its sleepy commuter school image thanks to plush new dorms, gleaming classroom buildings, Greek life and, yes, even football.
Georgia State and other former night schools across the country are transforming into more traditional college campuses to boost enrollment and gain prestige. And each is creating a thriving community that spills over into surrounding neighborhoods, drawing restaurants and retail into once empty streets.
MSNBC

TN: Tennessee expects few buyout recipients to use free tuition program
It's a deal any college student would take in a heartbeat: two free years of classes, with no grade requirements and no strings attached.
The state hopes to sweeten its voluntary buyout plan by offering exactly that, but officials expect only 1 in 10 employees who accept the buyout to use the free schooling.
The state is hoping about 2,300 workers of an eligible 12,000 will take the buyout offer, which includes education stipends of up to $5,400 per year for two years. Recipients can attend a state technology center, community college, university or apprenticeship program approved by the state labor department.
The provision is believed to be the first of its kind in a state buyout package. Eligible employees have until Aug. 5 to apply for the buyout.
The Tennessean

US: Illegal immigrants face threat of no college
Some states are making it harder for illegal immigrants to attend college by denying in-state tuition benefits or banning undocumented students.
In the past two years, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and Oklahoma have refused in-state tuition benefits to students who entered the USA illegally with their parents but grew up and went to school in the state. That represents a reversal from earlier this decade, when 10 states passed laws allowing in-state rates for such students.
This summer, South Carolina became the first state to bar undocumented students from all public colleges and universities.
USA Today

KY: College aid falling short, officials say
Assistance can't match rising costs
Financial aid for needy Kentuckians is not keeping pace with the rising cost of tuition at the state's public universities -- a trend that's alarming higher education officials.
Council on Postsecondary Education representatives yesterday briefed a legislative subcommittee on higher education that is studying college affordability.
The council voted in May against some state universities' proposed tuition increases as the "council's attempt at beginning to address affordability," Chairman John Turner said at the time.
During yesterday's presentation, council officials said it is hard to measure affordability, but one indicator -- enrollment growth -- is a concern.
The Louisville Courier Journal

FL: Florida's community colleges shift toward 4-year degrees
While Florida's public universities boost admission standards and turn away thousands of students, a new "state college" system is emerging to help more students earn bachelor's degrees.
This year, the Legislature created nine pilot state colleges, community colleges that will transform into schools that offer more four-year degrees. These include Miami Dade College, Edison College in Fort Myers and Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, formerly known as Indian River Community College.
Florida is the first state to create such a system, according to the Southern Regional Education Board, a nonprofit group serving 16 states.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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US: Credit Crisis Shakes Confidence In Student Loans
For decades, the federal student loan program has helped tens of millions of students pay for college. For private lenders, issuing government-backed loans has been risk-free and profitable. For families, the program has been a stable and reliable source of money.
But with the economy in a downward spiral, lenders have been pulling out. Funding for new loans has dried up, and public confidence in the program seems shaky for the first time.
Since its creation in 1965, some experts in the banking industry have called the federal student loan program the most successful public-private partnership ever created. Until now.
National Public Radio’s Morning Edition

US: Bill seeks lower cost of college
Thirteen thousand dollars.
That's the average cost of a year of college for in-state students. Make it more than $32,000 for those attending private schools.
But because of complicated financial aid formulas, what undergraduates really pay for their degree is a much more complex equation. Now Congress is trying to take the mystery out of the forever rising costs of higher education by mandating that colleges provide students and their parents more information about how much the average student pays for school, what kind of tuition help they might be able to secure and which universities offer the best bang for the buck. Congress is also calling for an annual "blacklist" of schools with the steepest cost increases.
The Chicago Tribune

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Study: Bush's Reading First program ineffective
A $1 billion-a-year reading program that has been a pillar of the Bush administration's education plan doesn't have much impact on the reading skills of the young students it's supposed to help, a long-awaited federal study shows.
The results, issued Thursday, could serve as a knockout punch for the 6-year-old Reading First program — Congress has already slashed funding 60%. Reading First last year was the subject of a congressional investigation into whether top advisers improperly benefited from contracts for textbooks and testing materials they designed, and whether the advisers kept some textbook publishers from qualifying for funding.
USA Today

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NJ: School building program gets infusion of nearly $4B
After three years in limbo brought on by scandals and mismanagement, New Jersey's ambitious program to rebuild schools in the state's poorest communities was infused Tuesday with almost $4 billion -- including $158 million for a new Phillipsburg high school.
At their monthly meeting in Trenton Tuesday, managers of the state Schools Development Authority approved 53 projects expected to cost about $2.6 billion.
The projects range from a $2.9 million pedestrian footbridge to carry students to a new Paterson elementary school to a new high school in Millville slated to cost $163 million.
The (Newark, New Jersey) Star-Ledger

CA: Calif. Mandates Algebra for All 8th Graders
California's Board of Education voted Wednesday to require all eighth-graders to be tested in algebra, acting upon a forceful, last-minute recommendation by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The governor immediately applauded the board's action to make California the first state in the nation to require algebra at such an early level. He called algebra "the key that unlocks the world of science, innovation, engineering and technology."
Schwarzenegger fueled a political firestorm by issuing a letter asking for the mandate the night before Wednesday's state Board of Education meeting.
Education Week

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PreK-12
MS: State aims to boost standing on ACT
GA: Scores up in high school English, science, but down in math, history
TX: Staff shakeup at education agency's office of inspector general
GA: More school vouchers success expected
GA: Gov has precedent to remove Clayton board members
GA: Panel studies role of state's school boards
GA: Georgia end of course tests show mixed results this year
AR: End-of-course exams show improvement in algebra, geometry
AL: Schools are getting learning labs
Higher Education
TX: Complaints rising right along with tuition, fees
AL: State's two-year colleges go after their slice of taxpayer pie
GA: Police officers will get college credit for basic training