Texas House, Senate move toward school finance compromise

The House passed the Senate bill to create a commission to study future school funding reform. The Senate also voted to pass House Bill 21, which would put $351 million into public schools immediately to help struggling small, rural schools and students with special needs and put $212 million into a health insurance program for retired teachers. Read more>>

Gov. Bruce Rauner said that the Illinois Senate made a “terrible mistake” by overriding his amendatory veto of a school funding plan. He vowed to reach a bipartisan compromise—though he may not get the chance if the Illinois House also votes to override. Read more>>

When a drug-sniffing dog found marijuana in a student's car in Montana, it started a statewide discussion on how much power school districts have to conduct random drug sweeps. Still, Helena Public Schools has no plans to back away from its policy calling for widespread searches, even though their legality may be in question. Read more>>

The high school graduation rates for the class of 2016 have finally been released, confirming state education officials July announcement that the official federal graduation rate is 87.1 percent. The rate is higher than the 85 percent rate announced in April, but lower than the 89.3 percent rate from 2015, now found to be artificially inflated. Read more>>

In the first test of a new law that took effect in July, Shelby County Schools is rejecting a charter operator's request for student contact information, potentially setting up a legal battle with the state. It denied the request made under the new state statute because of federal student privacy laws. Read more>>

Students will soon stream back to Colorado classrooms, loaded with pencils and paper, binders and ballpoint pens—and, increasingly, items that schools used to supply, including tissues, cotton balls, hand wipes and zip-close bags. The price tag to equip one child can easily reach $150, and that doesn’t include clothes, shoes and specialty items. Read more>>

Districts devote nearly 80 percent of their budgets to personnel costs—leaving little wiggle room for administrators tasked with maintaining fiscal responsibility and boosting the quality of education in a time of nearly stagnant funding. Read more>>

In an effort to correct the post-Katrina mass hiring, and subsequent high turnover, of inexperienced white teachers, educators in New Orleans are exploring how to attract and retain black teachers. It’s an effort to help avert a brewing crisis: By 2020, the city will need to hire more than 900 teachers annually, an increase of nearly 40 percent from 2010. Read more>>

Many 18-year olds are registered for their first semester of college classes, but very few of them are registered to vote. Their disregard is not the result of indifference or immaturity, but of an overwhelming amount of new responsibilities. Lowering the voting age to 17 would begin the habit of voting at a more stable time in their lives. Read more>>

Local state representatives need to stand with their school districts and pay attention to the math. They need to choose 831 school district winners rather than handing a jackpot to the financial mismanagement and bankrupt policies of the Chicago Public Schools. Read more>>

The Flex Active Table can meet the needs of any collaboration layout, with the locking casters providing easy room reconfiguration and storage capabilities. Tables are available in six widths. The optional modesty panel also provides privacy and design. Read more>>

Developed by Forward Move LLC, YOU Get It First is a universal messaging and threat alert system that partners with institutions to deliver important infographic messages to their audiences. Each user can uniquely customize the messages they send. Read more>>

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Interim Superintendent Bob Nelson is the finalist to lead the California district on a permanent basis. A 20-year veteran of the district, Nelson previously served as superintendent of Chawanakee USD. Read more>>

The Portland school board announced that San Francisco deputy schools chief Guadalupe Guerrero is its choice to become superintendent. He has more than 10 years of experience as a school and district administrator, in Boston and his current district. Read more>>