TOP STORY
Despite Education Funds, Obama Budget Unites Progressive Opposition
By Jeff Bryant
The conventional wisdom is that President Obama has proposed a “balance” of new revenues and spending cuts with an emphasis on sacrificing “entitlements” enjoyed by old people in order to increase “investments” in children. … The narrative that there’s a sort of generational warfare breaking out in the Democratic Party is remarkably false, though. … Democrats who fear opposition to Social Security cuts included in the Obama budget runs the risk of scuttling worthwhile spending on the younger generation should rest assured their fears are unwarranted. What the Obama administration is proposing for education is in no way worth the sacrifice being demanded from the elderly, disabled, and poor.
NEWS AND VIEWS
School ‘Discipline Gap’ Explodes As 1 In 4 Black Students Suspended, Report Finds
The Huffington Post
New reports “show the increasing gap between suspension rates of black and white students. One million – or one in nine – middle school and high school students were suspended in 2009-2010, including 24% of black students and 7.1% of white students. Most of the suspensions came not in response to violent behavior, but for minor infractions such as dress code violations or lateness. The research also found that suspensions increase the likelihood kids will drop out of school and commit crimes.”
With Police In Schools, More Children In Court
The New York Times
“As school districts across the country consider placing more police officers in schools, youth advocates and judges are raising alarm about … a surge in criminal charges against children for misbehavior that many believe is better handled in the principal’s office … The effectiveness of using police officers in schools to deter crime or the remote threat of armed intruders is unclear … Yet the most striking impact of school police officers so far, critics say, has been a surge in arrests or misdemeanor charges for essentially nonviolent behavior – including scuffles, truancy and cursing at teachers – that sends children into the criminal courts.”
Michelle Rhee’s Reign of Error
Taking Note
Veteran education journalist John Merrow reports, “Michelle A. Rhee, America’s most famous school reformer … glossed over what appeared to be widespread cheating during her first year as Schools Chancellor in Washington, D.C. A long-buried confidential memo from her outside data consultant suggests that the problem was far more serious than kids copying off other kids’ answer sheets … Choosing to bury the problem and minimize investigation allowed Rhee to continue with her radical makeover of the low-performing D.C. public school system.”
Academic Gains In NYC, D.C., And Chicago Overstated, Report Contends
Education Week
“School improvement strategies highly touted by leaders such as U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and former District of Columbia schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, have produced overwhelmingly disappointing results for the poor and minority children … Each of those leaders … have exaggerated the success stemming from policies … ignored the positive benefits of other strategies.”
Interest Rates On Student Loans Set To Double Even As Students Fall Deeper Into Debt
Think Progress
“Student loan interest rates are scheduled to double on July 1, from 3.4% to 6.8% … Students are relying more heavily on federal loans to pay for education as states have uniformly gutted higher education funding, pushing tuition costs to new heights … Student debt is directly responsible for the feebleness of the housing recovery.”