Policy Archives

Obama angers union officials with remarks in support of R.I. teacher firings

March 2, 2010 by Laura Ascione

President Obama voiced support March 1 for the mass firings of educators at a failing Rhode Island school, drawing an immediate rebuke from teachers union officials whose members…

District Management

Plan to stem dropout rate stirs controversy

October 29, 2010March 1, 2010 by From staff and wire reports

The Obama administration is offering a $900 million carrot to the nation’s school systems to tackle what many view as an abysmal dropout rate that threatens America’s ability…

District Management

Tennessee colleges fight cell-phone cheating

February 26, 2010 by Staff and wire services reports

As students head off to college with cell phones in hand, universities are wrestling with the issue of how to cope with high-tech temptations in the classroom, reports…

District Management

Rhode Island town fires all teachers at a failing high school

February 24, 2010 by Staff and wire services reports

In one of the first tests of the federal government’s restructuring model for failing schools, the Central Falls, R.I., school board on Feb. 23 approved a recommendation to…

District Management

Librarians to colleges: Keep on streaming videos for courses

February 24, 2010 by Staff and wire services reports

The Library Copyright Alliance has published a legal analysis of the use of streaming video in higher education, NewTeeVee reports, and the bottom line could be good news…

District Management

FCC survey shows need to teach internet basics

March 1, 2010February 23, 2010 by From staff and wire reports

The federal government’s plan to provide fast internet connections to all Americans will have to include some basic instruction in Web 101, a new survey reveals.

District Management

Obama urges states to raise academic standards

October 29, 2010February 22, 2010 by From staff and wire reports

Saying America’s “primacy in the world” is at stake, President Barack Obama on Feb. 22 prodded states to raise their academic standards by using the best leverage he…

District Management

Education goals in National Broadband Plan revealed

November 5, 2010February 22, 2010 by By Laura Devaney, Managing Editor

Upgrading the federal e-Rate program to provide more connectivity to schools and libraries, removing the barriers to online learning so that more students can take advantage, and unlocking…

District Management

More Americans skeptical of higher education

February 22, 2010February 19, 2010 by By Dennis Carter, Assistant Editor

An increasing percentage of Americans believe colleges and universities prioritize profit margin over educational quality, a claim educators refute as unfair, especially during the current economic downturn.

District Management

Are unions blocking school reform?

November 8, 2010February 17, 2010 by By Laura Devaney, Managing Editor

In a new film called Waiting for Superman, there is a scene in which hidden-camera video shows a teacher reading a newspaper and looking at his watch while…

District Management

Commentary: Data undermining

May 31, 2012February 17, 2010 by By Dennis Pierce, Editor

Unions are taking heat for their stance on using data to measure teacher quality, but school districts bear some responsibility, too.

District Management

Duncan pushes back against private lenders

February 18, 2010February 17, 2010 by By Dennis Carter, Assistant Editor

Responding to private lenders’ lobbying efforts against White House plans for direct federal loans, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Feb. 17 that he trusts the U.S. Senate will…

District Management

Privacy group files FTC complaint on Google Buzz

February 17, 2010 by Staff and wire services reports

A privacy watchdog group complained to federal regulators on Feb. 16 about Google's new Buzz social networking service, saying it violates federal consumer protection law, reports the Associated…

District Management

Broadband access gap remains large

November 5, 2013February 17, 2010 by From staff and wire reports

Roughly 40 percent of Americans do not have high-speed internet access at home, according to new Commerce Department figures that reinforce what educators believe causes some students to…

District Management

Google rebuts DOJ objections to digital book deal

February 12, 2010February 12, 2010 by From staff and wire reports

Google Inc. wants the digital rights to millions of books badly enough that it's willing to take on the U.S. Department of Justice in a court battle over…

District Management

Viewpoint: Failure is not an option in our schools

April 22, 2010February 9, 2010 by By Alan M. Blankstein, Contributing Editor

On Jan. 28, a group of inspiring educators from four diverse school districts came together to share their experiences on how they have turned their underperforming schools around,…

District Management

Congressional Democrats challenge Comcast, NBC on merger

February 5, 2010 by Staff and wire services reports

Congressional Democrats on Feb. 4 challenged executives from Comcast Corp. and NBC Universal to show that the cable TV operator's plan to take control of the entertainment company…

District Management

FY11 budget plan folds ed tech into new program

February 2, 2010February 1, 2010 by By Laura Devaney, Managing Editor

President Barack Obama’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2011 calls for sweeping changes to programs within the U.S. Department of Education, including a restructuring of federal education technology…

District Management

Wireless mic frequency change could affect schools

November 5, 2013January 29, 2010 by From staff and wire reports

Schools and colleges that use wireless microphones operating on the 700 megahertz (MHz) frequency band have until June 12 to change the radio frequency or buy new equipment,…

District Management

Experts say NCLB rewrite will be hard this year

January 29, 2010 by Staff and wire services reports

In his State of the Union address, President Obama held out the hope of overhauling the main law outlining the federal role in public schools, a sprawling 45-year-old…

District Management

Obama calls for more school funding

January 28, 2010January 28, 2010 by From staff and wire reports

Education is one of the few areas of the federal budget that would not see a spending freeze, if President Barack Obama gets his way this year.

District Management

Obama to seek freeze on domestic spending to trim deficit

January 26, 2010 by Staff and wire services reports

President Obama will call for a three-year freeze in spending on many domestic programs, including education, and for increases no greater than inflation after that -- an initiative…

District Management

MIT lags in hiring, promoting black, Hispanic faculty, internal report says

January 20, 2010 by Laura Ascione

MIT must do a better job recruiting and retaining black and Hispanic faculty, who have a significantly more difficult time getting promoted than white and Asian colleagues, according…

District Management

Schools weigh in on national broadband plan

January 27, 2010January 18, 2010 by From staff and wire reports

To help provide broadband access to more citizens, the Federal Communications Commission should expand the eligible uses of e-Rate discounts to include after-school programs and community centers, many…

District Management

AFT: Education must change to move forward

April 22, 2010January 12, 2010 by From staff and wire reports

Moving public education to a model that will better prepare students for today's knowledge economy, and one that will strengthen teacher development and evaluation, is critical to the…

District Management

Blindness groups, ASU settle lawsuit over Kindle

November 5, 2013January 12, 2010 by From staff and wire reports

Two organizations representing the blind have settled a discrimination lawsuit against Arizona State University over its use of Amazon's Kindle e-reader device.

District Management

Net-neutrality dispute heads to court

January 12, 2010January 11, 2010 by From staff and wire reports

The Federal Communications Commission ran into a potential setback Jan. 8 in its push to draft rules that would require internet providers to give equal treatment to all…

District Management

National STEM program increases reach

August 4, 2010January 6, 2010 by By Maya T. Prabhu, Assistant Editor

President Barack Obama on Jan. 6 announced an expansion of the Educate to Innovate program he launched last November, including the creation of several new partnerships to help…

District Management

Schools face tough economic road ahead

January 4, 2010December 20, 2009 by By Laura Devaney, Managing Editor

While some economists point to signs that the nation's economy is improving, others say the U.S. faces a much slower climb out of the recession--a scenario that will…

District Management

Universities play role in broadband expansion

January 27, 2010December 18, 2009 by By Dennis Carter, Assistant Editor

Colleges and universities will help bring broadband internet to underserved schools, businesses, and neighborhoods after Vice President Joe Biden announced the first round of federal stimulus funds to…

District Management

Duncan: Schools ‘need to be more creative’

December 17, 2009December 16, 2009 by By Laura Devaney, Managing Editor

Education leaders in the United States must work to close the digital divide and ensure that all students have access to top-notch technology, while at the same time…

District Management

Racist group targets school newspapers

June 3, 2010December 8, 2009 by By Maya T. Prabhu, Assistant Editor

A free music-downloading web site that has placed advertisements with at least two high school newspapers is actually a vehicle for violent hate speech and "white resistance" information.

District Management

Comcast, NBC deal to test net neutrality

December 30, 2009December 3, 2009 by From staff and wire reports

Analysts say Comcast Corp. likely will have to accept substantial conditions if the cable TV provider wants to win regulatory approval for control of NBC Universal's broadcast network,…

District Management

Schools protest Kindle’s setup for the blind

November 5, 2013November 21, 2009 by

Amazon's Kindle electronic book reader can read books aloud, but if you're blind it can be difficult to turn that function on without help. Now, two universities say…

District Management

Student lending landscape in flux

December 30, 2009November 19, 2009 by By Maya T. Prabhu, Assistant Editor

College administrators face a student lending landscape in upheaval at a time when students are borrowing more money than ever to pay for college. Key words: college software,…

District Management

FCC proposes web-safety education rules

December 1, 2009November 9, 2009 by By Laura Devaney, Senior Editor

e-Rate applicants would have to certify that they are teaching students about internet safety, according to a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

District Management

Teachers tread with caution on Facebook

August 10, 2009 by ESchool News

With technology evolving as fast as a teen's thumbs can move over a cell phone, teachers are seeking to strike a balance on what's considered appropriate contact in…

District Management

Open-source tool to boost STEM graduates

November 5, 2013July 9, 2009 by By Dennis Carter, Assistant Editor

State education officials have a new tool to help them predict which investments will pay dividends as they try to boost the number of college graduates who major…

District Management

School employees clogging computers with personal eMail

April 29, 2009 by ESchool News

The Tampa, Fla., school board is wrestling with how to set rules for employees' personal use of eMail -- a problem with no easy answers, reports the Tampa…

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