Friday News Roundup: Week of November 16-20

At Ed Money Watch, we discuss and analyze major issues affecting education funding. In our Friday News Roundup, we try to highlight interesting stories that might otherwise get overlooked. These stories emphasize how federal and state policy changes can affect local schools and districts.

Alabama Considers Charter Schools in Pursuit of Federal Race to the Top Funds

New York Plans to Reform Teacher Preparation Efforts

Missouri Freezes Higher Education Tuition

Florida Will Request $1 Billion in Federal Race to the Top Funds

Alabama Considers Charter Schools in Pursuit of Federal Race to the Top Funds
As Alabama grapples with a recession that continues to eat away at its education budget, the state is contemplating charter school legislation to increase the state’s chances of receiving a slice of the federal Race to the Top (RttT) pie. In the past, Democratic state legislators, backed by the Alabama Education Association, have opposed charter schools. State Representative Max Gipson, a Republican, introduced charter school legislation a few years ago, but the bill never made it out of committee after opponents accused him of trying to re-segregate schools and take money away from traditional public schools. However, with a potential $175 million in federal RttT funds for Alabama, many legislators are re-thinking their stances on charter schools. By enacting charter school legislation, they hope to improve their chances of receiving a large chunk of the competitively awarded RttT funds, which will help them finance K-12 schools overall. More here…

New York Plans to Reform Teacher Preparation Efforts
The New York state Board of Regents this week approved a plan to change the way the state prepares new teachers. The reforms would place more emphasis on classroom experience and streamline the process for professionals in other fields that want to become teachers. Under the new plan, cultural institutions, research centers, and nonprofits would be allowed to certify teachers – a job currently dominated by universities. Bonuses of up to $30,000 would be awarded to teachers in high-demand fields who agree to teach in high-needs schools. The Board of Regents plans to include colleges, teachers unions, and community groups in the planning and implementation of the new plan. More here…

Missouri Freezes Higher Education Tuition
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon this week announced that the state’s public four-year colleges and universities will freeze in-state tuition for the second year in a row. The agreement must still be passed by Missouri lawmakers and college and university governing boards, which appears likely. Lawmakers and higher education officials seem to agree that keeping higher education affordable is a priority. The freeze came in response to a decade of annual tuition hikes – averaging 7.5 percent – in Missouri. Though Governor Nixon and higher education officials don’t yet know where the 5.2 percent in spending cuts to higher education will come from, they agree that improvements must continue to be made even while cutting costs. Ultimately, Governor Nixon says, keeping higher education affordable will be one step to turning the economy around. More here…

Florida Will Request $1 Billion in Federal Race to the Top Funds
Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith this week announced that the state will likely apply for $1 billion in federal Race to the Top (RttT) funds – nearly one quarter of the overall budget for the competitive grant program. According to guidelines released by the U.S. Department of Education, Florida and two other states are eligible to receive between $350 million and $700 million if they are awarded grants. But states may apply for higher amounts if they believe their proposals warrant it. Union and school district officials are working together on plans to align Florida’s system with each of the four reform areas given priority in RttT awards. The reforms will likely include proposing teacher merit pay systems, getting involved in a consortium with other states on student achievement standards and testing, developing more rigorous teacher certification exams, and establishing school reforms like extended school days or year, or expanded full-day pre-K. Because of these plans and existing reforms, the state appears to be well positioned to win a large chunk of federal RttT funds. More here…

Briefly Noted

• Kansas regents hold meeting to outline higher education budget issues.