Just when I want to ding the TODAY show for running an alarming (alarmist?) segment about school buses and seat belts, a school bus goes off the road in Houston.

Independent since 1969.

The Washington Monthly is nonprofit and reader-supported. Your tax-deductible gift pays for the reporting you just read.

Alexander Russo is a freelance education writer who has created several long-running blogs such as the national news site This Week In Education, District 299 (about Chicago schools), and LA School Report. He can be reached on Twitter at @alexanderrusso,...