With Supreme Court Tie, Teachers Unions Dodge A Bullet NPR: The 4-4 ruling by the high court means the failure of an effort to overturn requirements that nonunion members contribute to the cost of bargaining. See also AP, EdSource, TeacherBeat, NYT.
Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst will merge with education advocacy group 50Can LA Times: Just several years after its glitzy launch, StudentsFirst, the Sacramento-based education group started by former Washington, D.C., schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, is merging with another education advocacy organization, 50Can. See also The Seventy Four, TeacherBeat.
Bernie and Hillary prep for New York clash Politico: American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, a former president of New York’s local teachers union branch, spent the past week talking to her own members and leaders in Albany and the Hudson Valley about the stakes of the election. See also PK12.
National PTA’s New Stand on Opt-Outs Could Prove Timely This Testing Season EdWeek: The group’s January update of its position statement on assessments, its first in 35 years, includes its opposition to policies letting parents remove children from standardized testing.
The overwhelming whiteness of U.S. private schools, in six maps and charts Washington Post: Should there be more civil rights scrutiny of private schools that accept taxpayer funding via vouchers?
Detroit Schools to Get Stopgap Aid, More Corruption Alleged AP: Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed into law $48.7 million in emergency funding to keep the Detroit Public Schools open through the end of the school year. See also District Dossier, Daily Caller.
In African-American Communities, Growing Interest In Home-Schooling NPR: When it comes to teaching their children at home, African-Americans often cite different reasons than white families.
Loudoun County school board votes down controversial rezoning plan Washington Post: The school board declined to push forward a plan to create two majority-poverty schools. See also WAMU.
D.C. now has more children. Here’s where they’re living. Washington Post: Neighborhoods just east of Rock Creek Park, like Columbia Heights and Petworth, saw the biggest jump in the population under 18.
