A Debate for Vermont: Is ‘public vs. private school’ a false dichotomy?
Why is the discussion always about the education establishment’s public vs. private schools, and the legislators and special interest groups who enable them?
The number of kids receiving special education in public schools is rising
The Department of Education’s (DOE) May 2018 report indicates that 6.7 million children between the ages of three and 21 receive special education services as of 2016. The increase marks a rise in special education services by 100,000 from the previous year.
The ‘diner’s dilemma’ and Vermont education spending
Here’s a proposal to rein in costs, reinstate some measure of local control and inject accountability into the process: Have the Legislature set a uniform per-pupil spending level, but allow local school boards full rein over how to best spend the money, free from state-level interference.
Lindberg: For educating Vermonters, it’s time to return to what works
The ruling elite of all parties in Vermont have doubled down on this approach with the coercive and tyrannical Act 46. The political promises of reduced costs, lower taxes, equality of education and increased opportunities were false. The exact opposite result is happening. The next phase of Act 46 will be Gov. Scott’s school closing commission. This for me is unacceptable.
Agency of Education releases Act 46 merger proposals for stalled districts
The Agency of Education has recommended 18 consolidations for school districts that haven’t yet merged in accordance with Act 46. But of 43 districts or groups of districts that filed “Section 9” proposals for alternative governance structures, 22 shouldn’t have to merge, according to a report released Friday.
Why it’s OK for this school choice program to underperform on standardized tests
While the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program might not be having an immediate positive effect on the standardized test scores prized by researchers and policy bean counters, it is having a potentially more meaningful, long-term impact on participants’ academic attainment and future life outcomes.
Gov. Phil Scott: Building the best education system in the country
According to the National Education Association, we have, by far, the largest per-student investment in the country, spending twice the national average. We have a good graduation rate, but our student test scores are only two percentage points higher than the national average. It’s time to have the courage to admit we can do much more for our kids.
House Education chair suggests lawmakers back off special ed savings
Gov. Phil Scott has signed H.897 that reforms the special education funding formula, moving away from a pay-per-play formula towards a census-based grant formula. But how Scott wants to use the savings has some Democrat lawmakers in a tizzy.
Parents outraged as CDC-backed sixth grade curriculum teaches gender transitions, STDs, stages of sex
Parents are calling the material “too much, too soon” and age-inappropriate while San Diego officials defend the curriculum by arguing that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supports the lesson plans.
Campus Watch: UVM ‘Bias Response Team’ flags ‘cultural appropriation,’ offers counseling to students
When people cry racism when racism isn’t actually there, it only desensitizes people to the evil that racism is. Unfortunately, it seems that this is happening today.
Special ed advocate: Over 80 percent of special education students shouldn’t be there
Around 80 percent of students in special education do not belong there, a special education advocate said, according to a Sunday report. Fewer than 20 percent of students in special education programs have severe autism, Down syndrome or other established conditions.
Special ed requirements delayed four years for independent schools under approved bill
The House on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve H.897, which reconfigures the current per-service funding formula for special education into a block-grant system. New language in the bill includes a four-year phase-in period for independent schools to adopt the new formula and begin taking more special education children.