The Midday Brief: November 6, 2009
Your afternoon reading. Full Story
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TribBlog: Education Department could make restraint reporting mandatory
The U.S. Education Department is considering making restraint reporting mandatory for school districts nationwide, starting this school year. Full Story
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The Tipping Point: Texas Textbook Politics Meets the Digital Revolution
Under new legislation, school districts for the first time can spend a portion of state “book” money on computer hardware and digital content. Some fear the explosion of choice will produce an erosion of quality content. Full Story
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The World According To Don
So what if he's no longer the chair of the State Board of Education? Self-described "religious fanatic" Don McLeroy has big plans for Texas education — and science is just the beginning. Full Story
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TribBlog: Restraints in public schools -- by disability
If you've been following this week's series on kids with disabilities being physically restrained in Texas public schools, you may be interested to see how the restraints break down by disability. Full Story
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Student restraints, Day 3: Jennifer Howson's story
Jennifer Howson, 21, was restrained dozens of times at her school in the northeast Texas town of Kemp, often sustaining scrapes, bruises and black eyes. Full Story
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TribBlog: Restraints: A gut-wrenching case
Of all the tales of restraints gone wrong I heard while reporting this story on Texas special education students, this one is the worst: Full Story
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Faulty figures: The great dropout debate
Despite years of research, the true picture of dropout and graduation rates remains elusive, even the subject of cross words between researchers. The consensus: Far too many Texas public school students, particularly those from poor and minority families, don’t cross the high-school finish line. Full Story
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Dropout problem drags Texas down
“I represent a district that has 80 percent renters, 70 percent of people speaking a first language other than English, where there’s a high school with 42 languages and 40 percent turnover of the student body every year — now tell me how you plan to calculate the dropout rate,” Rep. Scott Hochberg said. “I will stipulate that it’s too big — let’s just start there. I wish we fought over solutions as much as we fight over the number.” Full Story
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![The 2007-08 graduating class started with more than 370,000 students — and ended with about 237,000, or 64 percent. Not al...]()
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Student Restraints Day 2: How Texas school districts compare
Texas school districts vary widely in how often they physically restrain students with disabilities – despite a shared state policy on when to use them. Use this interactive graphic to see how school districts compared during the 2007-08 school year, the most recent statewide data available. Full Story
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Poll: What Texans are worried about
The economy clearly leads Texans' list of concerns about the country in the inaugural University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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TribBlog: Mentally ill student who stabbed teacher will stand trial
The Tyler Morning Telegraph is reporting that the 16-year-old Tyler special education student who fatally stabbed his teacher in September (referenced in today's story on restraints) has been found competent to stand trial. Full Story
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Disabled students restrained, injured in public schools
Texas educators routinely pin down students with disabilities to control them, according to state data. Disability rights advocates say the restraints point to a crisis in special education, and that teachers are resorting to physical violence because they aren't properly trained. Full Story
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![Jennifer Howson was restrained dozens of times in her Kemp public school, often sustaining injuries like these.]()
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TribBlog: Permanent School Fund Rebounds. But Will Schools Benefit?
The state’s permanent school fund, which spins off money for textbooks and the like each year, has recaptured billions of dollars after a frightening downward spiral this spring. Trouble is, the increase in the fund may produce no increase at all in education spending. The real beneficiaries of the fund often are the state legislature and its priorities outside education. Full Story
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Texas educators vent at feds over teacher test mess
Annoyed at a recent federal ruling that could nullify the credentials of thousands of public school teachers, Texas education advocates want Washington to waive a technicality they say would cause teachers and districts needless headaches. Full Story
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Education Commissioner Asks Feds to Reconsider Stripping Texas Teacher Credentials
"The real issue here is, you don't do something like this after school starts," Scott said in an interview this afternoon. "And you don't just decide it in a letter or an email... They leave themselves open to criticism and litigation when they do something outside the rule-making process." Full Story
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Teacher Credentials May Be Nullified By Feds
Thousands of "highly qualified" Texas public school teachers don't actually meet the federal definition for that standard — which could jeopardize their jobs and will certainly cause bureaucratic headaches for them and their school systems. Full Story
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Reluctantly out in front
Most elected officials greet a chairmanship with some excitement. Gail Lowe, the Lampasas Republican who recently became the chair of the State Board of Education, is approaching her new title with some apprehension. Full Story
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Present but not accounted for
The State Auditor says the Texas Education Agency’s process for monitoring average daily attendance in public schools needs a few adjustments. Full Story
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The revolution will not be televised
It may not be Mad Men, but the State Board on Education will begin broadcasting its meetings online on Wednesday. Full Story