Public School Policies

Many agree that one of the most effective ways to reduce the disparities between the rich and the poor is to provide high-quality public education to all. However, a recent report on the state of schools in California suggests that some school districts might be going in the wrong direction. Instead of broadening the educational opportunities for less fortunate students, the lines seem to be widening between the "have's" and "have not's." We will take a closer look at this report to determine what it means for public schools across the state of California.

UCLA IDEA

For a number of years, UCLA IDEA has produced annual reports on the learning environments and outcomes of California schools. IDEA, short for UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access, was founded in 2000 by Jeannie Oakes and John Rogers. According to the organization's website, the original goal of IDEA was to utilize the research capacity of UCLA to identify and confront some of the most pressing issues facing the world of education today. The faculty of IDEA consists of scholars, staff and graduate students of UCLA, who partner with parents, teachers, and others in the community to conduct research on current educational trends in the hope of inspiring and promoting positive change.

This year's report, titled, "Free Fall," shows that the "Great Recession" of this decade has not improved the situation in California schools yet. The report draws on information from 277 high school principals around the state

Budgets are tight in school districts across America, and when money becomes scarce, tough decisions have to be made. For some schools, the cuts may come in the athletics departments, with a number of districts threatening to significantly decrease the athletic programs available to students or do away with sports altogether. While this is not a choice most schools want to make, what other options do they have when the money simply isn't there? We'll take a look at a number of states across the nation that are facing these questions, and how they are handling the challenge of keeping sports and other extracurricular activities in schools, despite their inability to pay for them.

This video reports on cuts to New York City sports budgets.

Cost-Cutting Measures to Begin in Pennsylvania

The governor of this state, Tom Corbett, recently announced a slash to public education in Pennsylvania that will total no less than $1 billion. The cuts were proposed in response to necessary cost-cutting measures that must be taken due to less money coming into the state. According to a report at the Observer-Reporter, $550 million of the cuts are slated for public schools, with a focus on special grants that support a variety of educational programs. The other $625 million would be cut from the budgets of state universities.

As school boards grapple with major cuts to their budgets, one of the

The Obama administration had plans to overhaul the nation's education system when they took office, but budget battles, health care, and other priorities took center stage. Now, it appears that education will quickly be moving to the forefront as the current year's test scores from around the country show that the large majority of schools in the United States are missing their mark and headed for failure. With the No Child Left Behind Act created by the Bush administration now headed to the chopping block, the quality of education in this country is set to get another look by Congress this spring.

What is the No Child Left Behind Act?

According to a report at the Washington Post, the No Child Left Behind Act was a signature educational initiative that originated with President George W. Bush in 2001. The goal of the legislation, which received bipartisan support at the time of signing, was to require schools to bring 100 percent of their students to proficiency in math and reading by the year 2014. Proficiency would be evaluated through annual exams given to students in third through eighth grade and one additional test during high school.

This 2001 video shows President Bush promoting his "No Child Left Behind" act.

Reforming the No Child Left Behind Act has been a focus of the Obama administration because the current

Pepper spray is a common product used both for self-defense for civilians and by members of law enforcement. More recently, the chemical has been used in schools, both by staff and students, as a mode of discipline and self-protection. While some students and school officials believe the use of pepper spray is warranted in some situations, many other students and their parents are voicing concern about dangerous chemicals used on students without good judgment. To help you make your own decision, we'll analyze a few of the pepper spray cases that have recently come to light in school districts across the country.

Birmingham Schools Using Pepper Spray as Disciplinary Measure

School resource officials in Birmingham public schools have been using the pepper spray they are given to provide discipline in a host of situations. In fact, the use of pepper spray has become prevalent enough to prompt a civil rights group to protest its use. According to a report at al.com, the Southern Poverty Law Center has demanded that school resource officers in Birmingham city schools refrain from using the chemical spray on students who are fighting, talking, or otherwise disrupting school activity.

In a letter written to Birmingham board attorney Afrika Parchman, the group states, "The use of such weapons against school children is a clear and egregious violation of students' rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Moreover, the use of chemical weapons on school

Few would deny that the education system in the United States is ripe for a major overhaul. After all, this country has slipped from the top spot for education down to around the tenth – at about the same place as Lithuania. Another concern is that disparities between poor and wealthy students are consistently growing, as the "haves" seem to get more educational opportunities to excel and the "have-nots" get less.

While many theories have been contemplated about how to raise the bar on the standard of education in this country, one factor appears to be untouched – the quality of the teachers in public schools today. Why the lack of accountability for these professionals entrusted with the future of our country? Tenure seems to be the primary answer. Teachers that achieve tenure are difficult to fire, no matter what offenses they may practice in the classroom.

As we describe the process to fire an inept teacher in many school districts across the country, it becomes easy to see why principals would often rather put up with incompetent teachers than go through the red tape and headache to replace them.

Teachers Dismissed for Poor Performance

According to a recent article in Newsweek, few inept teachers are ever dismissed from their positions. In 2008, New York fired three out of 30,000 tenured teachers for just cause. In Chicago, the number of teachers dismissed for poor performance between 2005 and 2008 was