Public School Policies

Public education was accessible to kids from all neighborhoods and walks of life. However, recent budget cuts across the board have left many schools scrambling to find ways to fund their programs and extracurricular activities. For many California schools, this means charging fees for gym uniforms and examinations. However, these fees break state laws regarding public education, and many families are up in arms about the practice.

Calling in the ACLU

According to a recent report in the New York Times, 35 school districts across California have been named in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for charging fees to students that violate state law. The ACLU's legal director in Southern California, Mark Rosenbaum told the Times, "We found that the charging of fees for required academic courses is rampant." Two unnamed plaintiffs are involved in the suit, with both attending high school in Orange County.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of an investigation by the San Diego Union-Tribune, which found that schools in San Diego Unified were openly charging fees, as outlined on their district's website. The Education Report says that charging fees in California schools is illegal, according to a California Supreme Court ruling in 1984.

Despite the state law, many schools have decided to overcome budget shortfalls by charging students and their parents for extracurricular actiities, athletic uniforms, and even Advanced Placement examinations.

This video posits the question of whether public schools are really

Los Angeles is leading the pack with teacher ratings designed to better evaluate teachers' performance despite variables like parental involvement and income levels. The tests, coined "value-added" evaluations, look at the progression of each individual student when providing teacher ratings rather than simply applying standardized test scores across the board.

According to a report in the City Journal, these value-added tests were used to evaluate teacher performance in both math and reading for third, fourth, and fifth-grade teachers across the Los Angeles Unified School District. How well did the teachers score?

Making the Grade

According to a report on National Public Radio (NPR), the original value-added evaluations were conducted by two investigative reporters at the Los Angeles Times: Jason Felch and Jason Song. The two compiled standardized test scores on every Los Angeles school district child for the past seven years. The reporters could conduct a comprehensive analysis of teacher performance using the data collected on the test scores and the teachers. The findings on 6,000 California teachers were published in the Los Angeles Times, along with the data that showed how well students performed on standardized tests.

A report in the Los Angeles Times explained that the value-added portion of the evaluation was based on a student's individual performance on initial tests and how that performance improved or backtracked. A student's improvement in school could be directly linked to the performance of his teachers, making this assessment much

The value of standardized test results continues to mount, with state and federal lawmakers utilizing these test scores to give either rewards or punishments to school districts.

Many schools, particularly those in low-income areas that are already stretching resources too thin, are facing additional pressure to "teach to the tests" in order to ensure all of their much-needed funding continues. The pressure has apparently led some teachers and administrators to "tweak" test scores so schools get a better performance rating.

Cheating in Atlanta?

According to a recent report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, as many as 109 teachers and administrators in Atlanta are being investigated for possible cheating on standardized tests. Suspicions began in December 2008, when the paper published an analysis that showed the academic gains in some Atlanta schools were simply too good to be true. When the tests were audited, an unusual number of erasures on tests were discovered, leading to the investigation into allegations of cheating on the tests.

If evidence is found that the educators did indeed change some test answers, they may face further scrutiny and sanctions. The investigative panel responsible for looking into this issue released a final report with the following findings of the employees suspected of cheating:

• 78 of the employees worked at just 12 schools.
• 25 employees at 13 different schools appear to have acted independently.
• 6 employees at the 33 remaining Atlanta Public Schools also acted independently, according to the investigation.

An article in the

School nurses have long given peace of mind to parents, who entrusted nurses with their children's medical issues during school hours. School nurses have carried out a wide range of responsibilities in schools, ranging from treating a sore throat and administering medication to handling medical emergencies. Unfortunately, budget cuts at school districts across the country have left many students without the medical help they need if an emergency arises. Full-time school nurses have become as out of fashion as chalkboards and electric typewriters, and it doesn't appear they will be returning to the world of education any time soon, according to recent reports.

Read the National Association of School Nurses' A Case for School Nurses for a detailed fact-based rationale as to why school nurses are necessary. Additionally, the NASN makes the point that "A student’s health is directly related to his or her ability to learn. Children with unmet health needs have a difficult time engaging in the educational process. The school nurse supports student success by providing health care through assessment, intervention, and follow-up for all children within the school setting. The school nurse addresses the physical, mental, emotional, and social health needs of students and supports their achievement in the learning process."

What School Nurses Do

According to the Center for Nursing Advocacy, there are many tasks that school nurses perform every day, including:

• Providing health care to students and school staff
• Overseeing health management and the provision of

Across the country, school districts are being forced to tighten their belts as budgets get smaller and expenditures continue to grow. However, recent audits of a number of districts reveal that some schools may be able to save some of their staff and programs by getting smarter in their money management strategies.

In fact, some audits are showing funding that is blatantly wasted by lack of discretionary spending or poor bookkeeping procedures. In the current economic crisis through which many families are struggling, few have much compassion for school districts carelessly flushing taxpayer dollars away.

Tough Times

According to the American Association of School Administrators, the economic slowdown is having a very real impact on public schools today. To compound the problem, stimulus funds will soon run out, leaving school districts in an even bigger financial bind. A recent study by AASA shows that "school districts' economic situation does not mimic the stability and recovery beginning to take hold nationwide." This means that budget cuts for the upcoming school year might be even deeper than those that have been made for the previous two academic calendars.

When times are tough, everyone is expected to sacrifice and count their pennies carefully. However, some school districts are not adhering to these guidelines, and auditors are finding out that money is being wasted, rather than used to save programs and teachers' jobs. Three school districts in particular have recently hit the news, thanks to poor money