Eastern States

In one of their final actions of the current calendar year, the Fairfax County School Board in Virginia voted to allow schools to install indoor surveillance cameras in their buildings. The request for such cameras became a primary talking point during the first half of this school year after massive food fights and other disciplinary problems came to light. While some parents and school board members argue that surveillance cameras will help to curb some of the behavior issues in schools, others worry that the new cameras will be a flagrant violation of student privacy rights.

An Overview of New School Policy

The Fairfax County School Board’s vote allows schools to install surveillance cameras, but it does not require them. Each school within the county will be able to engage in public discussion between faculty, students, and parents about whether cameras would help or hinder discipline issues. Principals would be responsible for making the final decisions in their own schools, ensuring that each administrator would determine the need for surveillance cameras based on their own unique situations.

If a school decides to install surveillance cameras, they will only be allowed in public venues like cafeterias, hallways, and school lobbies. No school will be required to install surveillance devices, and they will not be allowed in locker rooms, restrooms, or classrooms in the schools that do decide to use them.

According to the Washington Post, the vote occurred earlier in December, with eight board

Churches that have been meeting in public schools in the city of New York in recent years will now have to find a new place to worship, according to a decision by a New York circuit court on an appeal to let churches stay. The decision was prompted by the New York Department of Education, which had sought for many years to have churches removed from their schools, even if the churches in question only met on Sundays, when the schools were closed to students. The controversy in New York has opened up a rather complex can of worms in the ongoing battle between Free Speech and separation of church and state.

The Board of Education and the Ongoing Battle

The question of whether churches should be allowed to meet in public schools is not a new one to the city of New York. For decades there has been a ban against such a practice, through a city regulation that is supported by state law. Many other school districts nationwide currently allow religious groups to meet in schools when school is not in session, so decisions made in this courtroom do not necessarily apply to them at this time. However, as the battle continues, it could be carried over into other school districts across the country, if enough parents begin to protest the practice and seek legal action to end it.

This video offers a look at the landmark cases that have helped defined the role religion

Immigration is a hot topic on both sides of the congressional floor in this country, as lawmakers continue to debate the legal, ethical and moral issues surrounding undocumented persons living in the United States. In the center of the battle are undocumented students who came to this country with their parents and now face high school graduation with little hope for the future. This past week, the state of New York made a move to change the fate of the thousands of undocumented students living there, with a vote by the Board of Regents to allow undocumented students access to state financial aid for higher education.

Vote First Step in Immigration Reform for State

According to a report in the New York Daily News, the vote by the state Board of Regents does not officially change the status of undocumented students who wish to pursue higher education in the United States – yet. The hope is that this positive vote will spur lawmakers to extend financial aid to these students through their means. The bill, referred to as the Education Equity for DREAMers Act, has not yet been brought before the legislature for any sort of decision or vote. However, the preliminary vote by the Board of Regents may be the push state lawmakers need to put this bill on their table as well.

“These are students who are attending our

New York has been boasting about their increase in high school graduation rates in recent years, using that data as a benchmark for successful secondary schools. However, recent statistics showing the college readiness of those high school graduates do not paint such a rosy picture about the state of New York's public education. With few students heading to college campuses after high school and even fewer prepared for the rigors of higher education, it appears New York schools may still have an uphill battle in getting students ready for college.

This video reports on the proposed desegregation of certain city schools.

Report Cards are Out

Progress reports have been issued by the Department of Education for New York schools for the past five years, indicating completion rates by students after four years of high school. This year, about half the schools received the same grade as last year, according to a report at the New York Times. One-third received a lower grade, and just 15 percent improved their grade over the past year. These grades do not reflect the college-readiness standards that were implemented this year, but those scores will be factored into the overall grades of schools next year.

“There’s a huge change in life chances for kids who are successful in post-secondary education,” Shael Polakow-Suransky, the chief academic officer for New York City, told the Times. “We really

People in America need jobs. Students need modernized school buildings that promote learning. President Obama put the two together in his recent job package, asking Congress to approve billions of dollars for infrastructure projects – including modernizing and repairing schools across the country. However, asking for money and actually getting funding are two very different things in today’s polarized political climate overshadowed by grave concern for the current state of the country’s economy.

How School Modernization Could Help America

According to a report at Think Progress, school modernization is touted by the current administration as good for education and beneficial to the economy. Vice President Joe Biden’s former chief economist Jared Bernstein asserted that school modernization is a “smart way to get a lot of people who really need jobs back to work, fix a critical part of our institutional infrastructure, save energy costs, provide kids with a better, healthier learning environment, and do so in a way that everyone can see and feel good about each morning when they drop their kids off at school.”

This video from the National Education Association makes the point that Education Support Professional workers say "Safe and healthy schools mean better learning and working conditions for students and school employees".

There is data to support the idea that students learn better in updated facilities. Valerie Strauss in her column, “Answer Sheet,” provides studies that show