A new report from ProPublica provides dramatic evidence about a real threat to student success when only local school districts are allowed to authorize charter schools. ProPublica’s article points out that in some areas of the country local districts are authorizing charter schools so the district can hide poor student performance and make its regular…
There is a big push in Kentucky to greatly expand early (preschool) child education. That would be fine with me – if there was good evidence that these programs really create lasting improvement. Sadly, a lot of research shows that isn’t the case. Just about every study of the federal Head Start Program shows that…
A breaking story in Washington State has implications for pending charter school legislation in Kentucky. A Washington judge ruled yesterday that state’s revamped charter school laws are constitutional. In 2015, in a move that currently concerns some Kentucky lawmakers, the Washington Supreme Court ruled that state’s charters were unconstitutional. Now, it appears that the basic…
The media is exploding with coverage of the passage of Senate Bill 1 out of the Kentucky Senate. But the coverage, including some of the headlines, leaves important questions unanswered. For example, the Herald-Leader reports: “Kentucky Senate approves repeal of Common Core standards in schools.” That might not be true. SB 1 does vaguely state,…
It seems some legal questions have been raised about Kentucky’s currently leading charter school bill, House Bill 103. Now, the Center for Education Reform reports a top legal team has examined these questions. According to: You can read the full news release here, and the legal report is available here. So, Kentucky should press forward…
Education Commissioner orders full audit of system – State takeover could result “I have determined that there is a presence of critically ineffective or inefficient management in the JCPS and accordingly, a comprehensive management audit of the governance and administration of JCPS is required pursuant to KRS 158.785 (2) and 703 KAR 3:205.” Commissioner Stephen…
Last week Governor Bevin touched on one of the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) self-inflicted education problems when he discussed the excessive and hugely expensive school busing situation in the school district, saying: “Are we really helping these children by taking them from one community, putting them on a bus … to another community where…
I just ran across an article in the Messenger-Inquirer (subscription) where the Prichard Committee claims that based on its “A Citizen’s Guide to Kentucky Education:” “In 2002, Kentucky was given $6,316 per student; the U.S. average per-pupil spending was $8,206, and at that time, Kentucky ranked 42nd among the other states. Compare that to the…
Newspaper provides other evidence that governor’s hard comments were not off target It’s a little ironic. Less than a week after residents in Jefferson County got up in arms when Governor Matt Bevin called the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) an “unmitigated disaster,” the Courier-Journal is running a story about “JCPS never disciplined supervisors of…
If so, why is the evidence not available after five years of KPREP testing? The Bluegrass Institute has discovered a rather extraordinary January 6, 2017 letter from the US Department of Education to Kentucky Commissioner of Education Stephen Pruitt. This letter says evidence provided by the Kentucky Department of Education only shows that the state’s…