VOUCHER EXPANSION
Governor Rick Scott signed a bill expanding Florida’s tax-credit scholarship program. (Pensacola News Journal)
TEACHER QUALITY
Some teachers are looking for ways to improve the quality of those within their profession, because “if a union makes collective demands, it also has to promote collective quality.” (Washington Post)
PUTTING ADULTS’ INTERESTS OVER KIDS’
The New America Foundation’s Anne Hyslop argues that dropping the Common Core in Louisiana without a policy alternative is reckless and could “quickly wreck years of careful planning and hard work to improve student outcomes across the Pelican State. And that would be a very high price to pay just to make a political statement.” (Real Clear Education)
PHILLY SCHOOLS
The Philadelphia City Council will borrow $30 million to help plug the public school district’s funding gap, while it seeks more funding from state lawmakers. (Associated Press)
VALUE-ADDED PAUSE
D.C. has paused its use of the value-added algorithm in teacher evaluations for the 2014–15 year, in order to smooth the district’s transition to Common Core–aligned tests. (Teacher Beat)
SPECIAL ED IN CHARTER SCHOOLS
A new CRPE study finds that “counseling out” does not explain why Denver’s charter schools have fewer special-education students than their traditional public school counterparts. (Charters & Choice)
ENGLISH-LANGUAGE LEARNERS
Florida has adopted a new set of English-language proficiency standards. (Learning the Language)
FORDHAM IN THE NEWS
U.S. News: “Climate Change Debate: Coming Soon to a School Near You”
Columbian: “Jayne: Political polarization isn't cool for future of our nation”