Education advocates and the Obama administration are anxiously eyeing a series of across-the-board cuts set to hit a broad swath of federal domestic and military spending programs early next year, unless a sharply divided Congress can agree on a long-term plan to put the nation's fiscal house in order. Most education lobbyists expect such a deal…

As state legislatures go to work this year, one of the overriding questions is whether 2012 will bring a reprise of last year's frenzied work on education--much of it shepherded by newly elected Republican majorities and governors--or whether elected officials will take a more deliberate and cautious approach. Last year, many governors and…

Teachers' unions find themselves on the defensive in states across the country, as governors and lawmakers press forward with proposals to target job protections and benefits that elected officials contend the public can no longer afford academically or financially. Many of those efforts are being driven by newly elected Republicans, who have…

Despite bleak fiscal conditions that could thwart some of their priorities, governors and state lawmakers--bolstered in some cases by new Republican majorities--are expected to press forward this year with ambitious education proposals that could include changing teacher job protections and expanding school choice. Newly elected and returning…

Now that Republicans have taken control of the U.S. House of Representatives and bolstered their minority in the U.S. Senate, it remains to be seen if education is one area of federal policy that can avoid the partisan stalemate that many observers predict will paralyze Washington for the next two years. Republicans and Democrats famously came…

At the Republican National Convention in St. Paul this week, President Bush was expected to anoint Senator John McCain as his successor and the new leader of the party. However, it remains far from clear whether Senator McCain--and other top Republicans--will continue to embrace the federal mandates on school accountability at the center of the No…

In another twist in the decades-long battle over evolution's status in public school science classrooms, state legislators are arguing that teachers have a right to raise doubts about that essential scientific theory as a matter of free speech. Similarly worded bills that attempt to protect the right of educators and students to present critiques…

Democrats are almost certain to leave their convention in Denver united behind Senator Barack Obama of Illinois as their nominee for president. However, it is less likely that they will settle an intraparty disagreement over the most pressing question in K-12 education policy: How much can the public expect of schools? The stark differences…

This article reports on the eroding power of state school boards in the U.S. as lawmakers and governors are seeking to expand their authority over K-12 education and, in some cases, reverse education policy set in motion by elected or appointed panels. This year alone, state boards in Florida, Ohio, and Vermont are targets of legislation that…

Supporters and critics of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) agree on only one thing and that the law should be fixed and quickly. However, it looks that Congress will not be able to make much progress in addressing the flaws of NCLB this year. This circumstance will endanger the prospects that the revision of the law might not be completed…

The new class of governors, state legislators, and chief state school officers elected last week will face formidable challenges in dealing with the squeeze the nation's sagging economy--and ballooning state budget deficits--is putting on K-12 education. In the November 4 elections, Democrats added one more governor's office--in Missouri--to their…

This article reports that education will be on the ballot November 4, even if the subject hasn't been on voters' minds much during the 2008 campaign season. The results of the elections are likely to have a significant impact on the way schools are financed, governed, and held accountable for the academic performance of their students. At the…

The 2008 state legislative season launches this month under a fiscal cloud in a number of states, where ambitious education initiatives--including expanded pre-K programs, college- or career-preparation efforts, and improved teacher pay--may end up being balanced against gloomy revenue projections. A revenue slowdown--foreshadowed last month in…

As Congress began debate last week over the size and scope of more than $120 billion in proposed emergency education aid, state leaders were anxiously awaiting the details so they could make specific plans to spend the economic-stimulus money. Governors, state legislators, and state schools chiefs have yet to learn what rules Congress will attach…

The fractured nature of the Kansas Republican Party is on display in the primary campaigns for the state board, in which Republicans of all stripes are scrambling to woo voters before they choose their candidates Aug. 1, 2006. The divisions in Kansas may also reflect the dynamics in other state and federal races this year, when the midterm…