Education
Minnesota law against bullying one of weakest in the nation
A six-month investigation by Minnesota Public Radio reveals that bullying occurs on a regular basis throughout the Minnesota school district. The state law against bullying is “the shortest in the nation,” and fails to identify anti-bullying policies or punishments for violation. MPR reporter Tom Weber found “virtually no tracking” of bullying episodes, which makes it…
Read MoreTeaching licensure violations ignored in Minnesota
More than 900 Minnesota teachers over the past five years violated licensing rules aimed at making sure children get a proper education, but state regulators are doing virtually nothing to enforce the rules, according to a Star Tribune investigation. The superintendent in North. St. Paul told co-workers in an email that she was “clueless” about…
Read MoreOn Shaky Ground series
A three-part investigation by California Watch uncovered “systematic failures by the state’s chief regulator of construction standards for public schools.” The series exposed lax oversight of earthquake safety certification for schools; project inspectors with poor performance records; and government rules that made it nearly impossible for schools to get the repair money they needed.
Read MoreTest improvements at D.C. schools raise questions
A USA Today investigation, based on documents and data secured under D.C.’s Freedom of Information Act, found that for the past three school years most of Crosby S. Noyes Education Campus’ classrooms had extraordinarily high numbers of erasures on standardized tests. The consistent pattern was that wrong answers were erased and changed to right ones.…
Read MoreInvestigation shows MAC athletic programs profit from academic fees
Students at Kent State University’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication investigated student fees in an effort to illuminate how those fees are spent on Mid-American Conference (MAC) campuses. A series of stories and graphics bring to light how the campuses athletic departments are funded by academic student fees. Of the campuses that responded to…
Read MoreHigh salaries, nepotism found in Texas charter schools
A Dallas Morning News review of public records and databases found nepotism in charter schools across Texas, along with many administrators earning six-figure salaries to run charter schools with only a few hundred or a couple of thousand students
Read MoreFor-profit colleges double spending on lobbying to fight regulations
John Lauerman and Jonathan D. Salant of Bloomberg News found that for-profit colleges, faced with new federal restrictions, more than doubled their lobbying spending, bringing in six former members of Congress to help make their case on Capitol Hill. Ten education companies and their trade association spent $3.8 million on lobbying in the first nine…
Read MoreWith little regulation online education can be costly
An investigation by the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting shows how high school diplomas received online can be a waste of money and not recognized as valid. According to the report although dozens of organizations accredit schools, “the U.S. higher education community at large only recognizes a handful of accrediting organizations as legitimate.” With little regulation in…
Read MoreBackground checks for Idaho educators unreliable
In a report by Ben Botkin of the Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho), found that the state’s system for completing background checks on teachers fails to give school districts a full picture of the applicant’s background. The problem came to light after a Times-News investigation found that a teacher charged with sex crimes had a prior…
Read MoreBrevard (FL) Students Frequently Held Back
Mackenzie Ryan reports that struggling students in Brevard’s public schools have a greater chance of repeating a grade than their peers in other parts of the state. In 2009, 7.1 percent of Brevard students were held back, compared with 4.6 percent statewide, a FLORIDA TODAY analysis of education data shows.
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