Education Week - January 18, 2017 - 16

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WASHINGTON: Gov. Jay Inslee takes the oath of office before his inaugural address to a joint session of
the legislature. Lawmakers are scrambling to revamp the K-12 funding system to satisfy a court order.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

administrators to take better advantage of the
initiative in the coming year.
-BENJAMIN HEROLD

VERMONT
GOV. PHIL SCOTT (R) * JAN. 5

Education WEEk
Vol. 35,

No. 29 * April 27, 2016

edweek.org:

* $4
Projects in Education
d * © 2016 Editori al
newsp Aper of recor
Ameri cAn educA tion's

bre Aking news dAilY

Court Sides
With Student
On Title IX

Digital Directions

t
Federal Decision Could Affec
ies
School Transgender Polic

Photos by Brandon Thibodea

ux for Education Week

By evie Blad
decision to
A federal appeals court's
student who
side with a transgender
ted his restsued after his school restric ching imfar-rea
room access could have
the country
plications for schools around
on this dithat have lacked legal clarity
visive issue.
"a major
The decisi on was called
Gay, Lesbian &
the
by
point"
g
turnin
rk, and it
Straig ht Educa tion Netwo
sions
discus
for
tone
the
set
could help
for transgender
about accommodations
law experts
students nationwide, school

of Art.
trip to the Dallas Museum
a vase during a recent field
their findings.
School in Texas, sketches
and then do drawings of
student at Plano Senior High
ger hunt through the museum
Hope Yen, an AP Art History
right, to conduct a scaven
other digital tools, below
Students use iPhones and

ltimedia
Better Online Images, Mu
New Look
n
Give Art History Educatio

in Rome.
blocks from the Pantheon
lly "transport"
By Leo Doran
Figuring out how to virtua through phoom
these creations to the classro is a challenge
Art
AP
year,
ic
academ
means
Over the course of an
tos, prints, and other
reto
ts
studen
their
back decades-even
History teachers must get
for educators that dates
y have conintellectually to works
ies. Teachers of art histor
spond emotionally and
es or historic sites centur
orate changes in
that are often found in galleri
tinually adapted to incorp ly, an array of
logy. Most recent
techno
thousands of miles away.
image
that
covers pieces
high-resolution digiThe college-level course
new tools, particularly
Terra Cotta Warriors,
technology, and multiinclude Emperor Qin's
tal images, immersive
xi province, and Carabrought about a funburied in China's Shaan
media textbooks, have
pAge 10>
Matthew," which hangs
vaggio's "Calling of St.
dei Francesi, a few
in the church of San Luigi

Cheating in N.Y.C., Ga.
Found to Hurt Students

pAge

pAge 15>

Vergara Reversal
Leaves Questions,
Equity Concerns
By Stephen Sawchuk

rves
s to Break Law to Tap Rese
Cash-Strapped District Vow
By Daarel Burnette ii

By Sarah D. Sparks
n,
tests is not only commo
Cheating on standardized
ic
effects on students' academ
it can also have long-term
es.
outcom
g to help students pass
cheatin
ion,
promot
Like social
those who are struggling
a high-stakes test can allow like moving to the next
s,
to get over procedural hurdle them when they try to
hurt
level in school, but it can
al later on, according to
materi
move to more difficult
a,
in
ts New York and Georgi
new research on studen
by recent high-profile
two states that were rocked
cheating scandals.
lies
anoma
read
d widesp
In 2011, news reports expose and science tests, the
s math
in New York State Regent
coreed at the end of many
standardized tests requir
lies
ts to graduate. The anoma
subject classes for studen
14>

said.
judge in VirA federal district court
not defer to the
ginia erred when he did
ion's interpreU.S. Department of Educat
created under
tation that a regulation
Amendments of
Title IX of the Education
identity, a three1972 applies to gender
Circuit Court
judge panel of the 4th U.S.
Va., said in a
of Appeals, in Richmond,
2-1 decision last week.
panel sent the
ate
appell
l
federa
The
lower court to
original case back to the
a preliminary inreconsider its denial of
Gavin Grimm, a
junction that would allow
ster County,
Glouce
in
high school student
m at school.
Va., to use the boy's restroo
he now identiGrimm was born a girl but

Iowa
Funding Showdown in
political batFed up with years of
of Iowa's educatling over the fairness
Tate, the
tion funding formula, Arthur
Davenport pubthe
of
nt
ntende
superi
to balance his
lic schools, says in order
ly pull
illegal
will
he
year,
books next
's reserves.
$2.7 million out of the district
on the state's
It's an amount he bases
Davleaves
which
a,
1971 funding formul
per student
enport $175 less to spend
districts.
compared to some other
much
how
ls
The state tightly contro
dipping into
districts can spend, and
ts without
emergency savings accoun
forbidden. Ofstate permission is strictly

his superintenficials say Tate could lose
state if he goes
dent's license given by the
board members,
ahead, and the district's
ed the plan this
approv
ously
unanim
who
criminally.
d
charge
be
could
,
month
lity," said Tate,
"I'm tired of the inequa
15,500 stuthe head of a district whose
come, Hispanic,
dents are mostly low-in
s a higher
there'
and black. "I think
stake here.
at
le
philosophy and princip
worth the same,
Every student should be
ours are worth
and the state is saying
much less."
deputy eduBut Jeff Berger, the state's
ort's problems
cation director, said Davenp
administrators
stem from the fact that its

of dollar s
Despi te the thousa nds
pro and con,
spent on glossy PR, both
rnia case,
over the Vergara v. Califo appeals
a state
last week's decision by
job protections
court to uphold teacher
factor: the
hinged on a far less flashy
utional law.
arcana of California constit
sides in
From the beginning, both
ledged that
acknow
case
ing
the polariz
up before the
it would probably end
gears
those
and
court,
e
state's suprem
with the plainare already cranking,
there.
tiffs planning to seek review
any
way
But regard less of which
fallout from
future decision goes, the
made several
the appeals decision has
things clear.
legal chalFirst, it is unlikely to stop
r-employlenges to California's teache
lawsuits
ment laws, although future Second,
nt tack.
could well take a differe

pAge 20>

(301) 280-3100 / reprints@epe.org
16 | EDUCATION WEEK | January 18, 2017 | www.edweek.org

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Elaine Thompson/AP

STATE of the STATES

pAge 13>

In his inaugural address, Scott called for
the state to rethink its education system by
paying more attention to pre-K and higher
education. He connected those changes
Scott, who defeated Democrat Sue Minter
last fall, connected reforming the state's
education system-from pre-K to technical
training programs, to graduate education -to
boosting economic growth and making the
state more attractive to young families.
Though Scott did not give concrete details on
how education funding will change to support
his vision during his term, he noted that
Vermont's annual K-12 spending of $1.6 billion
accounted for about 25 percent of the state's
entire budget. He argued that more money
should be directed toward pre-K, which he said
has been proven to lower special education and
health-care costs, and to state colleges and
universities, the latter of which he said were
among the lowest-funded in the country.
"We can revitalize the entire system, so
we no longer have to accept rising taxes and
compromises in the quality of our children's
education," he said, in asking teachers,
principals, superintendents and higher education
officials to think differently about education
Scott is expected to lay out his budget proposals
in an address to the Democratic-controlled
legislature in a few weeks.
-DENISA R. SUPERVILLE

WASHINGTON
GOV. JAY INSLEE (D) * JAN. 11

In his annual address to lawmakers, Inslee
said he was confident 2017 would be the year
that the Washington legislature finally meets the
demands of a five-year-old state supreme court
ruling to increase funding for the state's public
schools. Although the state has made steps toward
adequately funding public education, it still
hasn't completely satisfied the court's decision.
"We've added more than $2.6 billion for our
schools" since 2013 when he took office, Inslee said.
"We've tackled issues like all-day kindergarten,
smaller class sizes in early grades, and funding
for student transportation and supplies."

Through moves such as taxes on carbon
pollution and investment gains for the wealthiest
1 percent of residents, Inslee said his proposed
2017-19 biennial budget would fully fund K-12
education in the state.
-A.P.

WISCONSIN
GOV. SCOTT WALKER (R) * JAN. 10

Walker pledged to boost support for improved
internet connectivity for schools, and touted his
record backing public and private school choice in
his seventh State of the State address to lawmakers.
Now midway through his second term,
the governor boasted of Wisconsin's low
unemployment rate-which, like most states,
has dramatically fallen since the end of the Great
Recession-and of tax cuts he implemented. The
governor called for $36 million in new spending
to be put into a state grant program to upgrade
broadband technology, which will also support
tech training for teachers from small and rural
districts. That investment would bring total
spending on the program to $52 million, he said.
The governor, who made an unsuccessful run
for the presidency in 2016, is perhaps best-known
among educators nationwide for his policies to
slash collective-bargaining powers among his
state's K-12 employees, a decision that proved
hugely controversial. Walker has also expanded
charter schools and private school vouchers,
efforts he cited in his speech to lawmakers.
-S.C.

WYOMING
GOV. MATT MEAD (R) * JAN. 11

Wyoming public schools are facing a $1.5
billion shortfall over the next six years, Mead
warned in his seventh state of the state
address. And that's not including funding
for school construction and maintenance, he
said, calling the situation a "fiscal crisis."
Wyoming's school funding is tied to revenue
from coal, oil, and natural gas production,
which has declined in recent years.
The governor also called for the legislature
to convene an education funding task force to
address possible cuts and revenue streams-
something he had unsuccessfully requested
last year. "A year has gone by, and things have
not gotten better," Mead said. "We cannot wait
another year to act."
-MADELINE WILL
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Education Week - January 18, 2017

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