Education Week - August 21, 2013 - 4

4 EDUCATION WEEK AUGUST 21, 2013 www.edweek.org
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NEWS IN BRIEF
Sequestration Prompts
Districts to Cut Budgets
Perhaps the cuts weren’t quite
as bad as U.S. Secretary of Education
Arne Duncan predicted, but
sequestration is still hitting classrooms
as districts begin the 201314
school year.
According to a new survey
from the American Association
of School Administrators, districts
are dealing with automatic,
across-the-board trigger cuts to
federal education funding by
slicing professional development
(59 percent of districts), eliminating
personnel (53 percent),
increasing class size (48 percent),
and deferring technology
purchases (46 percent).
The data come from 541 respon-
dents from 48 states, questioned
this summer.
The professional-development
cuts come at a critical time for K-12
education, as states and districts
implement the Common Core State
Standards and prepare for new
tests aligned to those tougher standards.
All told, the cuts amount to
about 5 percent of federal education
funds.
—MICHELE McNEIL
Grade ‘Manipulation’
In Ind. Called Likely
Improper “manipulation” of school
grades on Indiana’s A-F accountability
system likely took place under
former state schools chief Tony Bennett,
according to his successor.
Schools Superintendent Glenda
Ritz, a Democrat who defeated Mr.
Bennett in his re-election bid last
year, said a “preliminary examination”
revealed the problem, and
grades for the 2012-13 academic
year would be delayed until a further
review is completed.
In July, the Associated Press pub-
lished emails between Mr. Bennett
and his staff, while he was Indiana’s
superintendent, revealing that they
altered the system when a charter
school that Mr. Bennett told officials
would receive an A was actually
slated to receive a lower grade.
Mr. Bennett, who had taken over
as Florida’s education commissioner
in January, subsequently
resigned from that post, although
he denied any wrongdoing. A final
report from the Indiana education
department could be released in
September.
—ANDREW UJIFUSA
Obama Signs Bill
On Student Loans
President Barack Obama has
signed into law a measure restoring
lower interest rates for student
loans, pledging the hard-fought compromise
would be just the first step
in a broader, concerted fight to rein
in the costs of a college education.
Encircled by lawmakers from both
parties in the Oval Office, the president
praised Democrats and Repub-
TORNADO
MEMORIAL
Excavation of what was left
of Plaza Towers Elementary
School in Moore, Okla., after
a tornado, is now underway
behind a memorial to the seven
students who died in the storm
in May. Classes began last
week for elementary students,
who will be going to a
refurbished building at a local
junior high.
licans alike for agreeing on what he
called a sensible, reasonable approach
to student loans even as he
cautioned that “our job is not done.”
“Feels good signing bills. I haven’t
done this in a while,” he said, alluding
to the difficulty he’s faced
getting Congress, particularly the
Republican-controlled House, to
approve his legislative priorities.
—ASSOCIATED PRESS
Court: School Staff
Can Administer Insulin
School personnel may administer
insulin to students with
diabetes under the proper circumstances,
California’s highest court
ruled last week. The court rejected
arguments from nursing groups
that state rules allowing nonmedical
school workers to give insulin
condoned on unauthorized nursing
practice.
The unanimous decision by the
California Supreme Court has
implications for students with
special education or treatment
plans under federal disabilities
laws. The Obama administration
filed a friend-of-the-court brief in
the case arguing that schools may
use lay personnel to administer
insulin when complying with a
student’s plan.
The California court held that
state law “expressly permits
trained, unlicensed school personnel
to administer prescription
medications such as insulin in accordance
with the written statements
of a student’s treating physician
and parents.”
—MARK WALSH
Ind., Teachers’ Unions
Settle Insurance Suit
The Indiana State Teachers Association
and its parent organization
have agreed to a proposed $14
million settlement with 27 school
districts to resolve Indiana regulators’
lawsuit targeting the state
union’s now-defunct health-insurance
program.
Secretary of State Connie Lawson
announced the tentative deal
last week between state regula-
tors, the ISTA, and the National
Education Association in a case
she said involved program “mismanagement”
and “alleged defrauding”
of Indiana teachers.
State officials had sued the ISTA
and the NEA in 2009, alleging
they violated state securities law
by offering a health-care plan for
districts.
The federal lawsuit said that the
health-care program actually represented
the sale of unregistered
securities and that money generated
from the program’s insurance
Calif. Students Share Photos of State Test Answers
Accountability ratings jeopardized
for schools where violations arose
Students at nearly 250 schools in California
posted photos on social-media websites while they
took state standardized tests, again prompting
questions about testing security, state education
officials said.
The most serious issues arose at 16 schools
where photos were posted containing actual test
questions or answers.
Deborah Sigman, the state’s deputy superintendent
of schools, said that officials remain confident
the Standardized Testing and Reporting, or STAR,
results are still valid and that the incidents involved
a small number of the students tested.
“It looks to us as though most of these postings
were about gaining some attention and communication
with peers, and not an active [attempt]
to try to game the system in terms of the assessment,”
she said. Ms. Sigman said other posts by
students depicted things unlikely to jeopardize
exam results, such as test-booklet covers or “bubble
art,” which she described as students filling in
bubbles to craft a message.
The Sacramento Bee first reported that results
from those schools are now flagged with a warning
message next to their test results. It notes “a
security breach involving social media” was identified
at the school and states: “Caution should be
used when interpreting these results.”
Results from the 16 schools where students
posted actual test content also included the warning
that the schools’ accountability rating could be
affected. Those schools also could become ineligible
for academic awards.
The state education department plans to release
its statewide accountability reports within the
next few weeks.
This year’s cases of security breaches include
slightly more schools than last year. Online postings
involving test materials were found from students
at 216 schools, with posts from 12 schools
that included legible test questions or answers.
Students generally are not allowed to have
electronic devices during standardized testing.
Ms. Sigman said officials believe the number of
online postings discovered may have increased
because of the department’s efforts to monitor
social-media websites during testing.
The department may step up its efforts to monitor
online postings and to train districts on what to
look for during testing, she said.
—ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sue Ogrocki/AP
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Education Week - August 21, 2013

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