An education reform group headed by Michelle Rhee, the controversial former chancellor of Washington, D.C., public schools, is working in Alabama toward changes in state education laws that would allow charter schools and revise tenure.

State Sen. Phil Williams, R-Rainbow City, wants the Legislature to give about one-third of Alabama teachers a raise of 2.5 percent, although he says his idea is not “fully hatched” yet. The state’s taxpayers should hope that it is never hatched.

A plan to give school districts greater flexibility to hire and keep the best teachers and reduce red tape that gets in the way of improving instruction in the classroom was announced Tuesday by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Malloy-Cut-red-tape-for-school-districts-2876801.php#ixzz1l6Dk24Fi

The first budget confrontation of the legislative session emerged Tuesday when Gov. Rick Scott declared his opposition to an 8 percent tuition increase at state colleges and universities that Republican lawmakers support.

Cash-strapped school districts may soon have an alternative to the property tax revenue that funds construction and maintenance. A House panel on Tuesday approved a measure that would allow Florida school boards to levy a half-penny sales tax in exchange for a reduction in school property taxes. The revenue could only be used for capital projects.

Gov. Nathan Deal is not in favor of tweaking the HOPE scholarship program right now. And reopening the TSPLOST list could create more problems, he said Tuesday.

After nearly two hours of heated testimony during a packed meeting, the House Higher Education Committee held off voting on a bill that would bar illegal immigrants from attending all Georgia public colleges.

Funding for a college tuition assistance program for Iowa National Guard members has been increased to meet rising demand.

Providing laptops for each of Idaho’s students isn’t as easy as passing out the computers in schools, as legislators learned Tuesday.

A state lawmaker introduced a measure Tuesday urging Congress to repeal the nation’s No Child Left Behind education law.

Gov. Pat Quinn remade the state agency overseeing the College Illinois prepaid tuition program seven months ago, and on Friday his commissioners produced a recommendation to save the troubled college savings plan: Form a committee.

The Indiana Department of Education is challenging teachers to instruct their students digitally.

State Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, persuaded the Republican-controlled Indiana Senate on Tuesday to approve two of her education proposals.

The state Senate has deadlocked over whether to support a bill that would largely prohibit Indiana’s public schools from starting their school years until late August.

Indiana’s public schools would be allowed to teach creationism in science classes as long as they include origin of life theories from multiple religions under a proposal approved Tuesday by the state Senate.

Louisiana is at a historic crossroad with the upcoming debate over sweeping changes in public schools and state employee pensions, Gov. Bobby Jindal said Tuesday. “I think this is one of those critical moments,” Jindal said.

Parents, teachers and education activists squared off at the Capitol Tuesday over a Republican proposal that would transform the way Minnesota school districts conduct teacher layoffs by scrapping seniority, the sacred tenet of most teachers unions.

Tuition and fees at the four University of Missouri campuses could go up 6.5 percent, starting this summer, under a proposal that will be considered Thursday and Friday by the system’s Board of Curators.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — To help cope with Gov. Jay Nixon’s proposed 15.1 percent cut to higher education next year, the University of Missouri System is proposing an average tuition increase of 6.5 percent to UM campuses.

Catholic schools in Kansas City, combating their own trend in declining enrollment, want legislative help to improve their ability to draw students from the Kansas City Public Schools.

Mississippi’s top education official is asking for an additional $305 million for the coming year – a request he acknowledges is unlikely to be fulfilled.

In a move intended to prevent schools from trying to save money at the expense of medically fragile children, an Assembly panel Monday approved a bill requiring specialized nurses to accompany students who could need life-saving care at a moment’s notice.

Gov. Chris Christie unveiled a sweeping plan last week to overhaul New Jersey’s university system, with the aim of capturing more grant money at a time when higher education is severely underfunded. Rowan, a South Jersey state college, would take over the Camden campus of Rutgers, including its law and business schools.

Nevada will apply for a waiver from federal No Child Left Behind education requirements this month.

As some local school districts are nearing agreements with their unions to create tougher evaluations for teachers and principals, an interest group said failure to enact the new evaluations will cost schools $1.7 billion statewide.

The latest report cards are out from the state’s leading think tanks, one of which is oriented toward market solutions to problems and the other oriented toward government solutions.

Three Clark County legislators are behind a bill that would require sexual health education programs to incorporate lessons about sexual offenses against minors into their curriculum.

As Penn State students clamor for more state aid in hopes of avoiding higher tuition bills, Gov. Tom Corbett has put the university on notice.

By at least one measure, Penn State University appears to be maintaining its luster with prospective students from other parts of the nation, despite the child sex scandal involving a former assistant football coach.

In 2004, during the debate over whether to legalize gambling in Pennsylvania, Gov. Ed Rendell predicted that slot machine revenue one day would be able to cut school property taxes by an average of 23 percent.

Lawyers for the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, which won the Cranston High School West prayer case, on Tuesday asked the U.S. District Court to award them $173,000 in fees.

Officials from South Dakota’s public universities are meeting with state lawmakers to discuss the schools’ spending plans.

The legislative session is a long way from over but, so far, schools have been largely spared from talk of budget cuts.

A bill that would provide technology grants to schools so the state can move forward with a computer adaptive testing program passed the Senate Tuesday.

As lawmakers discuss preschool options and school technology aids this session, one program that already combines the two is more than halfway through its trial.

The science standards for Virginia’s public schools are thorough and rigorous and should serve as a model for other states, according to a report released Tuesday.

Vermont education officials are asking the federal government to allow the state to forgo the annual school rating process this year and in the future to reduce standardized testing required under the No Child Left Behind Act.

Wyoming community college students who transfer to the University of Wyoming do much better if they first earn an associate’s degree at the two-year college.