For Teachers, Being 'Highly Qualified' Is a Subjective Matter

According to an article by Michael Alison Chandler in the Washington Post on Saturday, there seems to be some loopholes in the No Child Left Behind Act when it comes to 'highly qualified teachers'.

EXCERPT:
------------------------
To overhaul public education, the No Child Left Behind law required a massive expansion of student testing. But it also called for states to ensure that all teachers in core academic subjects are "highly qualified" to help students succeed -- an unprecedented mandate that has delivered less than promised.

The law, which turned five years old this week, has held schools to increasingly higher standards for student achievement. For teachers, however, standards meant to guarantee that they know their subjects are often vague and open to broad interpretation.

For the complete article, click here.

Notes From Board Meeting, 1/09/07

The below notes are my personal notes and are not intended to be all-inclusive or official minutes for the Board of Education meetings and are provided as a request from my supporters and the general public in a personal effort to be more transparent. Although I have diligently tried to make these notes as unbiased and accurate as possible, I am only human and do make mistakes. Please follow-up for official minutes upon approval. For copies of printed reports presented visit http://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/ccpsmd/Board.nsf/Public?OpenFrameSetElection of Officers

Chair nominations – Wade received 5; Bailey received 2
Chair vote – Wade 7

Vice Chair nominations – Abell 2; Wise 5
Vice Chair Vote – Wise 7

Public Forum

• Woman spoke in support of new recommendations for the Math curriculum as reported in an article in the Washington Post recently. Need for smaller class sizes and making student moves prior early in the year, not January.
• Teacher spoke regarding the sex education legislation and the removal of it from the package. Family Life course is elective in 11th and 12th grade and has an opt-in curriculum that is reviewed by the parents. This is different from the sex education received by all students.
• Woman spoke regarding the parent visitation policy. Not welcoming. Son is disabled. Only correspondence she receives about his progress is via the quarterly report card. He cannot communicate what he has learned. Wants to be more active in his education. Currently has to pay $.15 per page for daily data on progress. Quite expensive. Current policy too restrictive.
• Substitute Teacher spoke of the It’s Academic, Math Team, and DI not receiving Letters for their competitions. Would like to see this addressed and changed.
  

Action - Approval of Minutes from 12/12/06

• Abell motioned to amend minutes as follows. Bailey seconded
• Student Board Member Update - Mr. Van Woerkom's statements regarding the Freshman Seminar class, teachers teaching effectively, and discussions with Mr. Richmond regarding implementing an IB program and comparing it to AP
• Budget Update - Mr. Balides statements regarding Food Services being monitored closely however the general funds are in good shape
• Curriculum Briefing - Ms. Young's statements commending the students for their discipline and respectfulness and her question about the implementation of a similar program (JROTC) at the middle school level. Ms. Stafford's response
• School Naming - Ms. Abell's comments about Neal having no relation to this particular school or this area of the county. Ms. Abell feels that the Board should consider not naming schools after people. Ms. Young agreed with Abell's statements with the exception that she believes schools should be named after people.

*Vote on amending the minutes
Unanimous
PASSED

*Vote to approve minutes
Unanimous
PASSED

Correspondence/Board Member Updates

• Abell – regarding her email asking fellow Board members to consider the Boards recurring agenda items

Report – EACC

• Bill Fisher – Congrats to new board members. Last month the main concern was testing. Showed visual of testing schedule. Quite lengthy. Teacher workload. Concerned about technology because a number of schools are still requiring paper as well. Double the work. Martin Luther King’s Birthday breakfast at North Point. Board invited. Discussed legislation proposals for sex education and special education removal of disruptive students from classroom. Just brings us up o speed with new IDEA regulations.
• Wise – asked if we are currently in compliance and re quested stats on surrounding states.
• Meg MacDonald - yes we are in compliance but this legislation would update and make better alignment; didn’t have current stats at this time but could will provided in three days.
• Pedersen – Teachers comments on sex education… were those his personal thoughts or those of your colleagues?
• Teacher – Hasn’t taught this class for two years but these are his reflections from when he was teaching
• Pedersen – Any parent complaints when you taught?
• Teacher – Listed different scenarios of parents requests to refrain from certain aspects of the curriculum.

Report - Student Board Member

• Andrew VanWoerkem – No CCASC Meeting in January. Preparing for MASC legislative session at North Point on 2/3. Lots of planning and training. All high schools contributing volunteers and support. Invited BOE members to training and sessions.
• Abell – Loves the icebreakers. What do you need from us?
• VanWoerkem – Support and attendance.

Report – Superintendent

• Richmond - Heidelberg Printing Press installation at North Point almost complete.
• Richmond - New announcement calling and email. System. Still working out the kinks.
• Richmond - Immunizations. Only 30 suspensions remain.
• Abell – May the Board have an update in the future regarding your meeting on ¼ to discuss Navy Projects
• Richmond – Met to discuss the enhanced Math/Science curriculum. Working with delegation, senators and Grasmick. Will give the Board a complete update in the near future

Policy Amendments

• Schwartz – presented his recommendations.
• Abell – Referred to her amendments sent to all Board members via email. Asked fellow members to consider.
• Wise – Wanted clarification on why Abell thought it necessary for Board members to receive a copy. Doesn’t see a need.
• Abell – History shows that when Board members have been unable to attend meetings and requested to review or receive a copy of the closed session minutes they were denied.
• Schwartz – Explained and clarified the current procedure. Stated that both his and Abell’s amendments were legal and there is no right or wrong with them.
• Abell – again asked the Board members to review her revisions and consider them for nest months meeting

Report - CIP

• Wineland – “Beg-A-Thon” for school funding is coming up with Public Works. Requesting planning approval for new high school and middle school
• Wineland – Wetland concern with Pinefield site
• Wineland - Davis on schedule to finish 30 May
• Wineland - Smallwood Boiler replacement on going
• Wineland - CCPS Annex 1 & 2 Renovations and Improvements
• Wineland - Westlake locker renovations
• Wineland – Eva Turner water main break
• Abell – Email from parent regarding Article 13-203 requiring all government and public school buildings display a cross bottony flagpole topper on Maryland flagpoles. Noticed the one at Starkey building is missing. Requested all new schools have the cross bottony on the MD flagpole.
• Carrington – Great job

Report - Curriculum Update – Instructional Technology

• Estep – Bringing the world to the classroom. LCD projectors. White boards. Digital library resources. Reviewed an interactive tutorial. Response pads & clickers. Can import individual responses into grade book. Data slicing charts. Virtual fireld trips. GPS research done last summer. Google Earth.
• Wise – Praise. Adequate training for teachers?
• Abell – Kudos. 50% of all classrooms. Constantly adding more. Report shows grant money but not money spent.
• Estep – Money comes from technology budget not instruction; will forward totals
• Cook – Possibility of getting this information to the parents to use at home as reinforcement.
• Willingness to speak at PTA’s
• Pedersen – Fantastic. Word is getting home. Her daughter used recently.
• Richmond – Future update on technology partners from beginning to now.
• Cook - equitable virtual field trip scheduling
• Abell – love technology and support of the board

Report – Budget

• Balides – Technology money mentioned above. In 2003 CCPS took out a loan of $8M for technology that expires in 2010. Annual technology budget is $3M plus $1M at year end if we have the resources for additional hardware.
• Balides – reviewed report for new board members
• Balides – Food Service report from weekly update. Breakfast & lunch prices due to increase by .10 beginning in February
• Abell – Does the money deficit take into account the possible additional funds we might see from the state in response to Mr. Richmond’s letter to Grasmick to re-evaluate?
• Balides – Overall reduction in free & reduced meals. Some additional funds are expected but not enough to cover the deficit. Prices will again have to be raised for the 2007-2008 school year

Action - Personnel* Vote to accept staff recommendations
Unanimous
PASSED

Unfinished Business

• Abell – Keys for Employees Program update (11/27/06)
• Abell – Request for a sample Fitness Report Card (10/10/06, 12/12/06)
• Abell – Safe Haven Posters and program (1/2005, 10/10/06)
• Abell – Possibility of broadcasting audio tapes of meetings (10/10/06,11/14/06)
• Abell – update on the committee for the new high school vision (11/14/06, 12/12/06)
• Abell – Schedule meeting with Chamber of Commerce and EDC (9/19/06, 11/14/06, 12/12/06)
• Abell - Number of violent offenders in schools (11/14/06, 12/12/06)
• Abell – Board meeting to determine goals and objectives (12/12/06)

New Business & Future Agenda Items

• Pedersen – Would like the board to have a discussion on changing the board meeting time
• Carrington – We’ll never satisfy everyone.
• Abell – supports the move and always has
• Wise – need to discuss with staff and public before moving. Future discussion at work session
• Abell – Board Retreat
• Abell – Possibility of English college classes counting as senior year of English high school credit
• Cunningham – will provide report in weekly update
• Abell – future discussion on affordable housing alternatives for teachers
• Abell – future discussion on merit pay
• Abell – Furture discussion on alternative funding methods for school construction
• Abell – consider public forum requests to review parent visitation policy
• Abell – consider public forum request regarding competition letters
• Wade – asked for direction from the Board regarding the list of items
• Bailey – two ways to look it. One the chair could decide yes or no to place the items on the agenda or two the chair could ask for a board consensus.
• Cook – would like to hold off on these issues until the board discusses its goals and mission in a work session
• Pedersen – Concur with Cook. Doesn’t want to be led by the veteran members
• Wise – Concur with Wise and Pedersen
• Wade – wants the Boar to work on goals collaboratively in work session. Everyone will put in their goals for him to combine and then we will prioritize.
• Abell – Dejavue! Doesn’t have a problem with this with one stipulation. All individual goals submitted must have the Board members name on it that is submitting the idea and the combined list cannot be titled Board Goals. :)
  

Superintendent Proposed Budget for 2008
See Report on Board Docs

Government Lesson for the Day

A new an interesting fact I learned today...

According to Maryland Article 13-203 a flag staff displaying a Maryland flag must also have a cross bottony as a topper. This regulation applies to all government and public schools in the state of Maryland.
To learn more about the regulation click here.

Ten Big Effects of the No Child Left Behind Act on Public Schools

This short report describes ten major effects of the No Child Left Behind Act based on CEP's four year study of the implementation of NCLB at the federal, state, and local level.

1. State and district officials report that student achievement on state tests is rising, which is a cause for optimism.
2. Schools are spending more time on reading and math, sometimes at the expense opf subjects not tested.
3. Schools are paying much more attention to the alignment of curriculum and instruction and are analyzing test score data much more closely.
4. Low-performing schools are undergoing makeovers rather than the most radical kinds of restructuring.
5. Schools and teachers have made considerable progress in demonstrating that teachers meet the law's acadmic qualifications - but many educators are skeptical this will really improve the quality of teaching.
6. Students are taking a lot more tests.
7. Schools are paying much more attention to achievement gaps and the learning needs of particular groups of students.
8. The percentage od schools on state "needs improvement" lists has been steady but is not growing.
9. The federal government is playing a bigger role in education.
10. NCLB requirements have meant that state governments and school districts also have expanded roles in school operations, but often without adequate federal funds to carry out their duties.

The complete report is available here.

Schools Seek and Find 'Gifted' Students

Montgomery pursues an agressive strategy.
The below excerpt was taken from an article by Daniel de Vise in the Washington Post.

Excerpt
-------------------------
The bumper crop of gifted children at Bannockburn is a result not of some exclusive magnet program but of Montgomery County's aggressive policy on identifying academic talent. The county screens every second-grader for extraordinary ability. In most other school systems, it's left to parents or teachers to initiate the process. Also, Montgomery's criteria for "giftedness" are unusually broad, covering not just intelligence data but also classroom performance and the impressions of teachers and parents.
--------------------------
To read the complete article http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/02/AR2007010201316.html

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004

The following excerpt was taken from an article by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).
-------------------------------------------
The new Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004 regulations contain changes in several important areas, including methods to identify students with learning disabilities, early intervening services, highly qualified teachers, discipline, and meeting accessibility standards.
CEC is pleased to report that many of its recommendations are in the final regulations. CEC worked with members, Board of Directors, Representative Assembly, and others to develop recommendations that would strengthen services for children with disabilities and support special educators. Through our work, the following CEC recommendations, among others, were included in the regulations:

• Strengthened provisions to reduce disproportionate representation of students from diverse cultures in special education.
• Stronger measurable IEP goals instead of short-term objectives and benchmarks.
• Paperwork reduction.
• Reduced number of times schools must notify parents of procedural safeguards.
• Rigorous standards for alternative routes to certification.
• Multiple-year IEP pilot program.

----------------------------------------

In addition the article addresses topics such as ...

• Identifying Students with Disabilities and Response-to-Intervention (RTI)
• Early Intervening Services (EIS)
• IEPs
• Highly Qualified Teachers
• Discipline
• Accessible Instructional Materials for Children with Disabilities
• New Definitions
• Resources

Click here for the complete article, A Primer on the IDEA 2004 Regulations

Please email me with any additional resources or discussion interest for this very important topic.

Building Schools in Phases

This is a very interesting article I found in the October 2006 of the American School Board Journal.

The article details a very cost management solution to relieve overcrowding in schools. For example, building a school with the essentials (cafeteria, gym, etc.) and the first wing to accomodate the first incoming class, say we are talking about middle school so it would be the 6th grade wing. As the 6th grade is attending school, the 7th grade wing/section is being built to open the following year, etc. Thus the phase in process.

I wonder if this would work in Charles County?

Excerpt
--------------
Whether the goal is to renovate and expand existing schools or to build new ones. multi-phasing (also known as creating educational facilites in stages) is one solution. Careful planning and segment-based construction can address space issues in a timely manner even when all the money esn't available.
---------------

The article also has a few other good ideas. Check it out at http://www.asbj.com/2006/10/1006ASBJhoyle.pdf

School Choice for Maryland

This is a GREAT handbook for those interested in school choice. Please visit http://www.mdpolicy.org/books/bookID.8/book_detail.asp for the complete article, how to order or download your copy.

Excerpt
-----------------
A revolution is occurring in America’s education system. Public schools are being held accountable to higher standards and families are expecting more from their tax dollars. In many districts, discontented parents believe the only choice for their children is the local public school, which may or may not meet the needs of their children. However, alternatives are possible. Around the country, school choice reforms are giving parents the power to shape their children’s destinies by determining how and where they are educated.

This School Choice for Maryland handbook is written to inform Maryland parents and taxpayers and help give them the tools they need to benefit from the school choice revolution—a movement where, thus far, Maryland has been left behind. My hope is that this handbook will help Marylanders begin a conversation about how we too can benefit from embracing policies that give parents more options for how to educate their children. The more we know and understand about school choice opportunities that currently exist in our country, the better able we will be to call for these options in the Old Line State.

Chaotic Middle Schools

An article in the New York Times discusses delves into finding solutions for our chaotic middle schools.

EXCERPT:
Driven by newly documented slumps in learning, by crime rates and by high dropout rates in high school, educators across New York and the nation are struggling to rethink middle school and how best to teach adolescents at a transitional juncture of self-discovery and hormonal change.
The difficulty of educating this age group is felt even in many wealthy suburban school districts. But it is particularly intense in cities, where the problems that are compounded in middle school are more acute to begin with and where the search for solutions is most urgent.

To read the complete article, click here:
http://www.nytimes.com:80/2007/01/03/education/03middle.html?hp&ex=1167886800&en=3ea9833a60cb2549&ei=5094&partner=homepage

REMINDER - Board Meeting on Tuesday, January 9

Just wanted to remind everyone there is a Board Meeting Tuesday, January 9th at 1:00 pm. Come out and show your support for the new Board members! To see the full agenda please visit http://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/ccpsmd/Board.nsf/Public?OpenFrameSet. A few highlights include:

1. Curriculum Update - Instructional Technology- Overview of instructional technologies and digital resources available for teaching and learning. Click here http://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/ccpsmd/Board.nsf/Public?OpenFrameSetto view the full report
2. Policy Amendments - The Board can consider changes to its policies concerning adoption and maintenance of Board meeting minutes. Click here http://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/ccpsmd/Board.nsf/Public?OpenFrameSetto view the suggested changes
3. Election of Board Chairman and Vice Chairman
4. Presentation of Superintendent's Porposed Operating Budget for FY 2008

Abell Wants to Rework the Rules for Parent Visits

That's the headline on today's front page of the Maryland Independent -http://www.somdnews.com/stories/010307/indytop183635_32140.shtml

Excerpt:
Charles County school board member Jennifer S. Abell wants to change the school system's parent visitation rules, which she considers "too restrictive."The current rules allow parents or guardians to visit by invitation, or they can schedule up to two 45-minute visitations during each grading period.

-----------
Not a bad article but this was hot news months ago. Hasn't been lately. Is the Indy trying to stir the pot, again? However, since it has been stirred it will be coming up and the new Board NEEDS public input on this. Not just criticism or kudos. Suggestions of actual do-able changes! Any ideas?

Merit Pay Must Be Part of Public Education Reform

An excerpt from an article today in the Baltimore Examiner
Hooray for Carroll County. The School Board wants state legislators to study the benefits of merit pay in the upcoming session starting this month.
They should study quickly and move the state system forward with a program that rewards performance in a way the private sector does and not in a way that treats the poor and mediocre performers the same way as the stellar teachers.
We are not alone in advocating merit pay. The September 2005 Governor’s Commission on Quality in Education report made creating a “new compensation system for teachers and principals” its No. 1 recommendation. A new system should “pay teachers according to their subject expertise, their demonstrated effectiveness, and the challenges of staffing particular schools,” the report said.

Read the full article at http://www.examiner.com/a-487252~Editorial__Merit_pay_must_be_part_of_public_education_reform.html

Courting the Middle Class

What can schools do to keep parents from going private, or moving to the suburbs?

An article in the American School Board Journal delves into this question.

"Fueled by optimism and driven to succeed, middle- and upper-middle-class families -- and those who aspire to join their ranks -- are cherished by public schools.
It’s easy to see why. Better educated and more affluent, middle-class families tend to send their children to school ready (and eager) to learn. And, as 45 percent of American voters, middle-class families also serve as public schools’ most ardent volunteers, advocates, and fundraisers.
Yet school districts across the country -- especially those in the nation’s largest cities -- are reporting alarming increases in middle-class flight, as more economically able families of all races opt for private and parochial schools, or schools in the farther-flung suburbs.
Reasons for the exodus vary, from soaring housing prices that make good neighborhoods with strong public schools a luxury fewer families can afford, to the well-publicized and persistent myth that most -- if not all -- public schools are failing."
Read the complete article http://www.asbj.com/specialreports/1206SpecialReports/S3.html

A New Report on Bullying

A new report (Queue, Inc. - December Issue www.queuenews.com ) has been published to mark the beginning of Anti-Bullying Week in England. It examines how bullying, or the fear of bullying, is the cause of a third of all truancies.
Snapshot of the findings:

• 20,000 kids truant everyday because of bullying
• 1 in 3 truants (36%) blame bullying
• Two in five young people (42%) who are bullied, admit to skipping school at least once
• Overall a third of all 11-17 year olds in the England admit to skipping school at least once because of the fear of bullying

The report is available here: http://www.beatbullying.org/reports/bullying-truancy-report-2006.pdf

A New Education System?

Current method called outdated by Amanda Paulson of The Christian Science Monitor.

Excerpt from the article

What if the solution to American students' stagnant performance levels and the wide achievement gap between white and minority students wasn't more money, smaller schools, or any of the reforms proposed in recent years, but rather a new education system altogether?

That's the conclusion of a bipartisan group of scholars and business leaders, school chancellors and education commissioners, and former cabinet secretaries and governors. They declare that America's public education system, designed to meet the needs of 100 years ago when the workplace revolved around an assembly line, is unsuited to today's global marketplace. Already, they warn, many Americans are in danger of falling behind and seeing their standard of living plummet.

In its place, the group proposes a series of controversial reforms:

• Offer universal pre-kindergarten programs and opportunities for continuing education for adults without high school diplomas.
• Create state board exams that students could pass at age 16 to move either on to community college or to a university-level high school curriculum.
• Improve school salaries in exchange for reducing secure pension benefits, and pay teachers more to work with at-risk kids, for longer hours, or for high performance.
• Create curriculums that emphasize creativity and abstract concepts over rote learning or mastery of facts.

Read the complete article at http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1215/p01s01-ussc.html

College Board sets standards for Advanced Placement courses

In an article by Elle Ashford on the National School Board Association web-site...

"As the college admissions process has gotten much more competitive, the number of high school students taking Advanced Placement courses has soared. At the same time, there’s been a concerted effort among policymakers and education leaders to get more minorities and students who have not been on the college track to sign up for AP and other rigorous classes.

But as high schools have greatly expanded their AP programs, some are questioning the quality of courses labeled AP. Concerns about AP courses being watered down has led the College Board, which supervises the end-of-course AP exams, to establish an audit procedure to ensure AP courses meet certain standards."

For the complete article, http://www.nsba.org/site/doc_sbn_issue.asp?TRACKID=&VID=55&CID=682&DID=39650

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

From my house to yours,

Merry Christmas!!

A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students

I've actually downloaded and read this full report a few months back (link below). It's quite lengthy but well worth the read if you have a gifted child. Please let me know what you think.

An article by Queue, Inc. - December Issue www.queuenews.com

America’s schools routinely avoid academic acceleration, the easiest and most effective way to help highly capable students. While the popular perception is that a child who skips a grade will be socially stunted, fifty years of research shows that moving bright students ahead often makes them happy.
Acceleration means moving through the traditional curriculum at rates faster than typical. The 18 forms of acceleration include grade-skipping, early-entrance to school, and Advanced Placement (AP) courses. It is appropriate educational planning. It means matching the level and complexity of the curriculum with the readiness and motivation of the student.
Students who are moved ahead tend to be more ambitious, and they earn graduate degrees at higher rates than other students. Interviewed years later, an overwhelming majority of accelerated students say that acceleration was an excellent experience for them. Accelerated students feel academically challenged and socially accepted, and they do not fall prey to the boredom that plagues many highly capable students who are forced to follow the curriculum for their age-peers.
A Nation Deceived can be downloaded here: http://www.nationdeceived.org/download.html.

Maryland High School Assessments (HSA)

This post is in response to a question regarding the new testing requirements for graduation.
------------------------------
The Maryland High School Assessments (HSA) are tests that measure school and individual student progress in four core subjects: English, government, algebra/data analysis, and biology. Students take each test whenever they complete the course. For example, some students may take algebra in seventh grade while others may not take it until tenth grade.

The tests contain multiple-choice questions and questions requiring written responses. These questions are based on the content outlined in Maryland’s Core Learning Goals. (See link below for specifics)

Beginning with the graduating class of 2009, students are required to earn a satisfactory score on the HSA, in addition to all credit, service-learning, and attendance requirements, in order to earn a Maryland High School Diploma. Students have several options in fulfilling this requirement:

• Pass all four HSA (See scores below)

OR

• Earn at least the minimum score on each HSA and earn a combined score of 1602. This combined-score option benefits students because it allows higher performance on one test to offset lower performance on another test.

OR

• Earn passing scores on state-approved substitute tests and substitute one or more of those scores for passing scores on the HSA. The state has not yet named acceptable substitute tests, but possibilities include the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests.

HSA Passing Score/Minimum Score
Algebra/Data Analysis= 412/402
Biology= 400/391
Government= 394/387
English= 396/386

Students who do not pass an assessment will receive academic assistance from the local school system. After completing an academic assistance program, students can retake the assessment during the next administration of the test.

To help with intervention and remediation, the state has created a series of online courses in HSA subject areas. Teachers may use the courses with students as an intervention strategy, and students may take the courses themselves to review tested material.

Maryand's High School Core Learning Goals http://www.mdk12.org/mspp/high_school/what_will/index.html

HSA Fact Sheet http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/NR/rdonlyres/281D7160-FD8E-4333-B4A5-D6B48C490BF3/9121/HSA_1_March2006.pdf

HSA Scores http://mdreportcard.org/

Practice Taking an HSA Online http://www.mdk12.org/mspp/high_school/look_like/index.html

HSA Technical Report http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/divisions/planningresultstest/hsa_tech_report.htm

Supreme Court Reviews School Diversity Plans

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Dec. 4 in two cases that could have a significant impact on whether school districts can use race as a factor in assigning students to schools.
NSBA had submitted an amicus brief, along with seven other education organizations, urging the Supreme Court to allow school districts to use as a factor in assigning students to schools in an effort to promote diversity.
However, the tenor of the justices’ questioning during the oral arguments indicates there is a strong possibility the court will rule against the districts.
And if that happens, districts would be left with few remedies to promote racial diversity, ultimately speeding up the resegregation of public schools that already is occurring across the nation. A potential ruling against the districts could undermine the decades of progress that have occurred since the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954.

Read the complete article http://www.nsba.org/site/doc_sbn_issue.asp?TRACKID=&VID=55&CID=682&DID=39646