Education Reform Briefs

From the Family Research Council/Ed Facts, 9/3/99

Prayer Compared to Curse by Texas Superintendent

Stephanie Vega, a 16-year-old student at Santa Fe High School in Texas elected by her peers to speak at her high school's football games, decided not to lead classmates in prayer because of "too much pressure." She said, "I do not want to be expelled from school for using the word 'God' in a reverent manner." The less-than-reverent words of Superintendent Richard Ownby played a role in her decision. Ownby warned that any student who leads prayers at today's (9/3/99) football game "would be disciplined as if they had cursed." The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Texas, ruled this year that, while students may lead prayers at events like graduations, students may not pray before football games, because the games aren't "serious" enough.

From the National Association of School Boards of Education, 9/6/99

ACLU Threatens Lawsuit Over Pink Hair Controversy

In a letter to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Attorney General Mark Earley criticized recent actions by the state ACLU threatening lawsuits if schools crack down on student expression because of concerns about school safety. When a Virginia school sent a student home this week because her dyed-pink hair was deemed a distraction to the other students, the ACLU threatened a lawsuit and the girl was allowed back in school. Earley, who headed the state task force handling school safety concerns, countered that "if our school administrators tell us that certain behavior detracts from the learning environment,we should give them, not the ACLU, the benefit of the doubt."

From the Education Intelligence Agency, 9/13/99

NC Newspaper Blatant in Attempt to Distort Teacher Union Label

Stefan Gleason of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation had an editorial published in several newspapers around the country, but the Greensboro (NC) News & Record did something extraordinary with it. In the middle of Gleason's editorial, the editors inserted an editorial of their own:

"(Editor's note: North Carolina has a right-to-work law. North Carolina's teachers are represented by three organizations, the Professional Educators of North Carolina, the N.C. Association of Educators and the American Federation of Teachers. None of those organizations is considered a union either by the General Assembly or by organization members themselves.)"

Leaving aside the dubious practice of interrupting a newspaper editorial with this sort of comment, it makes one wonder how delusional some people can be. While right-to-work laws exist in 21 states, it doesn't change the nature of the affiliates of national teachers' unions in those states. How can a non-union be an affiliate of a union? Every NCAE member pays dues to NEA -- an organization deemed to be a union by both the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Labor Department. NCAE representatives vote in NEA elections and have seats on the NEA Board of Directors. No matter where you live, if you belong to NEA or AFT, you belong to a union.

From the American Federation of Teachers, 9/13/99

AFT President Makes Pronouncement on Foreign Affairs

The AFT applauds the U.S. government's decision to cut U.S. military ties to Indonesia in response to "the terrible attacks on civilians by armed militias in East Timor," says AFT president Sandra Feldman. In a letter to Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, Feldman noted that "it is crucial that we continue to pressure the government of Indonesia to take appropriate measures to end the violence, including the acceptance of an Australian-led international peacekeeping force." Indonesia must respect the referendum results and ensure a smooth transition to support the outcome of the recent democratic vote, she added. On behalf of both AFT members and in response to an urgent appeal from Education International and our colleagues in the Asia-Pacific region, she added, "I urge that we continue to use our influence within world lending institutions to suspend aid to Indonesia until the bloodshed is ended and there is a return to the democratic process." She also urged that the crisis in East Timor be placed high on the agenda of the forthcoming Asia-Pacific Summit in Auckland, New Zealand. Copies of the letter have been sent to all AFT executive council members.

From the Family Research Council/Ed Facts, 9/10/99

Class Sizes Lower Than Most Would Expect

The U.S. Department of Education has issued early estimates indicating an average pupil/teacher ratio of 16.6 in grades K-12 during the past school year (1998-99). Calculations based on students enrolled and teachers employed in elementary and secondary public schools indicate that Utah had the largest pupil/teacher ratio of any state, at 22.7 students per teacher, while Maine had the lowest average, 13 students. (Source: Education Statistics Quarterly, Volume 1, Issue 2, Summer 1999, Table 7, page 69.)

From the American Federation of Teachers, 9/6/99

AFL-CIO Sponsored Poll Pits Young Workers Against Employers

More than 90 percent of young workers, ages 18 to 34, surveyed through a national poll conducted by Peter D. Hart Research believe that top management and stockholders are doing well, but 42 percent said the economic situation facing their own families is either "just fair," "not so good," or "poor." More than half of those surveyed (58 percent) said employers were falling short when it came to sharing profits; a similar percentage (55 percent) said companies aren't doing enough to provide family-friendly policies. Only four out of 10 of the young workers reported receiving health benefits.

From the National Education Association, 9/7/99

NEA Joins Effort to Boost Literacy of Black Teens

National Education Association President Bob Chase has joined the national advisory board of Books for Boys, a new initiative to improve reading skills among African American boys. The pilot program targets black males ages 12-18, whom studies show often lag behind their peers in reading and academic skills.

The Books for Boys "Reading Gets You There" program will select nearly 300 boys from organizations including the Omega Boys Club of San Francisco, the Al Wooten Center of Los Angeles, and other agencies across the country serving black youth. Boys will be asked to read a specified number of books from a reading list and will receive prizes ranging from book bags to computers for their accomplishments.

From the Foundation for Academic Standards & Tradition (FAST), 9/9/99

Office of Civil Rights Dumbs Down Guidelines on College Admissions Standards

New guidelines from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) prod colleges and universities to admit more minority students: They state that the use of any educational test which has a significant disparate impact on members of any particular race, national origin, or sex is discriminatory. The guidelines would mean no SAT and ACT exams because minority students score, on average, lower on such tests--and students with higher scores are admitted instead.

The new OCR guidelines are intended to obfuscate the failures of American education. Test scores prove not that the tests are biased but that that K-12 education for minority students in America is woeful and in need of new ideas, including honesty and courage.