EDUCATION - Blogs - Independence Institute

Colorado Course Choice Pilot Programs Have New Resource to Consult 0
- May 20, 2014
Late in the session the Colorado legislature passed House Bill 1382, authorizing the creation of K-12 online education pilot programs. One pilot program area — funding student choices at the course level — has received some detailed help in the form of a policy strategy manual from the Fordham Foundation, to go along with our 2012 issue paper, Online Course-Level Funding.
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Denver Post on School Safety Reporting Shows What’s Old Is New Again 0
- May 19, 2014
Yesterday the Denver Post featured a lengthy story on troubles with school safety reporting. When I hear about a student being stabbed, beaten up, or having some property stolen, it makes me mad. Of course, those things happen. But then to see that a lot of these incidents aren’t being publicly reported with consistency, I […]
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International Report Shines Light on Colorado Education Performance Gap 0
- May 14, 2014
Update, 5/14: RiShawn Biddle shares some further valuable insights into the PEPG report’s findings on his Dropout Nation website. Almost exactly one year ago to the day, I brought your attention to a report from America Achieves that showed our nation’s lackluster K-12 education results are by no means just a matter of poverty. This […]
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How Can Jeffco Union Leaders’ Bad Faith Bargaining Be Good for Kids?0
- May 13, 2014
Once upon a time not so long ago in a land very close by occurred historic open negotiations between the Jeffco school board and the Jefferson County Education Association. Then union leaders staged an impasse and slammed the door shut. Transparency gone. Citizens were left in the dark. The open negotiations went away as the […]
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So Glad to Find Insights and Direction for HB 1382′s Online Pilot Programs 0
- May 12, 2014
A somewhat overlooked education policy outcome from this year’s Colorado legislative session was the passage of House Bill 1382. Outside the realm of full-time online schools, where the legislation has real but not overwhelming impact, HB 1382 generally follows the recommendations of a short-lived K-12 Online Education Commission, which I told you about earlier. As […]
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Newly Reported Test Scores Bring (Mostly) Disappointing News 0
- May 8, 2014
The good news from yesterday is summed up in two words: Sine Die. Near as I can tell, that’s Latin for “The legislature gets out of town, productive everyday citizens breathe a sigh of relief.” (But maybe I need to enroll in one of Colorado’s fine classical schools to find out for sure.) The not-so-good […]
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