Association of
Alaska School Boards
E-NEWS
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A weekly digest
of education news for Alaska's School Board Members.
Association of
Alaska School Boards, 1111 West 9th St., Juneau, AK 99801. Tel.
907-586-1083,
Fax 907-586-2995. Carl Rose, Executive Director,
crose@aasb.org: John Greely, Editor, jgreely@aasb.org. Review past issues of
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stating the same to jgreely@aasb.org.
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AASB E-News
June 28, 2007
--SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN SCHOOL
DIVERSITY PLANS
--NSBA DISAPPOINTED IN SUPREME COURT
RULING
--COURT SLAPS DOWN STUDENT FREE SPEECH
RIGHTS
--EXPERTS SAY ALITO WAS KEY FACTOR IN
BONG HITS DECISION
--LOCAL REACTION TO BONG HITS DECISION
--JEWISH HOLIDAY REQUEST DENIED
--ANCHORAGE ADOPTS NEW RULES FOR STUDENT
CELL PHONE USE
--REPORT: STATES URGED TO IMPROVE TEACHER
QUALIFICATIONS
--THOUSANDS OF FAILING SCHOOLS FACE MAJOR
OVERHAUL
SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN
SCHOOL DIVERSITY PLANS
The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected diversity plans that
take account of studentsÕ race for assignments in SeattleÕs public schools. The
decision, covering two similar cases involving the Seattle and Louisville, Ky.,
schools could imperil similar plans in hundreds of districts nationwide, and it
leaves public school systems with a limited arsenal to maintain racial
diversity. See full story here:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/321632_race29.html
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NSBA DISAPPOINTED IN
SUPREME COURT RULING
The National School
Board Association today expressed disappointment in the Supreme CourtÕs 5-4
decision to strike down the voluntary integration plans of the Seattle and
Louisville school districts, but maintained hope that a majority of the court
recognized the ability of school boards to continue to maintain racial
diversity as a legitimate educational goal. See full news release here:
http://www.nsba.org/site/doc.asp?TRACKID=&VID=2&CID=90&DID=41031
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COURT SLAPS DOWN
STUDENT FREE SPEECH RIGHTS
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a
claim by a Juneau student that his First Amendment rights were violated when a
school administrator suspended him for displaying a pro-drug message at a
school-sponsored event. See full story here:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1154AP_Scotus_Bong_Hits.html
For a complete
transcript of the Frederick v. Morse case, click here:
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=06-278&friend=usatoday
For reaction
from the Juneau School District, click here:
http://www.jsd.k12.ak.us/newdistrict/news/legal/frederick_vs_jsd/SupremeCourtDecision.pdf
EXPERTS SAY
ALITO KEY FACTOR IN ÔBONG HITSÕ DECISION (ANALYSIS)
If some justices could have had their
way, ÒBong Hits 4 JesusÓ signs might be protected student expression, while
another justice might have stripped First Amendment rights from public high
school students completely. But somewhere in between, Chief Justice John
RobertsÕ majority opinion and Samuel Alito and Anthony KennedyÕs more narrowly
focused concurring opinion helped find that schools do not violate a studentÕs
First Amendment rights by punishing speech that appears to promote illegal
drugs as a school-sanctioned and school-supervised event. See full story here:
http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1559&year
LOCAL REACTION
TO BONG HITS DECISION
Parties in the case and school
administrators expressed varying reactions to the Supreme Court ruling in the
Frederick v. Morse case. See their reactions here:
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6708866
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JEWISH HOLIDAY
REQUEST DENIED
The state organization that oversees
school sports has refused the Anchorage School DistrictÕs request to move a
conference cross-country meet to the Sunday after Yom Kippur to avoid clashing
with that Jewish high holy day. See full story here:
http://www.adn.com/news/education/story/9080882p-8996948c.html
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ANCHORAGE ADOPTS
NEW RULES FOR STUDENT CELL PHONE USE
Students face new cell phone rules at
local schools this fall, and for many teenagers, the guidelines approved Monday
night by the Anchorage School Board mean more chances to talk and text with
friends. Under the new guidelines, approved unanimously, kids can use phones
before and after school, and during lunch. The devices would be banned at most
other times. See full story here:
http://www.adn.com/news/education/story/9081726p-8997780c.html
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REPORT: STATES
URGED TO IMPROVE TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS
A new public school teacher in North
Dakota works for a year on probation before getting job security. For a teacher
in Missouri, itÕs five years. ItÕs just one example of how policies affecting
the teaching profession vary from state to state, according to a report by the
National Council on Teacher Quality, a private group in Washington. See full
story here:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/06/27/teacher.qualifications.ap/index.html
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THOUSANDS OF
FAILING SCHOOLS FACE MAJOR OVERHAUL
The scarlet letter in education these
days is an ÒR.Ó It stands for restructuring – the purgatory that schools
are pushed into if they fail to meet testing goals for six straight years under
the No Child Left Behind Law. Nationwide, about 2,300 schools are either in
restructuring or are a year away and planning for such drastic action as firing
the principal and moving many of the teachers. See full story here:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/06/20/failing.schools.ap/index.html
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Association of
Alaska School Boards
1111 West 9th
Street, Juneau, Alaska 99801-1510 Tel. 907-586-1083
Fax 907-586-2995
Email: aasb@aasb.org
Website: http://www.aasb.org