-
California Supreme Court to Take On Discounted Tuition for Illegal Immigrants
Tweet Share on Facebook January 9, 2009 Comment (32)Should illegal immigrants pay discounted tuition rates at state colleges? The California Supreme Court is expected to take up that question later this year when it hears arguments on the constitutionality of California's law granting in-state tuition to undocumented students. Expect educators and lawmakers across the country to pay close attention to the case. The outcome will likely influence other states' college tuition policies for immigrant students who are not legal U.S. residents. At least nine states offer tuition breaks to illegal immigrants who meet certain conditions, including Illinois, Kansas, and New York.
Last August, U.S. News reported on the growing pressure that states face to ban illegal immigrants from public colleges and universities as well as to repeal in-state tuition benefits for those students, no matter their academic qualifications. Lawyers challenging California's tuition policy in the case Martinez v . Regents of the University of California say the state's public colleges and universities are violating a 1996 federal law that prohibits taxpayer-funded institutions from giving benefits to undocumented immigrants that are not also given to U.S. citizens. Out-of-state U.S. citizens are required to pay considerably higher fees than California students, regardless of citizenship status. UC officials say the state law was crafted to comply with federal law. Most students who have qualified for the discounted tuition are legal U.S. citizens, they say, including students who live in other states but attended a California high school, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Federal lawmakers, who will likely try again this year to reach an agreement on comprehensive immigration reform, could also be influenced by the outcome of the case.
-
College Board Says, 'Arrivederci, AP Italian'
Tweet Share on Facebook January 9, 2009 Comment (6)Arrivederci, Advanced Placement Italian. College Board officials announced this week that the AP Italian course and test won't be offered in the 2009-10 academic year. Poor enrollment and a lack of funds are the main reasons officials cited.
The Italian Language Foundation, a group of prominent Italian-Americans formed in the spring to save the program, said it was disappointed. Margaret Cuomo, daughter of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, headed the foundation, which raised more than $650,000 in pledges and commitments. But those pledges were based on the Italian government making a financial contribution, which the foundation was not able to secure.
Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, which owns the AP program, called the foundation's fundraising a "heroic effort" and left open the possibility of bringing back Italian if the economic situation improves. The College Board sent letters to school districts notifying them about the program's cancellation.
Last April, College Board officials announced plans to discontinue the AP Italian program unless outside groups agreed to raise money. With only 2,000 students taking the test, Italian was the least popular AP course.
Other tests and courses that will be discontinued next year are French and Latin literature and computer science. The last tests for those courses will be offered in May.
-
California Law Targets Cyberbullying
Tweet Share on Facebook January 7, 2009 Comment (52)Last week, California joined the growing number of states that have passed laws against cyberbullying—harassment inflicted not by physically menacing bullies at schools but through social networking sites, instant messenger programs, and other forms of digital communication.
As of January 1, officials in California schools may suspend or expel students who harass their peers through cyberbullying, the Washington Post reports. Like California's law, anti-cyberbullying laws passed in other states call on school districts to develop policies regarding cyberbullying detection and punishment. Other states with cyberbullying laws include: Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, and Washington.
More laws are needed because the problem is becoming increasingly widespread. According to a 2006 National Crime Prevention Council study, 40 percent of teens surveyed had experienced some form of cyberbullying in their lifetime. The study also found cyberbullying to be most common among females and adolescents who are 15 and 16 years old.
-
Georgia District May Ask Teachers to Give Back Raises
Tweet Share on Facebook January 7, 2009 Comment (7)Plummeting property values and state budget cuts are forcing many school districts to make tough decisions. Case in point: A cash-strapped school district in Fayette County, Ga., is considering asking teachers and other school employees to give up recent pay raises. Teachers there are not too happy about it.
The paycheck givebacks would save the Fayette County Public Schools $2 million and might help the district avoid layoffs, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. But for the district—which faces a $1.8 million budget deficit—to recover the money, all school employees would have to agree. (A survey is going out to all employees this month.) Several school board members favor the idea, citing a similar gesture on the part of teachers in a school district in Maryland. But several teachers in Fayette County who were interviewed on the first day of the new school term seemed leery of the idea.
-
University of California to Accept Fewer Students
Tweet Share on Facebook January 6, 2009 Comment (5)Admission officers at the University of California have not finished reviewing applications for 2009. But the record number of applications that have arrived almost certainly means that more applicants than ever will be turned away.
An estimated 127,000 students applied for admission to at least one of the nine UC undergraduate campuses for the fall 2009 term, up from 121,005 last year. The 5 percent increase in applications makes 2009 the most competitive year in admissions, the Sacramento Bee reports.
-
Debate Over Teacher Drug Tests Spreads to West Virginia
Tweet Share on Facebook January 5, 2009 Comment (21)A policy that would have made drug testing of teachers and other school employees in a school district in West Virginia commonplace has been struck down by a federal judge, the Associated Press reports. The judge said that requiring a teacher to submit to a random drug test amounts to an unconstitutional search. The ruling applies only to the case in Kanawha County, W.Va. But it could help teachers in Hawaii who are fighting a similar policy.
Last week, U.S. News carried a report about an agreement that went sour between the Hawaii State Teachers Association and the state's governor, Linda Lingle. In exchange for pay raises, the teachers union consented to random drug tests. But now the teachers want out, saying the testing would violate their privacy rights. Lingle, who threatened to withhold the raises, released the money after the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii intervened on behalf of teachers.