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//Trisha Powell Crain
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Goodbye. But only for a moment

Today is the last day the Alabama School Connection will publish new content. It’s time to say goodbye. But only for a moment. Beginning Monday, I will begin a new job as statewide education reporter for Alabama Media Group, publishing online at al.com. I’m thrilled...
Posted On Oct 14 2016
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Special Education Services Division Complaint Resolved

Last March, a copy of an anonymous complaint alleging work environment concerns in the Special Education Services (SES) division of the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) landed in the Alabama School Connection’s post office box. ALSDE officials said they have...
Posted On Oct 14 2016
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Enrollment Opens for Alabama’s Non-Traditional High School Diploma

Students who didn’t earn a diploma before they left high school now have the opportunity to go back and do so. In July, the state board of education approved the “nontraditional high school diploma”, providing pathways for students who either dropped out of high...
Posted On Oct 05 2016
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Some Answers About the Alabama Accountability Act from New Reports Mandated by Law

The first full round of new reports required as a results of changes made to the Alabama Accountability Act (AAA) in 2015 are in. Those reports answer a lot of questions, but some questions remain unanswered about the effectiveness of the program. For basic information on the...
Posted On Oct 02 2016
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State Department Violated Federal Disability Laws, Test Accommodation Policy Must Be Rewritten

The Alabama State Department of Education must rewrite the policy outlining who qualifies for testing accommodations after the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) found the current policy violates rights of students with disabilities. That mandate...
Posted On Sep 26 2016
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What the Annual Alabama “School Incident Report” Shows

Each summer, the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) releases the annual “Student Incident Report” (SIR) by school. It is a compilation of numbers of students involved in violations at school, reported online via the SIR system. Any and ever...
Posted On Sep 21 2016
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Alabama’s A-F School Grading System Is Almost Ready

This December, Alabamians will finally see letter grades linked to accountability measures for each of our nearly 1,400 public schools. Plans are being finalized for the A-F school grading system, and the most recent draft, assumed to be final, was presented at September’s state...
Posted On Sep 14 2016
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Wanna Know More About Who Gets Paddled in Alabama’s Schools?

Alabama Media Group and Alabama School Connection collaborated on this story, published Monday morning, about paddling in Alabama’s schools. We learned this morning that nearly 19,000 students were paddled in Alabama’s schools during the 2013-2014 school year...
Posted On Sep 12 2016
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More Than 90,000 Alabama Students and Nearly 15,000 Teachers Missed a LOT of School – Look Up Your School

One of eight students in Alabama’s public schools missed fifteen or more days of school in the 2013-2014 school year. (Out of 180 school days in each academic year.) That sounds bad, but consider this: nearly one in THREE Alabama school teachers missed more than TEN days...
Posted On Sep 01 2016
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How Alabama Compares in the Latest ACT College and Career Readiness Report

Numbers are hard sometimes. Particularly in education, particularly in Alabama. So many easy (and often unflattering) comparisons to make. A quick scan of where Alabama’s graduates stand in ACT’s newly-released College and Career Readiness Report for 2016 might get...
Posted On Aug 24 2016
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Federal Judge Rules in Favor of Cleburne County Student Alleging Discriminatory Treatment

An African-American student who filed suit against the Cleburne County Board of Education will return to the football field after U.S. District Judge Virginia Hopkins issued an order temporarily setting aside the extended punishment given to him last February banning him from...
Posted On Aug 16 2016
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Public Meetings for the Every Student Succeeds Act Start Tuesday, August 9

Here’s your chance to weigh in with state department of education officials about the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). ESSA is the new federal law replacing No Child Left Behind. Malissa Valdes-Hubert, Public Information Manager for the Alabama State Department of...
Posted On Aug 08 2016
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The Numbers Are In: SGOs Are Paying More than the State to Educate Students

On average, scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs) paid $5,742.09 per students to attend one of the 155 schools participating in the program during the 2015-2016 school year according to reports filed by the SGOs with the Alabama Department of Revenue (ADOR). By contrast, the...
Posted On Aug 02 2016
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The Alabama School Connection Is Closing Down….

No easy way to say this, friends. The Alabama School Connection is closing down. We knew it was an ambitious undertaking when we formally incorporated in June 2014. Nonprofit news organizations are struggling to find a sustainable revenue model, and we certainly found that to be...
Posted On Jul 31 2016
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Special Education Community Alliance Will Hold First Meeting Wednesday, August 3

Dustin Chandler knows how to bring people together around a common cause. As the driving force behind Carly’s Law, which legally authorized the University of Alabama at Birmingham to conduct a study of the effects of cannabinoid, or CBD, oil for children suffering seizure...
Posted On Jul 31 2016
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Explainer: What Is Wrong with America’s Civic Education

Peter Levine, Tufts University Any election demands knowledge, attention and wisdom from the whole electorate. When a campaign season does not seem to be going well, there’s often angst about whether the public has been sufficiently educated. Anxious eyes turn to our public...
Posted On Jul 13 2016
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Governor’s ESSA Committee Has Completed First Round of Meetings, Here’s What’s Next

The statewide committee charged with planning for implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) recently completed their first round of sub-committee meetings. The Governor’s web page for ESSA has been updated to include meeting notes from four of the seven...
Posted On Jul 11 2016
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State Board of Education to Consider Untraditional High School Diploma at July Board Meeting

Students who were unable to earn an Alabama high school diploma because they either didn’t earn enough credits and/or couldn’t pass one or more portions of the old Alabama High School Graduation Exam (AHSGE) could be given a second chance to do so. The State Board of...
Posted On Jul 11 2016
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Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of Student at Cleburne County High School

In a lawsuit filed in federal court last week, an African-American Cleburne County High School student alleges he was discriminated against, punished more severely than white students for the same offense, and retaliated against by three members of the Cleburne County Board of...
Posted On Jul 07 2016
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Public Charter School Operators Letters of Intent Released by the Commission

The Alabama Public Charter School Commission today released letters of intent from the five groups hoping to operate public charter schools in Alabama. The groups are (click the links to read the letters of intent): The SLAM Foundation, Miami, Florida The Mobile Area Education...
Posted On Jul 07 2016
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Confusion Abounds on How to Enroll Homeschooled Students to Play Sports in Public Schools

Though the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) approved changes to allow homeschooled students to play sports in Alabama’s public schools, some school districts are not yet enrolling homeschooled students due to confusion about academic and other enrollment...
Posted On Jul 05 2016
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How Community Schools Can Beat Summer Learning Loss for Low-Income Students

Laura Bronstein, Binghamton University, State University of New York This article is a part of The Conversation’s series on summer learning loss. For other articles in this series, read here and here. My children spent summers reading Harry Potter, playing chess, swimming and...
Posted On Jul 04 2016
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State Board of Education Members Open to Feedback about State Superintendent Applicants

Education writer Larry Lee recently wrote that Rep. Terri Collins (R-Decatur) was “meddling” by sending an email to state school board members about her choice for state superintendent. Collins chairs the House Education Policy Committee. Most bills that are proposed...
Posted On Jul 02 2016
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When Do Schools Open for the 2016-2017 School Year?

Yep. It’s that time again. The map below shows you when school opens in each of Alabama’s school districts…except Pelham City and Pike Road City, which aren’t yet reflected in the map (hopefully they’ll be in the August Census bureau update). The...
Posted On Jul 02 2016
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Five Letters of Intent from Charter Operators Received by the Alabama Public Charter School Commission

The Alabama Public Charter School Commission received letters of intent from five potential charter school operators interested in operating public charter schools in Alabama. Commission member Thomas Rains confirmed the number of letters in an interview this afternoon. Rains...
Posted On Jun 28 2016
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Past Editions of K-12 Must-Read News

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