BAT State News Highlights - September

Alabama

State Administrators - Terri Rector Michal

BAT and Birmingham school board members writes about the $25 million that DeVos gave to AL for 15 charter schools.

When an Alabama student scored a 100 percent on his reading test, his third-grade teacher wanted to show him how proud she was of him so she surprised him with a yard sign declaring just that.

California

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Facebook Administrators: Tina Andres, Karen Wolfe, Jeanne Berrong, Owen Jackman, Sherry Skipper-Spurgeon, Jed Idan, Lisa Palmer, Heather Poland, Paula Meyer, Lance Wren, Virginia Tibbets, Jose del Barrio.

Twitter: @CaliBATs

David Goldstein Investigation: Over $580,000 In Unclaimed LAUSD Property Sitting Unus

Florida

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Facebook Administrators - Donna Yates Mace, Lisa Yurkin, Marcus Hochman

Twitter: @FLBATsA

Florida education news: Armed guards, school grades and teacher pay

Illinois

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Facebook Administrator - Diane Barrett King Rener and Millisa Libey Jaycox

Twitter: @IllinoisBATs

A looming teacher strike in Chicago is about far more than just salaries

“We’re actually asking for real demands," a Chicago special education teacher said. "Real demands that will change things.”

Kentucky

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State Administrators - Tiffany Benningfield Dunn and Julia Berner

Twitter: @KentuckyBATs

KY Department of Education reveals first look at 5-star school rating system

Massachusetts

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Facebook Administrator - Amy Wolpin, Sue Doherty

Twitter: @MassBATs

Massachusetts education funding bill continues to be delayed

Missouri

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Facebook Administrator - Anne Pritchett, Bob Minor

Twitter: @MissouriBATs

A record 28 Missouri districts, including Spokane, switch to four-day weeks this fall

New Hampshire

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Facebook Administrator: Jena DiPinto

Twitter: @NHampshireBATs

Keene teacher disciplined for reporting ammo in school, union attorney says

North Carolina

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Facebook Administrators: Angie McLeod Barbour, Melanie Miday-Stern, Jenn Martin

NC shows us again; poverty impacts learning

Speak against a curriculum company and get sued?

Oregon

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Facebook Administrator: Kathleen Hagans Jeskey, Pete Teller, Anna Riddels, Jennifer Dorsey, and Tricia Snyder.

Twitter: @OregonBATs

Oregon Stand for Children: Using Its Oregon Money to Influence Louisiana’s 2019 BESE Election

South Dakota

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Facebook Administrator - Suzy Suzanne

Twitter: Coming Soon

South Dakota Fall Enrollment Down at 5 of 6 Public State Universities

Vermont

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Twitter: @VermontBATs

Vermont’s Board of Education ponders its purpose following reforms

West Virginia

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Facebook Administrator - Greg Cruey

Twitter : @WVBATs

WV education leaders meet behind closed doors on charter schools

Alaska

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State Administrators - Andy Holleman and Julie Santaella

Twitter: @AlaskaBATs

The Anchorage School District got a pleasant surprise earlier this month when the US Department of Fish and Wildlife donated a set of electric guitars to the district.

Colorado

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State Administrators - William Ames Prather

Twitter: @ColoradoBATsA

Most candidates for the Denver Public Schools board agree that schools need more mental health supports for kids, but they differ on what type of assistance is most important and how to pay for it.

Georgia

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Facebook Administrators - Lynda Wolfe Smith, Lisa Morgan, Peter Toggerson

Twitter: @GeorgiaBATs2

To help break the cycle of poverty in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Columbus, a nonprofit organization called the Mill District has committed to funding four additional staff positions for five years at Fox, among the lowest-performing schools in Georgia.

Indiana

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Facebook Administrator: Cathy Sutton

Twitter: @IndianaBATs

A challenge to the constitutionality of selling land to charters.

Louisiana

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Twitter: @LouisianaBATs

New $1 million grant creates computer courses for Baton Rouge middle, high schoolers

Michigan

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State Administrators - Linda K. Eastman, Rebecca Lehnert Armstrong, Mary Genger Kieft Bouwense, Carina Hilbert, Jonathan Marceau

Twitter: @MIBATs

The House and Senate passed a $15.2 billion school aid budget bill Thursday, increasing the amount that is allocated for the classroom by $304 million and to special education services by $30 million.

Montana

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Facebook Administrator - Cheryl Samson Denton

Twitter @MontanaBATs

New Jersey

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Facebook Administrators - Melissa Tomlinson, Judy Strollo

Twitter: @NJBATsA

New Jersey is First in the US to Provide Arts Education For All Students

North Dakota

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Facebook Administrators: Marguerite Madeleine

North Dakota Bismarck School Board approves budget

Pennsylvania

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State Administrators - Dana Marie

Twitter: @PennBAT

Important lawsuit headed to court in PA! Charging the state with distributing public school funds unfairly - districts in all states have had enough!

Tennessee

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State Administrators - Lee Ann Pepper Nolan, Tikeila Rucker, Larry Proffitt, Jennifer Navarre, Mary Holden, Jenee Hewlett Peters, Neshellda Johnson, Lu Howard, and April Waltrip Jeffries

Twitter: @MemphisBATBa

Tennessee has started the rule-making process for the state education savings account program. (read:vouchers) public input will begin October 1st.

Virginia

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Facebook Administrators: Cheryl Gibbs Binkley, Sue Goncarovs, Erin Rafferty, Justin Kern

Twitter @VirginiaBATs

VA Secretary of Education Hears Mental Health Ideas from CHS Students

Wisconsin

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Facebook Administrator: Debbie Kadon

Twitter - Coming Soon!

Legislative update from WEAC

Arizona

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State Administrators - Kathie Wing Larsyn and Lise Spangenthal

Twitter: @AZBatsA

The Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD), which includes 15 schools and more than 9,600 students, canceled classes on both Thursday and Friday after a ransomware virus was found on multiple servers. Preschools and child care centers within FUSD were also closed.

Connecticut

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State Administrators - Jesse Turner and Rose Reyes

Twitter - Coming Soon

A new video by Sandy Hook Promise shows typical back to school items like sneakers and jackets being used in an emergency during a school shooting.

Seven new laws that will impact CT schools.

Hawaii

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State Administrators - Mireille Christianne Ellsworth

Twitter: @HawaiiBATs

The DOE has released the first draft of its new 10-year "Promise Plan" for our school system. Residents are encouraged to give feedback.

Iowa

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Facebook Administrator - Jane Balvanz

Twitter: @Iowabats

Iowa's Board of Education seeks to hone when seclusion rooms should be used, what size they should be and how quickly parents should be notified. It also seeks to clarify training requirements.

Maine

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Facebook Administrator - Robin Ellen Brooks

Twitter: @MaineBATs

Yarmouth to ‘stop arms’ to catch drivers who pass stopped school buses

Minnesota

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Twitter: @MNBATs1

The students at Pine River-Backus High School have something that most Minnesota students don’t have — at least not yet: A solar array on school grounds.

Nebraska

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Facebook Administrator - Brittany Alexander

Twitter: @NebraskaBATs

Instead of telling the story of pioneer school days, the Antelope County District 70 school museum tells the story of education from the beginning of the public school system through the 1980s, but its focus is the 1940s to the 1980s.

New Mexico

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State Administrators - Sara Attleson and Angela Reynolds

Twitter @NewMexicoBATs

Test scores, teacher attendance dropped from evaluations

Ohio

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Facebook Administrators - Brittany Alexander, Kelly Braun, Karen Linch, Mandy Jablonski, Paula Garfield, Beth Egbert, Debra Fedyna, Amber Clark, Jessica Bosak, Katie Hauer

Twitter: @OhioBATs

Ohio Senate Education Committee Blames Educators While Underfunding Schools in the State’s Poorest Communities

Rhode Island

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State Administrators -
Twitter @RhodeIslandBats

RI education commissioner denies bid by parents, students for role in Providence takeover

Texas

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State Administrators - Pamela Ehrlich Smith, Gerald Savoy,

Twitter: @TxBats

Texas Charter Schools: Don’t Believe the Boasting and Hype

Washington

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Facebook Administrators: Becca Ritchie, Susan DuFresne, Michelle Murphy Ramey, Linda Myrick, Amy Hepburn, Karen Adlum, Sheri Fingeroot Kittay

Twitter @WABATs_

Washington Reykdal Signs New Social Studies K-12 Learning Standards

Wyoming

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Facebook Administrator:

Twitter - Coming Soon!

Arkansas

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State Administrators - Tina Andres

Twitter: @ArkansasBATsA

The Walton’s have a plan to privatize AR schools: Inside the web of Arkansas’s School Privatization Empire

Delaware

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Twitter: @DelawareBATs

Delaware sisters read bedtime stories every night — to kids around the world.

Idaho

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Facebook Administrator - Mary Ollie and Levi Cavaner

Twitter: @IdahoBATs

Idahoans are launching the ‘Invest in Idaho’ initiative — a ballot initiative designed to bring dollars back to Idaho so we can finally invest in a skilled workforce, keep Idaho teachers in Idaho, and set our state on a path to a prosperous future

Kansas

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Facebook Administrator - Anne Pritchett

Twitter: @KansasBATs

A Kansas town and Google roll toward the future with

Maryland

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Twitter - coming soon

For those who qualify, the Teaching Fellows of Maryland scholarship will pay 100% of tuition, fees, room and board. In return, after graduation, recipients must agree to teach in a Maryland public school where at least 50% of the students receive free or reduced-price meals

Mississippi

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Facebook Administrator - Amanda Koonlaba

Twitter: @MississippiBATs

When polls closed, 615 of the 1,060 voters had cast ballots in favor of the bond issue.State law says that 60 percent of people who vote in a bond issue election must vote in favor in order for it to pass. The measure was just 2 percent short of passage, Eighty-two of the unopened ballots would have to be in favor of the bond issue for it to pass

Nevada

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Facebook Administrator - Lisa Muntean, Phil Sorenson, Stacey Wolff, Chet Miller, Cindy Darden, Sarah Sunnasy, Carmen Andrews, Mary Beth DeNigris-Franzeo, Jennifer Petrie

Twitter @NVBATs

Carson City middle schools receive grants for STEM programs

New York

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Facebook Administrators - Beth Glazer-Schettino, Terry Kalb, Eric Olsen, Jamy Brice Hyde, Jake Jacobs, Eve Shippens, Rosemary Pearce, Tara Molloy-Grocki, and Dave Greene

Twitter: @NYBATs

@NYStateBATs

Thousands of former New York students and teachers may be eligible for compensation and health care through