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Monday, June 11, 2012

Leonie Haimson: Will Our Federal Government Renounce Their Proposal to Increase Class Size?

Leonie Haimson: Will Our Federal Government Renounce Their Proposal to Increase Class Size?:


Will Our Federal Government Renounce Their Proposal to Increase Class Size?


The Obama administration has proposed that in next year's education budget, 25 percent of the funds to reduce class size or keep teachers on staff be diverted to a competitive grant program to create and expand "new pathways" to teaching -- e.g. to help fund organizations like Teach For America.
That would mean a cut of more than $600 million that, if approved, would lead to even larger classes in schools throughout the country next year. Senate Appropriations Committee will have its say on this issue next week when it considers the FY13 Labor, Health and Education funding bill. Recently, a group of corporate education reform groups, let by 50-CAN and joined by other organizations including Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst and Teach for America, sent a letter to Senate leaders