ACLU Sues School in Online Photo Controversy: Female Students Punished for Racy MySpace Pictures
In Indianapolis, Indiana, two sophomore girls at Churubusco High School were punished by the school district for posting sexually suggestive photos on their MySpace pages.

College Planning Q&A: 529s and Financial Aid
College Planning Q&A: 529s as IRA Beneficiaries?
These are two good articles about how to use 529 plans in planning for college and how to coordinate them with financial aid applications and maximize the tax benefits. (Morningstar Advisor)

Feds Add New Categories for Civil Rights Reporting
The U.S. Department of Education has announced that for the 2009-10 school year, school districts will have to collect data in a number of new categories that relate to students' civil rights. What's more, the data for many of the new categories must be disaggregated to show how it applies to students of different races and ethnic backgrounds, students with disabilities, male and female students, and English-language learners.

Learning English as Second Language (Education News)
The method I’ve suggested in previous articles works for languages. We can adapt it to teaching English to immigrant students even without knowing their native tongue.

Nine Ways to Eliminate Bullying (Great Schools.org)
What you can do to eliminate it.

Position Statement on Student Grade Retention and Social Promotion
From National Assn. of School Psychologists: The highest retention rates are found among poor, minority, inner-city youth. Research indicates that neither grade retention nor social promotion is an effective strategy for improving educational success.

Rebooting the Summer Math Brain (My Great Kid - 8-2-10)
I wanted to share with you a great site that I’ve been using with my son this summer, it’s called Math Fact Cafe. It’s a site that allows you to quickly and easily create math worksheets for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division or a mix of all of the above. If you’re looking for a quick worksheet creator for Math through roughly 4th – 5th grade I give this site two big thumbs up!

Researchers Study Motivation in Class (USC News - 3/17/09)
What factors prompt young students to learn? That question has been addressed over the past two years by members of a group formed by two USC Rossier faculty members.

Secrecy 101 (The Columbus Dispatch)
Patti's Comments: This article won a journalism prize - exposed misuse of FERPA to cover up wrongdoings by institutions. I hear about FERPA abuses by schools, districts, state ed. depts. just about daily. I personally experienced a problem with this in my home district of Birmingham, Michigan. The reading recovery teacher refused to give me my daughter's test scores and record. It was amazing to me how angry she even got that I had the nerve to ask for the records. The principal was present and did not correct her. I then followed up in writing, and had an hour long call from a professional in the district trying to "explain" the records to me, because otherwise the information would be meaningless to me. I explained that my husband is a special education teacher, my sister is a special education teacher, my mom a retired teacher, and that I was an attorney with a pretty good knowledge of educational law. That did not matter - I was still apparently not smart enough to understand my daughter's records….and in this case they were not attempting to hide anything… they just did not like that I wanted to exercise my FERPA rights….Geesh!

Walking to School with Education Secretary Arne Duncan (School Transportation News - 8/24/10)
Michelle Rhee and U.S. Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez walked with Duncan and the students along a two-block route from Lincoln Park to Maury Elementary. The "Walking School Bus" event was intended to promote the importance of safe, healthy lifestyles, as well as welcoming students back to school, according to a Department of Education spokesperson.

When Schools Punish Sick Children Who Miss School: A Game Plan (Wright's Law)
The purpose of laws that require children to attend a certain number of school days is to deter truancy. A law that is intended to deter truancy must include exemptions for children who have chronic illnesses or who are injured, not truant.

A Judicial Checklist to Ensure that the Educational Needs of Children and Youth in Foster Care are Being Addressed (Permanency Planning for Children - April, 2005)
Asking the right questions is the first step.

A Synthesis of Research on Reading (Nat'l Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
The NICHD began to focus more on reading difficulties as it became clear how extensive the reading problem was in the general population.

Checklist for Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (Education Quest)
A list of questions a student must answer to find out what items are needed for the 2010-2011 FAFSA and to determine if information from parents is required.

Everyday Mathematics (Teaching Tips.com)
A core curriculum for students in kindergarten through grade 6.

Independent Education Evaluation (IEE) Issues: Letters to organizations, attorney and parent:
   California Department of Education
   Wisconsin Dept. of Public Instruction
   Letter to Attorney
   Letter to Attorney 2
   Redacted Letter to Parent
   Volunteer Educational Advocate

Joint Guidance on the Application of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) To Student Health Records
(U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services and U.S. Dept. of Education - Nov. 2008)
Purpose of this guidance is to explain the relationship between the two Acts, and to address apparent confusion on the part of school administrators, health care professionals, and others as to how these two laws apply to records maintained on students. It also addresses certain disclosures that are allowed without consent or authorization under both laws, especially those related to health and safety emergency situations.

School Selection for Students in Out-of-Home Care (Legal Center for Foster Care)
This brief provides a framework for local homeless education liaisons, educators, child welfare caseworkers, and other child welfare advocates for assessing best interest when selecting a school for students in out-of-home care. While the brief focuses on students "awaiting foster care placement" under the McKinney-Vento Act, it provides information relevant to school selection and school stability for all children and youth in out-of-home care.

The Condition of Education 2010 (National Center for Education Statistics)
Summarizes important developments and trends in education using the latest available data. The report presents 49 indicators on the status and condition of education, in addition to a special section on high-poverty schools.

The McKinney-Vento Act At a Glance
This summary provides a brief overview of the key provisions of Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act.

Debt Free U
Financial literacy resources for students and young adults.

Inspiration Software
Students, educators and 21st century business professionals use our products to think, brainstorm, organize, analyze and write.

International Society for Technology in Education
ISTE is the premier membership association for educators and education leaders engaged in improving learning and teaching by advancing the effective use of technology in PK-12 and higher education.

School to Prison Pipeline
A nationwide system of local, state and federal education and public safety policies that pushes students out of school and into the criminal justice system.

U.S. Department of Education

Common Core State Standards
Building on the excellent foundation of standards states have laid, the Common Core State Standards are the first step in providing our young people with a high-quality education. It should be clear to every student, parent, and teacher what the standards of success are in every school. Also see information from Disability.gov.

Family Educational Right to Privacy Act
A federal statute that prohibits federally funded schools and colleges to disclose certain student information without parental consent.

Gifted Resources
An information service for parents and teachers of gifted students and the service providers who cater for them.

Struggling Teens
Source of current news about private parent-choice adolescent resources for schools and programs.

Teacher Magazine
Their mission is to help raise the level of awareness and understanding among professionals and the public of important issues in American education.