Education

Senate passes largest education budget in state history

Thursday, May 2 the Alabama Senate passed the education trust fund (ETF) budget, Senate Bill 199 on a 28 to 2 vote. SB199 was sponsored by Senator Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, who chairs the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee. Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, released a statement regarding Senate passage of the Education … Continued

Brandon Moseley

May 3, 2019

Ivey announces funding for 41 new Pre-K through 3rd Grade Integrated Approach to Early Learning

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education announced on Tuesday that 41 new classrooms will be funded through the Pre-K through 3rd Grade Integrated Approach to Early Learning. “Alabama children have reaped the benefits of our nationally recognized First Class Pre-K program, and our P-3 program works to build upon … Continued

Brandon Moseley

May 1, 2019

Committee considers bill requiring local school funding follow children to public charter schools

The Alabama Senate Education Policy Committee held a public hearing Wednesday on a bill that would require that more local public school funding follow children whose parents choose instead to enroll them in public charter schools instead of the local public school where the state has assigned them. Senate Bill 311 is sponsored by Senate … Continued

Brandon Moseley

April 25, 2019

Senate passes bill to allow retired law enforcement officers to work as school security

The Alabama Senate approved a bill Thursday by Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, that would allow local school boards of education to hire retired law enforcement officers to serve as armed school security staff, provided they possess 25 years of experience. The officers must complete active shooter prevention training approved by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency … Continued

Brandon Moseley

April 19, 2019

Ivey: First Class Pre-K highest quality program in nation for 13th years straight

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced Wednesday that the National Institute for Early Education Research has ranked Alabama First Class Pre-K as the nation’s highest quality state pre-kindergarten program for the 13th consecutive year. “For a child to reach their fullest potential later in life, they must first build a strong foundation. I’m proud that Alabama … Continued

Brandon Moseley

April 18, 2019

Senate Bill 222 takes away voters right to elect school superintendents

Tuesday, the Alabama Legislative Watchdogs and the Shelby County Republican Women issued a statement urging members to contact their state representatives to oppose Senate Bill 222, which takes away voters rights to elect their own school superintendents. Elected county school superintendents would be replaced by appointed superintendents answerable only to the politicians on the local … Continued

Brandon Moseley

April 18, 2019

Study shows slight decrease in statewide ACT scores

The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama recently published a study showing that Alabama public high school students’ ACT scores went down slightly in 2018, with a 19.1 average score on a 36-point scale. This decrease is minimal. In 2017, Alabama students average a 19.2 score on a 36-point scale. According to the study, Alabama … Continued

Gabby Dance

April 17, 2019

Opinion

There is no reason that Alabama can’t copy LeBron James

The anti-public education crowd has to hate LeBron James. Because he and the public school he started last year are destroying every myth, every talking point, every excuse that any of them have ever offered to explain why they’re always so eager to castigate public education and hand tax dollars to private schools and charters. … Continued

Josh Moon

April 15, 2019

Opinion

How a Washington County charter school failed at every step, and was approved anyway

Woodland Prep is a charter school horror story — and it hasn’t even been built yet. Located in rural Washington County, Woodland Prep, which will open as a K-7 school this fall and add a grade level each year, is everything state leaders assured us could never happen under Alabama’s charter school laws. Its land … Continued

Josh Moon

April 10, 2019

Opinion

Those who ignore the past cannot see the future

As I read the pontifications of present and former politicians who have all the answers for education in Alabama, my first inclination is to laugh. But I don’t because it is obvious that they have either forgotten the state’s past – or never knew it. So instead of reason or logic, they only preach fantasy, totally … Continued

Larry Lee

April 8, 2019