NAfME News
Music Education and Social Emotional Learning – the quarterly advocacy webinar – on Tuesday, February 11th at 8 p.m. EST. Join Dr. Scott Edgar and Bob Morrison in a discussion about how music education relates to social emotional learning and the role of social emotional learning in educational policy. To learn more and register, click here.
Vision 2020 Webinar. Join Drs. Linda Thornton, Kathy Sanz, and Deb Confredo for a webinar on Tuesday, February 25th at 7 p.m. EST celebratingVision 2020 and talking about its impact on the field – and where we are headed in this new decade. To learn more and register, click here.
National News
Religious School Choice Case May Yield Landmark Supreme Court Decision
1/21/2020- ‘With oral arguments coming on Wednesday, both sides of the long-running fight over vouchers for religious schools are preparing for a watershed moment for public education.’
State News
In Illinois state board’s $9.64 billion budget ask: more money for teacher recruitment, testing
1/17/2020- ‘In a year when the governor has called on every department to pare down spending, the Illinois State Board of Education wants to bump up the education budget by 8.6%, including infusions into state testing, early childhood education, and teacher training and hiring.’
IA-Reynolds creating bureau designed to avoid school shootings
1/21/2020- ‘Iowa will become the latest state to create an organization within state government designed to prevent school shootings under a plan announced Tuesday by Gov. Kim Reynolds.’
Polis pitches preschool expansion, insists Colorado can afford it
1/17/2020- ‘Surrounded by parents of preschoolers, early childhood teachers, and school district officials, Gov. Jared Polis didn’t have to make the case for universal preschool. Instead, they made it for him.’
AK-New legislation would require K-12 mental health curriculum
1/15/2020- ‘Rep. Matt Claman (D-Anchorage) has pre-filed legislation that expands existing health education requirements to include mental health curriculum in all K-12 health classrooms. The goal is to make sure students are adequately educated on vital information about mental health symptoms, resources, and treatment.’
Research and Analysis
The ABCs of School Choice is a comprehensive, data-rich guide to every private school choice program in America.
Geography may not be destiny, but things can look very different depending on what state you live in and what the data say about your lifetime prospects. This first of three Quality Counts 2020 installments evaluates the nation and the states on 13 family, school, and socioeconomic markers from the early years and K-12, into adulthood and the working world that make up the EdWeek Research Center’s Chance-for-Success Index.
The Music Education Policy Roundup is compiled by NAfME’s Matt Barusch.