As students in the San Diego Unified School District prepare to return to school on Sept. 6, a new requirement for admittance still needs to be met by about one-third of the district’s 60,000 seventh- to 12th-graders, according to the latest information from local officials. Assembly Bill 354, signed into law September 2010, requires all incoming students in grades 7-12 to show proof of having received the Tdap whooping cough booster shot by the start of the 2011-2012 school year. Acceptable proof is a copy of immunization records or a note from the student’s doctor.
Although one part of a Del Mar parent’s complaint focused on using school district resources to inappropriately lobby for a political position, the larger issue was how — and why — the California Teachers Association is able to mobilize students, parents and school districts to push lawmakers for more money for education.
Columnist Marsha Sutton takes a look at whether bullying in the middle school years is a result of the school structure, considering in part the views of a UCLA psychology professor whose area of expertise is young adolescent peer relationships and school adjustment.
In an attempt to bring more focus on the chronic problem of bullying in schools, local California Assembly member Ben Hueso introduced a resolution declaring March to be School Bullying Prevention Awareness Month. The resolution, which was heard in Sacramento March 25, passed.
A number of briefs have accumulated that are educationally noteworthy, mostly having to do with the frightful decimation of the education budget in Sacramento.
The Dreyfuss Initiative, founded by Encinitas resident and Academy award-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss, seeks to revive and expand the teaching of civics in our public schools.
Students in a school environment are not guaranteed the same expansive right to freedom of speech or expression granted to adults in the United States, but pinpointing exactly where to draw the line has become a recurrent dilemma.
As high school seniors ponder their future academic careers, a new study just released indicates it’s not quite a level playing field out there in College Admissions Land. No one will call this earthshaking news but the study is compelling nevertheless.
I wouldn’t want to argue with the likes of Diane Ravitch. It would be like disagreeing with the Pope over religious ideology.
As the election puts an end to longevity on the board, let’s wait and see what the new board can accomplish.
