A first look at today's most important education news:
- The State of the Union was unusually light on education, though President Obama did touch on early-childhood education, ed tech, college access, and (of course) Race to the Top. For a fun #SOTU social-media rundown, check out InTheCapital. (Politics K–12 and InTheCapital)
- Vergara v. California, the trial over California’s teacher-protection laws, has commenced. Plaintiffs have taken an equity tack, arguing that these laws “put poor and minority children at a higher risk of receiving subpar instruction than their peers.” (Los Angeles Times, Hechinger Report, and Teacher Beat)
- After suggesting that providing universal pre-Kindergarten in New York might cost more than what Governor Cuomo had proposed, Education Commissioner John King found himself at the eye of a political hurricane. (New York Times)
- Stanford and University of Virginia researchers find that not only do great English teachers raise students’ reading and writing performance, but they also raise students’ math and English scores in future years. (Education By The Numbers)
- The Hechinger Report profiles Bill de Blasio’s voluntary afterschool program for middle-school children. (Hechinger Report and HechingerEd)
