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SB 226 Passes Senate Education Committee
SB 226 received a "do pass" from the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 25. This bill would establish a common spring break for all Arkansas public schools. It will now go before the Senate for review.
If the bill is approved, each public school district that provides a week-long spring break would schedule that break during the 38th week of the school year. The 38th week of the school year is calculated by counting as week one the first week in July that begins on a Sunday. The bill would be effective during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years.
The bill would also establish an advisory committee to review the impact of the common spring break on the coordination of academic, extracurricular and athletic school activities, and on state tourism, during these years.
Obama Releases Initial Blueprint for FY 2010 Budget
Thursday, President Obama released an initial overview of his fiscal year 2010 budget request. A more detailed plan, including specific budget numbers, will be released in April.
The current plan includes general information on the President’s priorities for public education. It focuses on the following areas:
• Incentives and supports for states to build comprehensive, coordinated, high-quality early childhood "Zero to Five" systems, building on the early childhood investments in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
• Assistance to states to develop high quality, rigorous standards and assessments.
• Vigorous support and rewards for effective teaching.
• Investments in and wide dissemination of effective approaches to improving student achievement.
• Expanded opportunities for students to go to college and graduate, including expanding student aid, shifting resources from banks and middlemen toward students, creating new incentives for colleges to focus on student completion, and expanding access to low-cost Federal student loans.
The budget also proposes a major increase in funding for child nutrition programs ($1 billion additional in funding). These programs are up for reauthorization this year.
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