AM News: Budget Cuts Hitting Schools - More Cuts Looming

Texas Schools Face Bigger Classes and Smaller Staff Texas Tribune:  The number of elementary classes exceeding the state’s 22-student cap soared to 8,479 from 2,238 last school year.

School Districts Wary of Federal Funding Fight Politics K12: The cuts would hit just about every federal education program, including Title I grants to districts, state grants for special education, and the School Improvement Grants.

Survey finds teachers don't trust annual state skills tests USAT:  A survey finds that teachers don't think linking student performance to teacher pay is "absolutely essential" in retaining good teachers.

Majority Of Teacher Retirement Funds Underfunded, Study Says AP via HuffPost: As a new generation of teachers replaces retiring baby boomers, financially strapped states face a quandary - what to do about teacher pensions.

Schools Will Soon Be Able To Opt Out Of 'Pink Slime' Beef AP via HuffPost: The lunch lady won't be serving up "pink slime" anymore at several school districts around the country.

Louisiana Teachers Use Professional-Development Day to Protest TeacherBeat: Teachers in a couple Louisiana districts have gotten the green-light from their districts to take a professional-development day to protest legislative proposals on teacher quality rolling through the statehouse.

MORE NEWS ITEMS INSIDE

Legislators Agree to Turn Teacher Evaluation System Into Law NYT: Legislative leaders agreed Thursday to turn a new teacher evaluation system into law, bringing New York a step closer to ensuring that the state will hold on to $700 million in federal education aid. 

Where Is the Money for Test Security? NYT: Back in the fall, state Education Department officials backed a series of measures that would improve the security of tests and make it more difficult for students, teachers or administrators to cheat to boost the results. The move was endorsed by the state Board of Regents, but questions lingered about which entity -- state or districts -- would cover the costs. The answer? Apparently nobody

Commission: Charter schools likely to continue gaining on DCPS Washington Post: The D.C. Public Education Finance Reform Commission never drew any strong conclusions about the core issue that triggered its formation: inequities in the funding of public and public charter schools. But it gathered a lot of useful data, some of it projecting how the city’s two public education sectors are likely to grow over the next few years.

The Texas Tribune: Texas Schools Face Bigger Classes and Smaller Staff Texas Tribune via NYT: The number of elementary classes exceeding the state’s 22-student cap soared to 8,479 from 2,238 last school year.

State Will Overhaul Its Handling of Test-Tampering Complaints NYT: The state Education Department announced on Thursday that it would hire a team of investigators and lawyers to overhaul and modernize the state's handling of test tampering complaints.