AM News: White House Releases Details About Preschool Expansion Funding Mechanism

Plans to Expand Preschool Unveiled WSJ: The Obama administration's plan to expand preschool would send federal dollars to states that agree to certain conditions, such as adopting small class sizes, rigorous curricula and assessments for youngsters, according to details released Thursday. The plan, to be formally unveiled by the president at a Georgia preschool center, would also include additional money to expand high-quality programs that prepare infants and toddlers for pre-kindergarten.

White House Gives Outline of Early-Childhood Ed. Expansion Plan PoliticsK12: While the financing mechanism still remains somewhat cloudy, the White House put forward additional details this morning about just how the effort would work. Much of the funding would appear to come from states, through a partnership arrangement with the federal government. But the administration also wants to beef up other services for very young children and babies, including home visits from social workers and nurses, although it doesn't say just how much that expansion would cost.

Few States Look to Extend Preschool to All 4-Year-Olds NYT: While supporters herald the plan as a way to help level the playing field for children who do not have the advantages of daily bedtime stories, music lessons and counting games at home, critics argue that providing universal preschool could result in federal money being squandered on ineffective programs.

Feds Want Answers From Florida After Tutoring Dollars Go To Crooks, Cheaters TampaBay: Lax oversight of Florida's mandated tutoring program has allowed federal tax dollars to flow into the hands of cheaters and criminals, a Times investigation found. Now federal education officials are asking for an explanation from the state Department of Education. As first reported today by Education Week's Michele McNeil, the feds called the newspaper's findings "serious and troubling."

For first time, a ‘parent trigger’ without a hitch Hechinger: On a 7- 0 vote, the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education on Tuesday afternoon quickly approved a petition to overhaul 24th Street Elementary through a “restart model” under California’s Parent Empowerment Act of 2010. The so-called parent trigger law enables parents to organize and force major reforms on underperforming schools, from firing the principal and half the staff to ceding control to a charter operator.