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Vol.2, Issue 37
Vol.2, Issue 38
Vol.2, Issue39
Vol.2, Issue 40
Vol. 2, Issue 41
June 30, 2008, Volume 2, Issue 42
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School Safety Conference Notice!
A school safety conference for school administrators will be held at the Bolingbrook Golf Club on Wednesday, Sept. 24, and Thursday, Sept. 25.
The conference is designed to heighten safety awareness by bringing together experts in the field of school safety and crisis prevention. Participants will learn how to enhance safety and security in their schools on a day-to-day and long-term basis.
The event is free of charge and will feature speakers from the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois State Police, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, and local law enforcement agencies among others.
For more information and to register for the conference, go to: http://info.vvsd.org/safety/.
Illinois Safe Routes to Schools Conference
Gain the tools to bring Safe Routes to your community. Register today for a free two-day conference that will give you everything you need to know to build a successful Safe Routes to School program. This event will be held on August 13-14 at Illinois State University. Register today at www.biketraffic.org/saferoutes.
Day 1:
Safe Routes to School National Training Course (limited to 50 people)
- Get a comprehensive overview of the need for Safe Routes and strategies to improve and encourage walking and bicycling to school from the experts who know.
Day 2:
Illinois Safe Routes to School Conference
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Learn about Illinois-specific workshops and networking opportunities. Workshop presenters include experts in health, transportation and education.
Questions? Contact Megan Holt at SafeRoutes@dot.il.gov or Shana Hazan at shana@biketraffic.org.
Medicaid Moratoria Passes
Last Thursday, in a 92 to 6 vote, the U.S. Senate approved the war supplemental appropriations bill that included moratoria until April 2009 on six Medicaid regulations. The Senate approved the language that the House passed last Friday. The President is expected to sign the bill into law, probably in the coming week. The six regulations that will be on moratoria are:
Targeted Case Management,
Rehabilitation Option,
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School Based Services,
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Public Provider Cost Limit,
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Graduate Medical Education (GME), and
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Provider Tax.
This covers our Medicaid claiming through the first three months of the forthcoming new administration.
Left out of the package was the seventh regulation dealing with reimbursement for hospital outpatient services. That regulation is not expected to be finalized by CMS until November. Additionally, it is not clear if it can be finalized given that the GME and public provider regulations are covered by the moratoria as there are financial linkages. This provides good news to school districts who may continue claiming much needed Medicaid dollars.
What Is the Sum of the Parts? How Federal, State, and District Funding Streams Confound Efforts to Address Different Student Types by Marguerite Roza, Kacey Guin, and Tricia Davis
In a new report from the School Finance Redesign Project, researchers reveal a confusing, multilayered maze of funding policies and formulas that often work at cross-purposes. The issue is of paramount importance because today’s schools are expected to make sure all students achieve a defined level of performance. As Congress, state legislatures, and educators strive to close achievement gaps by targeting money to support various groups of students with differing needs in the nation’s K-12 classrooms, their well-intended plans regularly fail. Why? Because federal, state, and local school funding policies and rules typically do not work in harmony but in conflict. “In fact, where targeted funds originate at one governmental layer, the various influences in the fiscal system can and do have the effect of working at cross-purposes, such that the ultimate spending increments are anything but what the policymakers intended,” according to the report. Put more simply, when the federal government invests funds to ensure that the highest-poverty schools have more resources, local governments counteract the investment by directing resources disproportionately to lower-poverty schools. The report is based upon a detailed examination of fiscal data from four states—North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Washington. It recommends some fixes that can lead to a more coherent, efficient, and effective funding of K-12 schools: Distribute dollars not purchased resources; Channel funds from each governmental layer all the way down to schools; Deploy funds as a function of student characteristics; Eliminate allocation rules and details that inhibit coherent distribution; and Track and report all allocations to schools by student need. To download the report go to www.crpe.org.
Join Action for Healthy Kids Today
Action for Healthy Kids® is a nonprofit organization that addresses the epidemic of overweight, undernourished and sedentary youth by focusing on changes within schools. Members work inclusively at the national, state and local levels in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to improve children's nutrition and increase physical activity which will in turn improve their readiness to learn.
Below are the top five reasons to join the growing network of more than 9,000 volunteers to create a healthy school environment for children:
1. The opportunity to network with other schools in your state to learn about “best practice” models for improving the health of the school environment.
2. Access to a database of resources and tools available to Teams through the Action for Healthy Kids website.
3. The ability to share tools with educators, parents, school administrators and health professionals.
4. Resources and trainings to assist you with Wellness Policy implementation.
5. Template presentations that can be tailored for your specific audience and state.
Examples include:
Healthy Foods and Healthy Finances: How to Create a Win-Win Proposition in Your School District; The Need for Physical Education and Physical Activity in Our Schools; Working Effectively with School Boards and School Administrators; The Learning Connection: The Value of Improving Nutrition and Physical Activity in Our Schools.
Visit www.ActionForHealthyKids.org and sign up to join the Illinois Team today.