The inaugural Fall 1998 issue was sent to nearly 60,000 Michigan teachers, administrators, elected officials, policy experts, and parents. Mackinac Director of Education Policy Daniel J. Cassidy hopes the new publication serves not only as an information resource, but also as a forum for discussion and debate over education issues. The media campaign started in October and includes radio and television advertisements. The education tax credits and deductions can be used by all parents, whether their children are educated at home, a public school, or a private school. The deduction can be used for private school tuition and other expenses such as tutoring, after-school enrichment programs, summer school, books, music lessons, and home computer hardware and software.
Tax credits are available for the same expenses as deductions, excluding tuition.
Oregon Riley Flunks Teacher Education Speaking at a school improvement conference in Portland in October, US Secretary of Education Richard Riley had few kind words to say about the present system of teacher training. He called for an end to the practice of having teachers instruct classes out of their field of expertise and deplored the loss of almost one in four new educators in their first three years of teaching. The law limits each school district to two charter schools and gives applicants no right to appeal if their proposal is rejected by the local school board. In addition, the law does not make clear how charter schools are to be held accountable for student performance. Since the Virginia law doesn't free the charter school from the local school board, said Fiegel, it doesn't serve the purpose of charter schools, which is to encourage innovation in education.