First bell: 9-5-12

Tyson Eberhardt / September 5, 2012

A first look at today's most important education news:

Special-education spending varies widely and some districts that spend more don’t get better results according to Fordham’s latest study. (Washington Post)

AFT President Randi Weingarten told a group of Illinois delegates meeting at the DNC that Democrats and Chicago teachers “need to find common ground” and that the city’s teachers feel “deeply disrespected and deeply disenfranchised.” (Chicago Tribune)

Jeb Bush said he thinks the soon-to-be released parent-trigger film “Won’t Back Down” will have a “game-changing effect” on education reform. (Huffington Post)

Idaho teachers face a quandary: If they vote for an initiative to end merit pay and it succeeds they won’t receive merit pay earned from 2011. (Associated Press)

Hechinger Report interviewed Paul Tough about poverty, education reform, and President Obama’s education policies.

The New York Times profiled a small Oregon district that has chosen to sell off school facilities to ease pressure on its budget.

Category: First Bell