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CHICAGO – July 8, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn today signed legislation that will help students across Illinois to learn about how to prevent violence and resolve conflicts peacefully. The Governor also signed bills into law that will help elementary school students who are struggling with math and reading by ensuring that they spend more classroom time on these vital subjects.

“All of our students deserve a quality education, taught in a school that is free of violence,” said Governor Quinn. “Through these new laws, we are working to improve math and reading instruction for our struggling students while taking steps to address violence among our youngest children.”

House Bill 1204, sponsored by Rep. Constance

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The U.S. Department of Education has given Montana an Aug. 15 deadline to report how the state plans to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act.

This formal condition placed on millions of dollars in Title I funds threatens enforcement action, including the withholding of Title I money, if the state doesn’t comply.

State education chief Denise Juneau, who informed federal officials she would freeze proficiency targets at 2009-10 levels, told me earlier she had no plans to reverse course. But she also said she wouldn’t jeopardize schools’ funding either.

So stay tuned. This is getting interesting.

From the way former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney answered an education question at a recent town hall meeting in New Hampshire, he implied that he’s not a big fan of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

But whether this GOP presidential candidate would just take a backseat to the effort, or try to thwart it, is an open question.

At the June 3 town hall, an audience member asked him to address the “national takeover” of public schools, and specifically to address the Common Core and the resulting common tests that are being developed.

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Slowly, but surely, more details are starting to come out about U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s plans to grant states waivers under the No Child Left Behind Act in exchange for a “basket of reforms.”

Here are highlights from a conference call with reporters Monday, his second on the subject:

On his executive authority: Duncan says Section 9401 of the No Child Left Behind law gives him “pretty clear” authority to not only grant waivers, but to demand a “basket of reforms” in return. And, importantly, Duncan emphasized that these reforms will not be available “a la carte” style, in which states could pick and choose. States would have to embrace all of Duncan’s reforms to get their relief.

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A bill to allow concealed handguns on campus was postponed Thursday after a couple of hours of debate.

State Sen. Jeff Wentworth, the bill’s author, asked to take the bill up on Monday after fellow senators expressed reservations about amendments and the timing of the debate.

Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, said Wentworth had broken a promise to hold the bill until Monday so that he could talk to his constituents about an amendment that would carve out an exemption for K-12 academies located on college campuses.

Sens. Royce West, D-Dallas, and Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said they think public universities ought to be able to choose whether they allow guns on campus, just like private schools will be able to under the bill. T

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