Morning Announcements: March 30, 2012

Happy Friday! Before rushing out to enjoy the weekend, get your last educational news fix for week with the latest headlines below.

From Education Week, as the U.S. House of Representatives debates a Republican budget for 2013 that would cut taxes and federal spending, Senator  Tom Harkin (D-IA) is offering a countermeasure that would spend more money on things like education and workforce training, and eliminate some corporate tax breaks.

The Los Angeles Times reports that parents in the city will now be told within 72 hours if an instructor is pulled because of sexual-misconduct allegations. The new policy is an attempt to curb parent anger after the arrests of several teachers and other Los Angeles Unified School District employees.

In New York City, the  Education Department will spend $51 million to open 26 new charter schools next year, according to a report released yesterday by the Independent Budget Office. However, as the New York Times notes, the attention to charter schools is actually squeezing the already-tight budget for the education department.

After an outpouring of support from the community, two high-performing high schools in Philadelphia have been spared from closure. But as the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, the city’s School Reform Commission still voted yesterday to close eight public schools.