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California special ed to get federal intervention
The U.S. Department of Education said Tuesday that California special education programs need federal intervention, citing the lack of significant academic progress for students with special needs. California is one of three states, along with Texas and Delaware, designated for a one-year program of intervention. EdSource

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Lawmakers: Students need 20 minutes to eat
A bill headed for a final vote in the state Senate addresses a problem many kids and parents would like to see resolved: Students not having enough time to eat lunch at school. Twenty minutes, according to the California Department of Education, is considered the minimum “adequate time” to consume a meal once it has been served. S&I Cabinet Report

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Erwin Chemerinsky: Scapegoating California teachers
Opinion: Laws providing for job security for teachers are not to blame for educational problems in California or elsewhere. There is little evidence that lessening job protections for teachers would do anything to make education better. In fact, it might make education worse by making teaching a less attractive profession. OC Register

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Ben Austin: The Vergara verdict is clear
Opinion: This disparity in educational quality between my daughter’s public school and low-income public schools across California is simply unfair. But because of the groundbreaking decision June 10 in Vergara v. California, that disparity is now unconstitutional. Vergara found that the existing laws on permanent employment and teacher dismissal violate the constitutional rights of California kids to obtain a quality education. OC Register

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U.S. students get top scores for sleepiness
While U.S. students often catch flak for their performance on large-scale international assessments, they may be approaching world dominance on one such indicator: sleepiness. Teachers report that student sleepiness limits instruction “some” or “a lot” in 4th grade reading and 4th and 8th grade math and science has consistently exceeded 70 percent. Edweek