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• NSBA comments on public transit and school bus routes [HTML 3,045kb]
  NSBA has joined with the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) in submitting a letter commenting on a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) proposed policy statement on public transit system “tripper service.”
  
• FTA proposes policy statement on transit system school bus routes [HTML 1,924kb]
  Under the Federal-Aid Highway Act the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) provides financial assistance to public transportation operations that do not provide exclusive school bus transportation to students.
  
• Northern Virginia school board to require seat beats for all new buses [HTML 2,011kb]
  The Loudon School Board has voted unanimously to require seat belts on all new buses.
  
• Alabama Department of Education issues guidelines on accountability measures for school-related organizations [HTML 4,116kb]
  The Alabama Department of Education (SDE) has issued new guidelines that outline accountability measures for parent groups, booster clubs and other school-related organizations across the state.
  
• Denver Public Schools board members unanimously approve closure plan [HTML 4,222kb]
  Denver Public Schools board members have unanimously approved a plan to close eight schools and change five others, launching the district's largest closure plan in its history.
  
• Office for Civil Rights threatens to cut university funding over failure to make stadium wheelchair accessible [HTML 4,385kb]
  The U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has sent a letter to the University of Michigan (UM) threatening to cut federal funding to the university if it fails to reach an agreement with the agency about how to make Michigan Stadium accessible to wheelchair-bound fans.
  
• Colorado audit finds that state officials are failing to inspect schools [HTML 3,176kb]
  Local fire officials across Colorado are not surprised that a recent audit found that state officials were failing to inspect public schools as required by law.
  
• Long Island school and government officials want to consolidate financial resources [HTML 2,566kb]
  School and government officials on Long Island want to pool their resources and financial investments to operate more efficiently and tap into higher interest rates in what they say could become a model for the rest of New York State.
  
• Audit of L.A. Unified School District’s facilities for accessibility finds chronic problems [HTML 2,843kb]
  An audit of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s progress in building and remodeling schools to make them accessible to the disabled found chronic problems in the design of parking, restrooms, ramps and drinking water fountains, as well as a troubling lack of documentation and misstatements of accomplishments.
  
• Oregon districts brace for unexpectedly steep increase in health care costs [HTML 3,650kb]
  School districts across Oregon are bracing for an unexpectedly steep increase in health care costs for the 2007-08 school year, triggering higher out-of-pocket costs for nearly 29,000 teachers and other school employees.
  
• False claims suit filed against Los Angeles Unified School District [HTML 2,982kb]
  A former teacher, with a reputation as a whistleblower, has filed a false claims suit against Johnathan Williams, the founder and co-director of Accelerated School, a charter school, and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
  
• Congress passes extension of the Qualified Zone Academy Bond program [HTML 3,068kb]
  In its final days last month, the 109th Congress passed legislation that includes an extension of the Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB) program for 2006 and 2007.
  
• North Carolina legislation allows private developers to build schools [HTML 2,408kb]
  Lawmakers in North Carolina have given the green light to legislation allowing schools to make "build and rent" deals.
  
• Seattle School Board rejected proposal shifting students from school buses to public transportation [HTML 1,323kb]
  In a 4-3 vote the Seattle School Board has rejected a proposal that would have shifted the transportation of students from school buses to public transportation over the next three years.
  
• Washington, D.C. city council approves school modernization bill [HTML 5,350kb]
  The city council of Washington, D.C. has approved a bill that will dedicate $100 million a year in sales tax revenues, or $1 billion over the next decade, for school modernization.
  
• Richmond school board settled lawsuit that charged the district failed to comply with disability laws [HTML 1,942kb]
  The Richmond, Virginia school board has settled a lawsuit that charged the school district failed to comply with state and federal disability laws.
  
• Antitrust case involving truck sales has implications for school bus prices [HTML 3,092kb]
  Although Volvo Trucks North America Inc. v. Reeder-Simco GMC Inc., Docket No. 04-905, a case currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court, does not involve a legal issue that directly affects public schools, the antitrust case involving heavy-truck sales has implications for the prices school districts pay for buses.
  
• School board discusses serious construction flaws that occurred during the expansion of elementary school [HTML 2,397kb]
  The Citrus County, Florida, school board recently met to discuss serious construction flaws that occurred during the expansion of Homosassa Elementary School.
  
• Minnesota State Auditor issues e-update to schools regarding criminal and civil proceedings against NSFF [HTML 2,869kb]
  The Minnesota State Auditor has issued an e-update to Minnesota schools regarding the ongoing criminal and civil proceedings against the National School Fitness Foundation (NSFF).