Education Secretary Arne Duncan

The U.S. education secretary Thursday criticized the education funding cuts that California lawmakers have used to balance the budget, but offered limited alternatives for accomplishing the same level of cost savings in the short run. The idea that "somehow reducing the school days or school year or instructional time is a smart way to reduce spending -- I cannot support that," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a conference call with reporters....

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Monday that he supports gay marriage rights, a declaration that came as President Obama's reelection campaign downplayed comments from Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday that some saw as an evolution in the administration's position. Speaking on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Duncan was asked, "Do you believe that same-sex men and women should be able to get legally married in the United States?" The answer was simple and direct. "Yes, I do. " Duncan's answer went further than Biden did Sunday, when he said he was "comfortable" with the idea of "men marrying men" and "women marrying women" having the same rights as heterosexual couples.

Schools must do more to prevent and respond to sexual violence on campus, Vice President Joe Biden said Monday as he introduced new federal guidelines to combat the problem. "Students across the country deserve the safest possible environment in which to learn," Biden said. "That's why we're taking new steps to help our nation's schools, universities and colleges end the cycle of sexual violence on campus. " Biden was joined by Education Secretary Arne Duncan at the University of New Hampshire, which was chosen because of its highly regarded efforts in sexual violence prevention.

Second chances don't come around too often. Fourth chances? Almost never. But Los Angeles now has a remarkable opportunity to make up for California's failures to win federal funds and to institute much-needed education reforms. Three times in the last two years, California has competed in Race to the Top, the federal program that provides billions of dollars to states that promise to adopt bold education reforms. California has failed every round of the K-12 competition. Last year, the U.S. Department of Educationdismissed the state's proposal as incomplete because Gov. Jerry Brown refused to sign it. As a result, the Los Angeles Unified School District has gotten zero dollars from this program and implemented few of the reforms urged by President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

A chilling cellphone video of a Chicago honors student's fatal beating has captured national attention, and President Obama responded Thursday by announcing that two Cabinet secretaries would travel to his hometown next week. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. and Education Secretary Arne Duncan would meet Wednesday with school officials, students and residents and talk about school violence. "Obviously, [the incident] is of great concern to the president, as somebody who lives in Chicago," Gibbs said.

The Obama administration estimates that 82% of the nation's public schools could fall short of federal standards this year, grades that are not only embarrassing but also mean government intervention for some of them. In a report to Congress on Wednesday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan was urging Congress to change the federal standards so that failing grades are awarded only to the schools most in need of help. The law known as No Child Left Behind set up an aggressive review designed to make all public school students proficient in reading and math by 2014.

President Obama singled out California on Friday for failing to use education data to distinguish poor teachers from good ones, a situation that his administration said must change for the state to receive competitive federal school dollars. Obama's comments echo recent criticisms by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who warned that states that bar the use of student test scores to evaluate teachers, as California does, are risking those funds.

Second chances don't come around too often. Fourth chances? Almost never. But Los Angeles now has a remarkable opportunity to make up for California's failures to win federal funds and to institute much-needed education reforms. Three times in the last two years, California has competed in Race to the Top, the federal program that provides billions of dollars to states that promise to adopt bold education reforms. California has failed every round of the K-12 competition. Last year, the U.S. Department of Educationdismissed the state's proposal as incomplete because Gov. Jerry Brown refused to sign it. As a result, the Los Angeles Unified School District has gotten zero dollars from this program and implemented few of the reforms urged by President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

The U.S. Senate on Friday confirmed Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana, Pomona's schools chief, as the U.S. assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education. Praised as a reform-minded leader, Melendez has been superintendent of the 33,000-student Pomona Unified School District since 2006. She was named California's superintendent of the year in November by the Assn. of California School Administrators. In her new role, she will be a top advisor to Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

Was it the video? The superintendent of the Pomona Unified School District, whose students produced a video that was mentioned by President Obama in a speech in March, is being nominated to oversee kindergarten-through-12th-grade schooling as assistant secretary of Education, the White House announced Tuesday. Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana was named California's superintendent of the year in November by the Assn. of California School Administrators. If confirmed by Congress, she would become a top advisor to Education Secretary Arne Duncan as assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education.

Los Angeles should be treated more like a state when it comes to education, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Friday in an attempt to persuade the U.S. Department of Education to give the city some special treatment. The mayor wants the city to receive federal money directly through Race to the Top, a competitive grant program, and get a waiver from No Child Left Behind, the President George W. Bush-era standardized-testing policy. Both options have been available only to states. Villaraigosa floated the plan at a panel discussion with New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Education Secretary Arne Duncan at American University.

Last week, 11 states submitted applications that might release them from the more onerous provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, and at least 28 more are expected to apply in future rounds. California doesn't plan to be among them. What does it take to get a waiver? Too much, Gov. Jerry Brown said during a meeting this month with The Times' editorial board. We agree. There are extensive requirements for states that apply — especially the controversial mandate to include the state's annual standardized test scores as a "significant factor" in the performance evaluations of teachers.

The invitation under the Obama campaign logo is simple enough: "Obama Speaker Series Inaugural Event, Featuring The Honorable Arne Duncan. " Duncan is the Obama administration's secretary of Education. Earlier this month, he spoke in front of several dozen people at a private home in Brentwood, Calif., as part of a new fundraising venture launched by the Obama reelection campaign. Donors pay for membership in the "speaker series" and in turn get to hear speeches from administration officials, senior campaign aides and White House alumni.

If Congress fails to approve changes to a key school accountability bill, federal officials will consider waiving some mandates for states that agree to educational reforms. Federal education officials said they would prefer that Congress approve a substantially revised version of No Child Left Behind, a package of mainly testing reforms that was the Bush administration's signature education law, approved in 2001. President Obama has asked Congress to reauthorize the bill by this fall.

Schools must do more to prevent and respond to sexual violence on campus, Vice President Joe Biden said Monday as he introduced new federal guidelines to combat the problem. "Students across the country deserve the safest possible environment in which to learn," Biden said. "That's why we're taking new steps to help our nation's schools, universities and colleges end the cycle of sexual violence on campus. " Biden was joined by Education Secretary Arne Duncan at the University of New Hampshire, which was chosen because of its highly regarded efforts in sexual violence prevention.

The Obama administration estimates that 82% of the nation's public schools could fall short of federal standards this year, grades that are not only embarrassing but also mean government intervention for some of them. In a report to Congress on Wednesday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan was urging Congress to change the federal standards so that failing grades are awarded only to the schools most in need of help. The law known as No Child Left Behind set up an aggressive review designed to make all public school students proficient in reading and math by 2014.

The invitation under the Obama campaign logo is simple enough: "Obama Speaker Series Inaugural Event, Featuring The Honorable Arne Duncan. " Duncan is the Obama administration's secretary of Education. Earlier this month, he spoke in front of several dozen people at a private home in Brentwood, Calif., as part of a new fundraising venture launched by the Obama reelection campaign. Donors pay for membership in the "speaker series" and in turn get to hear speeches from administration officials, senior campaign aides and White House alumni.

If Congress fails to approve changes to a key school accountability bill, federal officials will consider waiving some mandates for states that agree to educational reforms. Federal education officials said they would prefer that Congress approve a substantially revised version of No Child Left Behind, a package of mainly testing reforms that was the Bush administration's signature education law, approved in 2001. President Obama has asked Congress to reauthorize the bill by this fall.

The U.S. education secretary Thursday criticized the education funding cuts that California lawmakers have used to balance the budget, but offered limited alternatives for accomplishing the same level of cost savings in the short run. The idea that "somehow reducing the school days or school year or instructional time is a smart way to reduce spending -- I cannot support that," Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a conference call with reporters....

Jeb Bush will join President Obama in Florida on Friday for an event focused on education, the rare issue for which the president has earned plaudits from Republicans. The White House announced details of the event Tuesday, saying it would focus on the president's goal that the United States should do a better job than its global competitors in educating its citizens to "win the future. " Education Secretary Arne Duncan will join Bush and Obama at Miami Central High School, which earned federal funds through a program that supports improvement of persistently low-achieving schools.