G.O.P. Governors Take Aim at Teacher Tenure [New York Times, 2/2/11]: Seizing on a national anxiety over poor student performance, many governors are taking aim at a bedrock tradition of public schools: teacher tenure. Governors in Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Nevada and New Jersey have called for the elimination or dismantling of tenure. As state legislatures convene this winter, anti-tenure bills are being written in those states and others. Their chances of passing have risen because of crushing state budget deficits that have put teachers’ unions on the defensive.

If two budgets weren’t enough, try three [Educated Guess, 2/2/11]: If two budgets weren’t enough, try three -- Not knowing what will happen in four months, most school districts are building two budgets for next year: the good one, if voters in June agree to extend $11 billion in temporary taxes, and the bad one, in case they don’t.

Fensterwald: No easy way to cut CalSTRS benefits [Educated Guess, 2/1/11]: Call it pension envy, matched by frustration over higher pension contributions that taxpayers will eventually be asked to fork over. The clamor for cutting public employees’ pension benefits has grown louder.

A Bold Idea to Stop the Pink-Slip Blizzard [San Diego Union Tribune, 1/31/11]: Year after year, San Diego Unified has grudgingly prepared for the worst based on budget plans made by the California governor. It once warned hundreds of teachers that they would lose their jobs. That threat fizzled, but not before it sent the school district into an uproar. School board members want that painful pattern to stop, and they have a risky idea in mind.

Rowland Unified wins legal case against Walnut Valley in battle for students [San Gabriel Valley Tribune, 1/28/11]: The Rowland Unified School District scored a major legal victory Thursday over Walnut Valley Unified in a case in which Rowland accused Walnut Valley of stealing students. The California 2nd District Court of Appeals ruled that Walnut Valley had already taken the maximum amount of students - 10 percent - from Rowland Unified's boundaries. Read the decision in Walnut Valley USD v. Superior Court (Rowland USD).

Families hire lawyers, sue schools over student bullying [Orlando Sentinel, 1/29/11]: More parents in central Florida and across the country are hiring lawyers and filing lawsuits against school districts when their children are bullied. The prevention of school bullying now is the subject of a nationwide campaign. The U.S. Department of Education has issued guidelines for schools on how to handle the behavior, which also may serve to help minimize future lawsuits.

Special Education Court Decisions on the Rise [Education Week, 1/28/11]: After two decades of decline, education litigation appears to be on the rise, with special education leading the way, according to an analysis from Lehigh University professor Perry Zirkel, an expert in special education law. Zirkel's paper on his findings will appear in full in an upcoming issue of West's Education Law Reporter, but he walked blogger Christina Samuels through the findings.

Student settles with Fla. district over Facebook posts [SPLC, 1/20/11]: A former Pembroke Pines Charter High School student suspended for critical Facebook postings about her teacher has settled with the school after a three-year legal battle. Katherine “Katie” Evans signed the settlement in November, in which the school agrees to remove any record of her suspension or the initial incident and pay $15,000 in attorney fees and $1 in nominal damages. The school signed the settlement in December.