It's not your mom's PTA

(CNN) -- They come from all walks of life to the searing desert heat in Phoenix, Arizona: parents, some who are also teachers; administrators and school board representatives.

Students rush to refinance loans

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri (AP) -- Thousands of college students and parents are clogging phone lines and rushing to Internet sites in a scramble to refinance college loans before a sharp interest rate increase this weekend.

Commission report: Higher education needs shake-up

(AP) -- A draft report released Monday by a national commission on higher education calls for more federal money to help low-income students attend college, and places much of the blame for rising prices on the inefficiencies of colleges themselves.

Educators assisting with New Jersey Guard recruitment

FORT DIX, New Jersey (AP) -- They ride Black Hawk helicopters, fire mock assault rifles in combat simulators and can learn what it's like to drive a Humvee. Some are so excited they want pictures of themselves holding guns.

Colorado chancellor: Fire professor

BOULDER, Colorado (AP) -- The University of Colorado's top official called on the school Monday to fire Ward Churchill, the professor who compared some World Trade Center victims to a Nazi and then landed in hot water over allegations of academic misconduct.

MySpace generation going online for yearbooks

ALBANY, New York (AP) -- John Shin refuses to buy a copy of his high school yearbook. Instead, he's turning to the Internet to preserve and share memories of his sophomore year.

At home and school, kids are sedentary

At home, the phrase "Go watch TV" to kids has replaced "Go outside and play" in many families. At school, the daily hour of recess is dwindling. The combination is contributing to many kids not getting enough exercise, according to some experts.

Gulf Coast libraries get nearly $18 million

METAIRIE, Louisiana (AP) -- Public libraries hit by hurricanes Katrina and Rita are getting nearly $18 million to rebuild and set up bookmobiles or temporary mini-branches while they do so, three groups announced Thursday.

New York education officials ban shock therapy

NEW YORK (CNN) -- New York officials voted on Tuesday to prohibit the use of electric shock therapy on students after a report released last week revealed that a Massachusetts school has been electrically shocking its students, nearly half of whom are from New York state.

Compromise on Los Angeles schools takeover plan

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa reached a compromise Wednesday with lawmakers and teachers unions that would give him some authority over his city's schools without handing him the outright control he had sought.

Restrictions on textbooks in detention centers

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- When the school day ends at Cook County's temporary juvenile detention center, hundreds of students must leave essential education tools behind: their textbooks.

Report: Schools fail on nutrition outside lunchroom

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (AP) -- Nearly half of all states received a failing grade in a school foods report card issued Tuesday by a nonprofit group that evaluated school nutrition policies.

Tribal colleges meet the needs of American Indians

PAWNEE, Oklahoma (AP) -- With two small children to support, Cedric Sunray doesn't have much time to pursue a college degree.

Courts question Hawaiian school admissions policy

HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP) -- A wealthy private school created exclusively for its indigenous people is asking a federal appeals court to allow it to continue its race-based admissions policy.

Devalued diplomas spark student riot in China

SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- College students in central China smashed offices and set fires in a riot sparked by administrative changes that made their diplomas less prestigious, students and school administrators said Monday.

Teach for America surges in popularity

(AP) -- It's the strongest job market in years for new college graduates, with salaries and perks rising accordingly. But one of the country's hottest recruiters this spring promised low wages, exhausting labor and only a brief break before the work begins.

Education Secretary increases global travel

WASHINGTON (AP) -- As Cabinet members go, the education secretary typically sticks to domestic matters. But Margaret Spellings has put her own stamp on the job -- a passport stamp.

Interned Japanese-Americans receive diplomas

SAN JOSE, California (AP) -- Seven Japanese-Americans sent to U.S. internment camps during World War II were granted high school diplomas in a special ceremony on Wednesday.

Battle over New York school cell phone ban

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- New York may be a city of incessant cell phone talkers, but students vowed on Wednesday they would hit the "off" button during classes as they battled a ban on cell phones in schools.

Report: Shock therapy hurts kids at Mass. school

ALBANY, New York (AP) -- A state report on a Massachusetts school for the disabled said electric shocks were administered to students - sometimes as they bathed - for offenses as minor as nagging, swearing and sloppy appearance.