Minority students give bad grades to school climate

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Black and Hispanic students see school as a more rowdy, disrespectful and dangerous place than their white classmates do, a poll says.

Most college graduates in debt

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nearly two of every three undergraduate students are going into debt to go to college, owing an average of more than $19,000, most often to the government.

Hospitalized students use robots in classroom

VALHALLA, New York (AP) -- Lying in his hospital room, on a mattress designed to protect his fragile skin, 13-year-old Achim Nurse poked his bandaged fingers at an orange button on what looked like a souped-up video game console.

Texas judge gets rid of school funding legal threat

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- A judge has removed the legal threat the state had been under to fix its school financing system or risk having its schools shut down.

Research group: School buses expose students to pollution

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Most states aren't doing enough to protect children from the diesel exhaust many of them inhale while riding or waiting for school buses, an environmental advocacy group said in a report Wednesday.

Valedictorian cited for disorderly conduct

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- A high school valedictorian who interrupted his graduation ceremony to try to deliver the speech traditionally given by the student body president has been cited for disorderly conduct, his father said.

Colorado professor denies misconduct charges

DENVER, Colorado (AP) -- A professor who likened some September 11 victims to a Nazi fired back Wednesday at a committee that recommended he be suspended over plagiarism allegations, saying a flawed panel had produced a report rife with falsehoods and misrepresentations.

Boy finds Welsh mountains, wins $25K

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Could you locate the Cambrian Mountains on a map? Twelve-year-old Bonny Jain could and his knowledge made him the winner Wednesday of the 2006 National Geographic Bee.

Illinois governor wants to lease lottery to fund education

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday proposed selling or leasing the state lottery to raise $10 billion to fund education.

Wisconsin law mandates teaching abstinence in sex ed

MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) -- Sex education teachers must present abstinence as the preferred behavior for unmarried people under a bill signed Tuesday by Gov. Jim Doyle.

San Francisco school board mulls axing JROTC program

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- The San Francisco Board of Education is considering expelling the Junior ROTC program from the city's high schools because of the Pentagon's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gays.

First class helps build fledgling college

NEEDHAM, Massachusetts (AP) -- When Joelle Arnold decided to go to college, she had offers from some topflight schools. MIT. Stanford. Cornell. Instead, she chose a school that wasn't accredited and didn't even have a campus or a faculty yet: Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering.

Soldiers will watch graduation broadcasts online

CLARKSVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- In his 20-year career as a soldier, 1st Sgt. Michael McElveen has missed a lot of important moments with his family -- birthdays, anniversaries, holidays.

New prom tradition: criminal background checks

BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- A corsage for her, a criminal background check for him. Cape Cod high school administrators recently ordered background checks on prom dates who were not students, then banned six who had criminal records.

Lawmakers say 'No Child' law not going anywhere

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lawmakers said Thursday they were willing to make the No Child Left Behind law more flexible, but warned there won't be a lot of extra federal money to help pay for it.

Two states chosen for federal testing experiment

WASHINGTON (AP) -- North Carolina and Tennessee will be allowed to change the way they measure student progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law, the only two states chosen for a national experiment.

Study: Universal preschool will raise achievement

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- A proposed universal preschool program on California's June ballot would dramatically increase student achievement and could eventually become a national model if it is adopted, early education researchers say.

Some schools cancel Fridays due to fuel costs

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) -- After homework and household chores, Bianca Sozzi intends to spend most Fridays next school year pursuing the pastimes of the average American adolescent: listening to music, talking to friends on the phone or playing computer games.

Brandeis winds up combative year

WALTHAM, Massachusetts (AP) -- It will be an unusual commencement for a Jewish-sponsored university: a speech by a Jordanian prince, and an honorary degree for a playwright who has bluntly criticized Israel.

School recess still common, but no longer a given

WASHINGTON (AP) -- One sure way to get parents exercised is to take away recess, the playful part of the school day when their kids can run wild. In some places, it no longer exists.