Utah eyeing elimination of 12th grade

Utah State Sen. Chris Buttars says his state should make 12th grade optional to students who have already completed their required high school credits.

The Los Angeles Times said Monday while Buttars initially proposed the complete elimination of 12th grade to trim spending, he has since suggested the state try to save as much as $60 million by making the grade optional.

Utah State Sen. Howard A. Stephenson applauded the proposal from Buttars, a Republican.

“The bottom line is saving taxpayer dollars while improving options for students,” said Stephenson, another Republican. “The more options we give to students to accelerate, the more beneficial it is to students and taxpayers.”

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Bag of Randomness

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Judge: Student’s Facebook rants about teacher are protected speech

A student who set up a Facebook page to complain about her teacher — and was later suspended — had every right to do so under the First Amendment, a federal magistrate has ruled.

The ruling not only allows Katherine “Katie” Evans’ suit against the principal to move forward, it could set a precedent in cases involving speech and social networking on the Internet, experts say.

n 2007, Evans, then a senior at Pembroke Pines Charter High School, created a Facebook page where she vented about “the worst teacher I’ve ever met.”

But instead of other students expressing their dislike of the teacher, most defended the teacher and attacked Evans.

A couple days later, Evans took the page down.

But after Principal Peter Bayer found out about it, he bumped Evan from her Advanced Placement classes, putting her in classes with less prestige, and suspended her for three days.

In late 2008, Evans filed suit against the principal, asking that the suspension be ruled unconstitutional and reversed, that the documents be removed from her file at the school and that she receive reimbursement for attorney fees.

Evans, an honors student, was concerned that the suspension would tarnish her academic record and hurt her chances in graduate school and her career.

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2010 Encyclopaedia Britannica Set

Out of curiosity, I decided to see if you can still purchase an entire printed encyclopaedia* set, it turns out you can.

Link

I wonder what goes out of date faster, buying a new computer (since technology advances ever so quickly) or buying a set of encyclopaedia.

Somewhat related – I wish I could opt out of having a gargantuan phone book delivered to my door.

*I had no idea that there a an "a" between the "p" and the "e" - personally, I think
it looks a little weird.
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