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A Tribune editorial says Springfield is meddling too much in CPS affairs, "with a barrage of bills that would cripple long overdue reforms."

The Tribune goes on to list "some of these ideas percolating in Springfield":
• Rep. Marlow Colvin, D-Chicago, and Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, have sponsored bills that would set class size limits in Chicago schools far below current levels.
• Two Chicago Democrats, Rep. Cynthia Soto and Sen. Iris Martinez, are pushing bills to stop the Chicago Board of Education from closing or overhauling a handful of its failing public schools for a year.
• Rep. Monique Davis, D-Chicago, has a bill that would strip Chicago teachers and principals of the power to make decisions that step outside the systemwide teachers contract.
• Sen. Martinez and Rep. Esther Golar, D-Chicago, want to meddle with how CPS calculates the enrollment and staffing at schools. Their bills would force CPS to spend $16 million a year.
• Sen. William Delgado, D-Chicago, wants to prohibit charter schools from charging fines or imposing other financial penalties on students for disciplinary measures.
• Rep. Kenneth Dunkin, D-Chicago, has sponsored a bill that would require the chief executive officer of Chicago schools to have a master's degree in education and an Illinois teaching certificate.

"Like it or not, pay very much is the issue as the Board of Education and CTU get down to serious talks about a new pact to replace the one that expires this summer," writes Crain's Chicago Business' Greg Hinz.

If you missed CPS chief Jean-Claude Brizard taking questions last week on WBEZ's monthly call-on show "Schools on the Line," you can listen to the program here. Brizard took questions from kids only, including one sixth grader who questioned the city's tier-based admissions systems.

Carnegie Institute for the Advancement of Teaching Senior Fellow Thomas Toch and Sara Ray Stoelinga from the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute talk about the best way to gauge a teacher's skills, on WBEZ's "Afternoon Shift."

IN THE NATION
The New York Daily News offers its assessment on the "eventful year" of York City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott. One year into his tenure, Walcott was instrumental in the successful battle to base teacher evaluations on performance, and to remove teachers who can't cut it. He pushed for higher standards, greater accountability for teachers and choices for parents. He also held fast on expanding charter schools. And, he won against the NAACP in a charter school lawsuit that claimed that giving minority children the chance for a high-quality education denied them equal opportunity.

Questions abound as districts shift to merit pay for teachers. (Indianapolis Star)

A significant increase in Ohio substitute teacher license renewals indicates that more workers are keeping temporary employment options open while searching for permanent jobs. (Dayton Daily News)