Rhee-grets, She Has A Few? Former Washington, D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee is out with a new memoir this week (called "Radical"), and she's making the talk show rounds to promote it. Yesterday, she told George Stephanopolous on "This Week" that maybe she shouldn't have fired that principal on TV. "My style is very deliberative and very focused on doing what's right for kids. And so I wouldn't change that so much," Rhee said. "Should I have fired ineffective principals? Absolutely. Should I have done so on national TV? Probably not." Here's a Times interview, in which she says she regrets initially not taking test security questions seriously. Also, Rhee is scheduled to be on The Daily Show tonight, so that should be fun!
Voucher Wars? On Friday, Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) led a group of three House Republicans in writing a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan expressing concern about Washington, D.C.'s Opportunity Scholarship Program. Last year, President Barack Obama's 2013 budget tried to zero out the voucher program -- which helps low-income families pay for private, sometimes religious schools -- but the funding was restored when Republicans got upset and the White House realized a Congressional research project required them to fund it minimally. "Our offices continue to be concerned that the department is pursuing arbitrary policies and procedures that will hinder implementation of the program," wrote Kline, who chairs the House education committee, and his two colleagues. (More at Politics K-12.
Bus Strike Protest The New York City bus strike rolls into its third week as special-education families are left in the lurch. On Friday, the National Labor Review Board ruled that the drivers do indeed have the right to strike. This weekend, more bus drivers took their gripes straight to the boss himself, marching on Mayor Michael Bloomberg's house. "Both parties are hurting the children," said Paul Maxo, 51, as he watched the protest, the New York Post reports.
Adderall Awareness? Students are growing increasingly addicted to Adderall, a medication for A.D.H.D., reports Alan Schwarz in the New York Times. "Medications like Adderall can markedly improve the lives of children and others with the disorder. But the tunnel-like focus the medicines provide has led growing numbers of teenagers and young adults to fake symptoms to obtain steady prescriptions for highly addictive medications that carry serious psychological dangers," Schwarz writes. "These efforts are facilitated by a segment of doctors who skip established diagnostic procedures, renew prescriptions reflexively and spend too little time with patients to accurately monitor side effects." He focuses on the story of Richard Fe, a college class president who hanged himself two weeks after his prescription expired.