Arne says sequester will force large Title I, Special Ed cuts. Meanwhile billions go to "reformers"

[madfloridian]

4. UPDATE...Arne pulled the "pink-slip" rhetoric.

An update to the Ed Week article in case anyone cares what Arne does. He warned of $725 million in cuts to Title I, and $600 million to special education.

"He hinted at layoff notices that are already going out, and when pressed by reporters, cited one district in West Virginia that has already sent out layoff notices, and warned that more will flood the zone in March and April."

UPDATE 3:52 P.M.: The Washington Post calls not-so-fast on that one. Turns out, those layoff notices in that West Virginia have nothing to do with sequestration. And today's briefing wasn't the first time Duncan has pulled out the pink-slip rhetoric. "Schools are already starting to give teachers notices," Duncan told EdWeek and a small group of national reporters in an interview last week. "I was getting calls yesterday; people are starting to get RIF notices based upon the fear of sequestration." Yet when I asked the National Education Association about this last week, they said that those notices will go out in force starting next month, but mostly in April. Given the fact-checking that now's starting, it will be interesting to see if Duncan continues to talk about pink slips and sequestration.

Fact-checking Arne Duncan, thanks to Ed Week for this.