The Red Tape Jungle

What can be done about excess bureaucracy in the schools? Public Agenda's Jean Johnson is among the experts discussing the issue in an online forum hosted by NewTalk.org. Forum participant Jane Hannaway of the Urban Institute notes bureaucracy is supposed to make things run more smoothly but trouble results when rules become more important than the goal of student achievement. Other participants include Marco Petruzzi of Green Dot Public Schools, who points out that many policies sprang from a "kernel of thoughtfulness" but now sap the spirit of common sense..