WWW . THESKANNER . COM
F EBRUARY 1, 2012
S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON
V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 5
25
CENTS
I NSIDE
Movie Openings
page 2
Reading Marathon
page 3
Cymphonique
C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
page 6
THANKS
Plan B:
A Must-
Sell?
Requiring birth control
sales debated in
federal courthouse
By Gene Johnson
The Associated Press
On Friday, Jan. 20, Skanner Publisher Bernie Foster visited the Miller-McCoy Academy for Mathematics and Business in
New Orleans, La. He shared advice on starting a business especially a newspaper company. “Mr. Foster encouraged
us to reach our goals by being prepared with a good education. We were inspired by his success. He spoke to us
about how to present ourselves as well-spoken, well-groomed, and well- informed young men. In an era where there
is often a lack of African-American role models, Mr. Forster showed his concern for our success by his visit to our class.”
Signed, the 7th grade class, Miller-McCoy Academy for Mathematics and Business, New Orleans, LA.
NCLB Waivers Raise Concerns
Who will ensure poor schools are accountable to for all students?
By Christine Armario
AP Education Writer
MIAMI (AP) — In its initial
review of No Child Left Behind
waiver requests, the U.S. Edu-
cation Department highlighted a
similar weakness in nearly
every application: States did not
do enough to ensure schools
would be held accountable for
the performance of all students.
The Obama administration
praised the states for their high
academic standards. But nearly
every application was criticized
for being loose about setting
high goals and, when necessary,
interventions for all student
groups — including minorities,
the disabled and low-income —
or for failing to create sufficient
incentives to close the achieve-
ment gap.
Under No Child Left Behind,
schools where even one group
of students falls behind are con-
sidered out of compliance and
subject to interventions. The
law has been championed for
helping shed light on education
inequalities, but most now agree
INDEX
News .....................2,3,8
Calendar ....................2
Opinion ....................4,5
Bids/Classifieds.........6-7
it is due for change.
Indiana’s proposal to opt out
of the federal law’s strictest
requirements was criticized by
the Education Department for
its ``inattention’’ to certain
groups, like students still learn-
ing the English language. New
Mexico’s plan, a panel of peer
reviewers noted, did not include
accountability and interventions
for student subgroups based on
factors like achievement and
graduation rates. In Florida, the
department expressed concern
that the performance of some
groups of students could go
overlooked.
The concerns were outlined in
letters sent last December by the
administration to the 11 states
that have applied for a waiver.
Since then, state and federal
officials have been talking about
how to address the concerns;
some states have already agreed
to changes.
The letters were obtained by
The Associated Press for all of
the states except Tennessee and
Kentucky, which declined to
See NCLB on page 3
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A federal
judge is considering whether Washington
state can require pharmacies to stock and
sell Plan B or other emergency contracep-
tives, even in the face of religious objections
by druggists who believe they destroy
human life.
Ralph’s Thriftway in Olympia and two
licensed Washington pharmacists sued the
state in 2007, saying that dispensing the
drug would infringe on their religious
beliefs because it can prevent the implanta-
tion of a fertilized egg.
They argue they can easily and quickly
refer customers to nearby pharmacies will-
ing to sell the drug, which is effective in
preventing an unwanted pregnancy if a
woman takes it within 72 hours of unpro-
tected sex. The drug, which has a high dose
of medicine found in birth-control pills, has
no effect on pregnant women.
The Washington Board of Pharmacy
requires pharmacies to dispense any med-
ication for which there is a community need,
and to stock a representative assortment of
drugs needed by their patients. The state
says the rules are legal because they apply
neutrally to all medicines and pharmacies,
and that they promote an important govern-
ment interest - the timely delivery of medi-
cine.
A group that includes HIV patients inter-
vened in the case on the state’s behalf, argu-
ing that if pharmacies can refuse to dispense
Plan B for religious reasons, some might
also refuse to dispense AIDS medications,
for example.
Individual pharmacists are allowed to pass
a prescription to another druggist in the
same store, provided the patient’s order was
filled without delay. But that left no option
for a lone pharmacist, or for the owner of a
pharmacy who also has religious objections
to a particular drug.
See PILL on page 3
Same-Sex Marriage Vote This Week
On the table is Gregoire’s new initiative-which could raise revenue
Rachel La Corte
The Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Wash-
ington state Senate is set to take a crucial
vote Wednesday on a proposal to legalize
same-sex marriage.
The bill has narrow support in the Senate,
but is expected to pass because supporters
have secured 25 “yes” votes - the minimum
required for approval. Five senators, two
Democrats and three Republicans, have not
indicated how they will vote.
If passed by the Senate, the measure
moves to the House, which has enough
votes to pass the bill by a more comfortable
margin. Also, Democratic Gov. Chris Gre-
goire supports the measure and said she will
sign it into law, which would make Wash-
ington state the seventh state to approve gay
marriage.
The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Sen. Ed
Murray of Seattle, still cautioned, “Nothing
is done until it is actually voted on.”
The Senate vote Wednesday is expected to
come in the late afternoon or early evening.
The Senate Rules Committee voted Tues-
day to advance the measure for a vote by the
See MARRIAGE on page 3