By Jesse Russell

For the first time, child labor worldwide is on the decline. The International Labor Organization says that the number of workers under the age of 18 fell by 11 percent between 2000 and 2004, a drop of nearly 30 million. The biggest decline is in Latin America where the number of child laborers has dropped by two-thirds in four years.

By Jesse Russell

Amnesty International and Humans Rights Watch have accused the United States of being the only country that severely punishes juveniles on a regular basis. According to the organizations 2,225 child offenders are in prison for life in 42 American states. Worldwide, only one dozen other cases were found in three countries - Israel, South Africa and Tanzania. One-sixth of those that committed their offense were under 16, nearly sixty percent were given a life sentence for their first offense. In a quarter of he cases the offenders were found guilty of being present at the scene of a murder, but not actually committing the murder.

By Jesse Russell

In a report released by the Government Accountability Office, the Bush administration has been implicated in disseminating "covert propaganda" in violation of a United States statutory ban. The report is the result of an investigation into contracts between commentator Armstrong Williams and the education department where Williams was paid to write newspaper columns and make television appearances promoting the No Child Left Behind Act. Also, the auditors called illegal the administrations use of government funds to hire a public relations firm for the purpose of analyzing news articles for the message "The Bush administration or the GOP is committed to education." The report says there is "no use for such information except for partisan political purposes." The Accountability Office report comes with no penalty, but federal law mandates that the violations be reported to Congress.

Last month, California Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard
introduced a bill that would bring the age and work hour standards for
children working in corporate agriculture up to the standards set for all
other forms of child labor. On Tuesday, a survey was released in
Washington, DC that would support her bill.

[Flores] I've had to work in the same cornfields and even keep up with
the same work my parents had to, since even before the age of twelve.

That was Norma Flores, a migrant worker that has been in the fields
since she was 10 years old. She is now 20. The survey sponsored by the

By Jesse Russell

The state of Connecticut has filed suit against the federal government for the so-called No Child Left Behind Act. The lawsuit calls the plan illegal because it requires expensive testing and programs that it doesn't pay for. The suit, possibly the first of its kind, asks a federal judge to declare state that the government cannot require state and local money be used to meet federal testing goals. The suit was filed by state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. Earlier this year the National Education Association filed a lawsuit challenging the law.

According to the Global March Against Child Labour one in every six children in the world between five and 17 is now exploited as a worker. Child workers do many different kinds of work, from mining to garment factories. They are often physically and sexually abused. India is home to an estimated 60 million child laborers. More than 40 million work in Africa. Worldwide The Global March Against Child Labour says there are nearly 250 million child workers. These children are being exploited to slash labor costs, in many cases for the export market to the U.S. and Europe. Most child workers are in Asia.

Wal-Mart has agreed to pay more than $134,000 to settle charges alleging that it broke child labor laws. Twenty-four violations were charged against the world's largest retailer, including allegations it had teenagers use paper balers and fork lifts. According to U.S. child labor law, anyone under the age of 18 is prohibited from using hazardous equipment. The store denied the allegations, but agreed to pay the penalties anyway.

On Wednesday the South Bay Labor Council sponsored a gift giveaway for San Jose's low-income children. Over 200 volunteers, including seven santas, helped distribute free toys to more than 10,000 children.

How do charter schools, promoted in the president’s No Child Left Behind Act, stack up against public schools? Not so well. Data compiled by the American Federation of Teachers shows that fourth graders at charter schools lag six months behind students in public schools in reading and math. In addition, there are major discrepancies when it comes to race, with children of varying ethnic backgrounds performing worse in charter schools than their counterparts in urban public schools. In the past, charter schools were championed as an alternative to poorly performing public schools. The No Child Left Behind Act mandates that public schools that chronically perform poorly are to be restructured as charter schools. The act does not say what happens when a charter school chronically performs poorly.