The class of 2023 has walked the stage for the last time. As millions of students and their families celebrate, universities have as usual brought in some huge names to bid farewell to their graduates, ranging from Hollywood to White House, with Vice President Harris giving the first West Point commencement speech by a woman….
Author: Lexi Lonas
Oklahoma school board approves nation’s first religious charter school
An Oklahoma school board on Monday voted to approve a bid to open the nation’s first religious charter school, sparking backlash and questions about the constitutionality of the move to use taxpayer dollars to fund a religious school. Oklahoma’s Statewide Virtual Charter School Board in the meeting approved in a 3-2 vote a plan to…
Ukrainian family reflects on their children’s first school year in US after fleeing war
Ukrainian war refugees who began arriving in the U.S. over a year ago are completing their first taste of the U.S. education system with the conclusion of the academic year. More than 270,000 Ukrainians, many of them children, have been admitted into the country since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022, with many finding…
The secret summer lives of American schools
Every summer, America’s tens of thousands of public schools undergo a transformation as regular but radical as any in nature. Emptied of their students and staff, many hibernate. But others transform. Public school buildings take up around 2 million acres of land, according to the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, often in the middle of…
Senate passes measure to halt Biden’s student debt forgiveness
The Democratic-led Senate handed a stinging rebuke to President Biden on Thursday, passing a measure that overturns his student debt relief plan to give 40 million borrowers up to $20,000 in loan forgiveness. The Senate passed the measure in a 52-46 vote just days after it cleared the GOP-majority House. Democratic Sens. Jon Tester (Mont.)…
Majority of teachers in new survey say arming educators would make students less safe
A majority of teachers believe educators carrying firearms on school premises would make students less safe, according to a survey from the RAND Corporation. The survey released Wednesday shows 54 percent of teachers think students would be unsafe with educators carrying guns, 20 percent say carrying guns would make students safer and 26 percent believe…
Here are the top education issues state lawmakers battled over this year
Democrats and Republicans went head-to-head on education policy in state legislatures this year, with each side pulling out both wins and losses as many statehouses close their legislative sessions. The heart of much of the fighting lay in culture war issues led by Republicans, from how lessons about race and gender should be taught to…
School choice won big in states this year. Is the movement about to hit a wall?
The school choice movement is riding high this year with multiple GOP-led states handing it legislative victories, but opponents are shrugging off the advances and predicting a tougher road ahead. At least eight states have put new school choice policies on the books in the first five months of 2023, with some of them expanding…
Proposed rule targets college programs that leave students with ‘unaffordable debt or insufficient earnings’
The Education Department announced Wednesday it was proposing a rule that would take away federal money from for-profit colleges and certificate programs where data shows graduates don’t make enough to pay back their student debts or the debt is excessively high. The rule, which was first brought up under the Obama administration, is commonly known…
Florida New College students organize alternative graduation after DeSantis takeover
Students at the New College of Florida, a small liberal arts college targeted by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) this year, are holding an alternative graduation ceremony “against the hostile takeover” of their school. The “[NEW] Commencement: On Our Terms” will take place Thursday, with the students raising almost $107,000 of their $130,000 goal on GoFundMe….