Education
Teachers would get $60K minimum salary under bill in Congress making grants to states
WASHINGTON – A panel of policymakers and educators, including author Dave Eggers and former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, gathered at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to promote the American Teacher Act. The bill, if passed, would authorize the federal government to create four-year grants for states to enact and enforce minimum school teacher […]
A watchdog says the feds aren’t doing enough to investigate problem colleges
WASHINGTON — Incomplete written guidelines and penalties that had not been updated since 2016. Significant turnover and reductions among staff. Changing agency priorities and department probes put “on hold.” Over the past six years, these problems have stifled the U.S. Department of Education’s investigations team that is supposed to probe colleges that misrepresent themselves to […]
Chancellor forecasts lean times for Georgia university system; K-12 schools to get cash infusion
Tough financial times could be ahead for the University System of Georgia, Chancellor Sonny Perdue said Wednesday before a joint budget committee. “We will commit to you that we’re going to do our level best to do more with less,” he said. “It’s not gonna get any better for the next couple of years either.” […]
Georgia’s circa 1985 K-12 school funding formula set for a redo
Georgians who started kindergarten the year the state adopted its K-12 education funding formula are now in their forties, but the formula remains essentially unchanged. The 1985 Quality Basic Education Act guides the state in distributing nearly $11 billion to its 1.6 million public school students, but calls for change have been growing louder in […]
New federal student loan repayment plan aimed at low-income borrowers
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education unveiled a proposal Tuesday that would overhaul a federal student loan income-driven repayment plan, and, if implemented, could help millions of low-income borrowers. However, it’s unclear how the agency would be able to finance the program. Many student debt relief advocates also criticized the proposal for leaving out […]
Youth must be served: Warnock schooled Walker in winning young voter turnout
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock kicked off his runoff campaign in Atlanta last month beneath a mural of his friend and former parishioner, the late Congressman John Lewis with an introduction not by a fellow senator or other powerful surrogate, but by Morehouse student RJ Jackson. Heading into last week’s runoff, Warnock’s final campaign events of […]
U.S. Supreme Court to review Biden student debt relief plan in February
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday it will hear oral arguments in February over a legal challenge by six Republican-led states to the Biden administration student borrower relief plan. Until the arguments are heard and the court issues a ruling, the $400 billion Biden plan is on hold due to a nationwide injunction ordered in the lawsuit by […]
Federal coronavirus relief aid to deliver $250 million to help bridge Georgia’s digital divide
Dozens of Georgia counties with spotty access to high-speed internet will be eligible for a $250 million pot of grant funding available through last year’s federal pandemic relief aid. Georgia’s U.S. senators promoted the funding Thursday, saying the money could boost connections for tens of thousands of homes and businesses in rural areas of the […]
Student loan repayment pause extended by White House amid legal battles over relief plan
WASHINGTON — The Department of Education announced on Tuesday it is extending the pandemic-era pause on federal student loan repayments until June 30 while legal challenges to the administration’s student debt relief program are fought over in the courts. The agency said if the student debt relief program has not been put in place by […]
Six GOP-led states win national injunction against Biden student debt relief plan
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Monday issued a nationwide injunction indefinitely blocking the Biden administration’s student debt relief program in response to a challenge by six GOP-led states. The unanimous ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis came after the six states — Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina […]
Biden student debt relief plan thrown out by Texas judge; new applications halted
WASHINGTON — Late Thursday a federal judge in Texas struck down the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan, ruling that the program is unlawful, in a blow to 16 million student debt borrowers already approved for relief. The U.S. Department of Education now is no longer accepting applications for the program, according to the student […]
U.S. Supreme Court justices cast doubt on affirmative action in college admissions
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Monday questioned the legality of race-conscious policies in college admissions, as the justices weighed two cases that could upend the admissions process many colleges use to try to boost diversity on campus. At issue are two cases that challenge the lawfulness of affirmative action at Harvard […]