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Mass. Becomes 13th State to Allow Some Undocumented Students to Pay In-State Tuition by Jorge Rivas, colorlines.com | November 20, 2012
In a letter sent Monday to the Board of Higher Education, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said undocumented immigrants who have obtained a work permit through the Deferred Action program are now eligible to pay in-state tuition in the state’s public colleges and universities. The decision will cut tuition fees by about 50 percent for undocumented students attending state colleges. “Our experience has been that the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition is a prohibitive barrier,” Paul Reville, the state’s secretary of education, told the New York Times. “It’s a step in the right direction but it’s not a substitute for comprehensive immigration reform, we still need that,” Patrick told reporters on Monday. read more »Phony School “Reform” Agenda Takes A Beating by David Sirota, salon.com | November 14, 2012
If your only source of news about American education came from docu-propaganda like “Waiting for Superman,” Hollywood politi-schlock like “Won’t Back Down” and elite-focused national news outlets in Washington, D.C., and New York City, you might think that the so-called education “reform” (read: privatization) movement was a spontaneous grass-roots uprising of good-old-fashioned heartlanders generating ever more mass support throughout the country. You would have no reason to believe it was a top-down, corporate-driven coalition of conservative coastal elites trying to both generally undermine organized labor and specifically wring private profit out of public schools, and you would similarly have no reason to believe it was anything but wildly popular in an America clamoring for a better education system. In other words, you would be utterly misinformed — especially after last week’s explosive election results in three key states. read more »Election Affirms Education "Reform" A Beltway, Rich Person Fetish by Jeff Bryant, OurFuture.org | November 12, 2012
In President Obama's stunningly convincing reelection, only part of his education policies got reaffirmed -- the part he talked about most of the time during the campaign. read more »Romneyism by Robert B. Reich, robertreich.org | November 5, 2012
By now, in these last remaining days before the election of 2012, we have learned enough about the beliefs of the Republican presidential candidate to see them as a worldview all its own – a kind of creed that explains Mitt Romney. Those who say he has no principles are selling him short. Despite its contradictions and ellipses, Romneyism has an internal coherence. It is different from conservatism, because it does not intend to conserve or protect any particular institutions or values. It is also distinct from Republicanism, in that it is not rooted in traditional small-town American values, nationalism, or states’ rights. The ten guiding principles of Romneyism are. read more »Science Is the Key to Growth by Neal F. Lane, The New York Times | October 29, 2012
Mitt Romney said in all three presidential debates that we need to expand the economy. But he left out a critical ingredient: investments in science and technology. Scientific knowledge and new technologies are the building blocks for long-term economic growth — “the key to a 21st-century economy,” as President Obama said in the final debate. So it is astonishing that Mr. Romney talks about economic growth while planning deep cuts in investment in science, technology and education. They are among the discretionary items for which spending could be cut 22 percent or more under the Republican budget plan, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. read more »Who Really Did "Forget Ed" In The Presidential Debates by Jeff Bryant, OurFuture.org | October 25, 2012
Way back at the beginning of this summer, an eternity it seems in this exhausting presidential campaign, The College Board launched its Don’t Forget Ed campaign to "get the candidates to prioritize education this election." read more »Change.org, Enabler of Davids, Decides To Side With Goliaths Instead by Jeff Bryant, OurFuture.org | October 22, 2012
The online petition site Change.org is best known for enabling individuals to use the viral qualities of the internet to speak truth to power, such as when a 22-year-old nanny used the site to pressure a big bank to drop its debit fee, and an Eagle Scout challenged the Boy Scouts of America's anti-gay policy. read more »Student Loan Mimics Subprime Mortgage Industry by Natasha Leonard, salon.com | October 17, 2012
For many months, writers, commentators, economists and activists have argued that the student loan industry looks all too much like the subprime mortgage industry did on the brink of its collapse. On Tuesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau admitted the same again. According to the government watchdog’s annual report, “Student loan borrower stories of detours and dead ends with their servicers bear an uncanny resemblance to problematic practices uncovered in the mortgage servicing business.” The student lending practices directly mimic the risky lending underpinning the housing crisis: private lenders giving out loans without considering whether borrowers would repay, then bundling and reselling the loans to investors to avoid losing money when students default. read more »Education Profiteering: Wall Street's Next Big Thing? by Jeff Faux, alternet.org | October 15, 2012
The end of the Chicago teachers' strike was but a temporary regional truce in the civil war that plagues the nation's public schools. There is no end in sight, in part because -- as often happens in wartime -- the conflict is increasingly being driven by profiteers. The familiar media narrative tells us that this is a fight over how to improve our schools. On the one side are the self-styled reformers, who argue that the central problem with American K-12 education is low-quality teachers protected by their unions. On the other side are teachers and their unions who are cast as villains. The conventional plot line is that they resist change, blame poverty for their schools' failings and protect their jobs and turf. It is well known, although rarely acknowledged in the press, that the reform movement has been financed and led by the corporate class. read more »Romney, If You're Serious About Deficit Reduction, Leave Big Bird Alone by Dr. William F. Baker and Evan Leatherwood , The Nation | October 12, 2012
When Mitt Romney said he’d reduce the federal budget deficit in last Wednesday’s debate, PBS was one of only two programs he mentioned cutting by name. Romney has gone after PBS before, touting its elimination as a “major” potential savings for the American people. There’s an annual $445 million congressional subsidy to public broadcasting that might seem to support Romney’s claim—until you realize that it represents approximately one hundredth of one percent of the entire federal budget. So why does Romney speak as if Big Bird were one of the top two obstacles to national solvency? The reason is simple: he hopes to score a few easy political points. By eliminating funding to PBS, Romney and the Republicans could indeed win some support from radical conservatives, but tens of millions of Americans will lose out, especially poor children struggling to get access to a good education. read more »
The Latest
Kids Less Likely to Graduate Than Parents, Associated Press | October 24, 2008
Your child is less likely to graduate from high school than you were, and most states are doing little to hold schools accountable, according to a study by a children's advocacy group. More than half the states have graduation targets that don't make schools get better, the Education Trust says in a report released. more »
Schools Hiring Foreign Teachers, USA Today | October 23, 2008
A growing number of school districts are hiring teachers from foreign countries to fill shortages in math, science and special education. The trend is most evident in poor urban and rural districts, according to educators. more »
Students Eye Cheaper Colleges, Christian Science Monitor | October 22, 2008
The nation's financial crisis is forcing college students and college applicants to take a long, hard look at what they can afford and what value they place on investing in higher education. For some, college will now have to be a dream deferred. Others are adjusting their dream to trim costs. more »
Crisis Hits Student Loans, mcclatchydc.com | October 20, 2008
Last week, university officials across the country received a sobering letter from Sallie Mae, the nation's leading provider of student loans. "Because of the continuing turmoil and uncertainty in the credit markets, Sallie Mae has made the difficult decision to tighten the underwriting on all our private student loan products, which will require applicants to meet higher credit standards. more »
Families Struggle with Tuition, The New York Times | October 17, 2008
In difficult dinner-table conversations, college students and their parents are revisiting how to pay tuition as personal finances weaken and lenders get tough. With the unemployment rate rising and a recession mentality gripping the country, financial aid administrators say they expect many more calls from families seeking help. more »
Draft Security Deal Ready in Iraq, USA Today | October 15, 2008
U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have agreed on a draft security pact that would govern the presence of American troops in Iraq after January, Bush administration officials say, but its final approval is far from certain. The draft calls for U.S. troops to pull out of Iraqi cities by the end of June next year and leave Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011, unless the Baghdad government asks them to stay. more »
Colleges Hit By Credit Crisis, time.com | October 9, 2008
Last week, nearly 1,000 colleges were told they couldn't access most of the $9.3 billion sitting in a short-term fund that had been offering slightly higher returns than U.S. treasuries. more »
Group Demands Student Aid Overhaul, USA Today | September 18, 2008
A group of college financial aid experts is calling for a comprehensive overhaul of the federal student aid system, including simplifying the application process and helping low-income parents save for their children's education. more »
Pell Grants Said to Face a Shortfall of $6 Billion, The New York Times | September 17, 2008
Bush administration officials to warn Congress that the most important federal aid program, Pell Grants, may need up to $6 billion in additional taxpayer funds next year. Driving the increased applications for federal aid, in part, have been nontraditional students returning to school to improve their job skills during the economic downturn. more »
House Moves to Protect Student Loans, Associated Press | September 16, 2008
Federal authority to protect student borrowers from getting squeezed by the current credit crunch would be extended a year under legislation passed by the House. The measure, approved 368-4, continues the secretary of education's power to purchase loans from lenders in the federal guaranteed loan program when lenders are unable to meet demand. The current authority expires in July. more »
