Education
It’s hazing season on college campuses. State safeguards are uneven
Max Gruver spent the early morning hours of Sept. 14, 2017, heavily intoxicated and passed out on a couch inside the Phi Delta Theta chapter house at Louisiana State University. He had been forced to repeatedly chug 190-proof Diesel liquor in a hazing ritual called “Bible Study,” during which pledges are quizzed on fraternity facts. […]
Shaken by post-pandemic disruptions, some states take a harder line on school discipline
Parents in Boone County, Kentucky, were outraged this past January when a ninth grader who had been suspended a year earlier for threatening violence against his fellow students returned to class as soon as his punishment time was up. The parents packed a school board meeting, excoriating the county superintendent and other officials for the […]
Rising rents leave more Kansas City tenants facing eviction
Jared Johnson hasn’t paid rent in four months. The trouble started when his car got towed. That cost him his job delivering groceries for Instacart. He’s been able to hold off an eviction — for now. At his eviction trial, his landlord agreed to give him until the end of September to pay his back […]
Hit the snooze button: States debate later high school start times
California and Florida have become the first states to require later public school start times, a response to reams of research showing significant advantages for high school students who can get more sleep by beginning their day at 8:30 a.m. or later. But such changes come with difficult ripple effects — upended bus schedules, later starts […]
States urged by Biden administration to rectify underfunding of land-grant HBCUs
States engaged in decades of underfunding of land-grant Historically Black Colleges and Universities, leading to a more than $12 billion disparity with comparable white institutions, leaders of the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday. “Unacceptable funding inequities have forced many of our nation’s distinguished Historically Black Colleges and Universities […]
Missouri colleges expand cannabis programs to prepare students for ‘green jobs’
Karina Hernandez’s ideal work environment is surrounded by plants, with her hands in the dirt. Although she already has a biology degree, she recently decided to go back to school to take classes in horticulture at St. Louis Community College at Meramec, the state’s largest horticulture program. And she was surprised to see courses on […]
With two weeks until the money runs out, Congress grinds to halt on spending bills
WASHINGTON — Amid rising tensions and an approaching hard deadline, the U.S. House and Senate ended their work week on Thursday without a deal to fund the federal government past the end of the month. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has been struggling to build consensus among the members of his Republican Conference, pledged that […]
Lawmakers consider boosting Missouri public education funding by $300 million
Missouri lawmakers greeted a proposed $300 million increase to the formula that funds the state’s public schools with questions Wednesday, with some believing the figure seemed appropriate and others wondering if a change to the state’s accountability system drove estimates too high. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education unveiled its proposed budget for fiscal […]
Families who rely on interpreters find Kansas City area schools can come up short
After students pulled her fifth-grade daughter’s hair, hit and groped her, Wendy Rodas asked to talk with higher-ups in the Center School District. The Spanish-speaking mother hoped the meeting would help resolve the bullying. But technical difficulties with the district’s phone interpretation service nearly derailed the conversation. If she hadn’t brought along bilingual staff members […]
Washington University launches a ‘no-loan’ program to combat student debt
Next year, students admitted to Washington University in St. Louis will not have to rely on student loans, the college announced in a news release Friday. Students who make it into the private school and receive need-based loans after completing a FAFSA application will then get the amount of the loans replaced with grants and […]
Education secretary calls digital divide ‘equity issue of our moment’ during KC visit
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona made stops in Kansas and Missouri Tuesday as part of a multi-state tour, labeling internet access “the new pencil” as he discussed the government’s efforts to expand broadband connectivity. During events in Overland Park, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, Cardona discussed a program that subsidizes internet access and community engagement. […]
Millions enrolled in new student loan repayment program
WASHINGTON — More than 4 million federal student loan borrowers are enrolled in the Biden administration’s new repayment program, according to figures released Tuesday by the Department of Education. With the pause of more than three years on federal student loan repayments coming to an end in October, and the Supreme Court’s summer decision to […]