April 8, 2011
CHARLESTON, W.Va.— Among the states most dependent on Medicare and Medicaid, West Virginia stands to lose $16 billion over the next decade under a Republican plan for the federal budget, a health care advocacy group said Thursday. Seniors and people with disabilities are the most at risk, Families USA warned. Deputy Executive Director Kathleen Stoll […]
April 8, 2011
Teachers and school administrators have long been twin powers in the Texas Capitol fighting to protect public education. Now they are working against each other on legislation that could change how teachers are paid and how many children they teach. The legislation, House Bill 400, is intended to give school leaders the flexibility they need […]
April 8, 2011
WASHINGTON — As public school students in the nation’s capital began a new round of standardized testing this week, school board officials here Wednesday worried that a security seal on test booklets might not be enough to ensure that no one tampers with the answer sheets. The concerns come in the wake of a USA […]
April 7, 2011
The state superintendent of education has made his pick for the next official to oversee most New Orleans public schools, settling on a relatively young deputy chancellor from New York City who has cut his teeth on many of the same issues awaiting him here: tight budgets, overstretched school facilities and widespread frustration surrounding school […]
April 7, 2011
Gov. Nikki Haley signed a law Wednesday that allows the state to cut Medicaid reimbursement rates to health providers. The new law repeals a 2008 proviso, or budget law, that had prohibited the state Medicaid agency from adjusting rates, a tactic most other states hav e used to help close budget shortfalls and preserve programs […]
April 7, 2011
More schools in Los Angeles are taking advantage of a unique program to partially separate themselves from the Los Angeles Unified School district, the Contra Costa Times reports. Six schools in California’s San Fernando Valley are seeking “affiliate charter school” status which will give them flexibility in structuring their program like a charter school, yet […]
April 7, 2011
It was fateful that Paul Ryan released his budget plan the same week Barack Obama launched his re-election campaign — because we will now see what matters most to Obama. The President has talked passionately and consistently about the need to tackle the country’s problems, act like grownups, do the hard things and win the […]
April 6, 2011
BOISE, Idaho — The state would guarantee school districts with enrollment declines most of their previous year’s funding to help shield teacher jobs, under a bill headed to the Idaho House. The legislation was approved by the House Education Committee on Tuesday. It temporarily restores funding protections that schools chief Tom Luna eliminated in his […]
April 6, 2011
ERLANGER – When Gov. Steve Beshear walked into his office in the state Capitol the day after his inauguration in December 2007, the first person to greet him was the state budget director. “(She) said, ‘Well, I hope you enjoyed yesterday. Because in the next three weeks, we’ve got to cut about $340 million out […]
April 6, 2011
School nurses returned to another public hearing on the budget to warn against layoffs, drawing alarming pictures of children potentially succumbing to food-allergy caused shocks and seizures and asthma-triggered cardiac arrest and other potentially tragic consequences. Five nurses in all addressed a sparsely attended hearing at Wilbur Cross High School Tuesday night before the Board […]