Despite skeptics, Cardona seeks 'sustained effort' in wake of ARP plans – By Naaz Modan, K-12 Dive
The U.S. Department of Education this week released state plans to spend historical levels of federal aid funding provided by the American Rescue Plan — the last third of which the department withheld and are now on the horizon.
The approved 28 of 51 plans submitted from states and the District of Columbia include permutations of the expected: strategies for academic recovery like high-dosage tutoring and enrichment programs, social-emotional support for students, training for school staff and other ways to ease students back into the classroom.
Some priorities are short-term, like continuing COVID-19 mitigation strategies, providing teacher bonuses and expanding access to vaccines.
"What I did want to see — I saw — were social-emotional mental health supports, a focus on equity, and an engagement of different stakeholders to make sure we are listening to those impacted most by the pandemic," said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
Idaho High Schoolers Might Skip The SAT If They Stay In-State For College – By James Dawson and Troy Oppie, Boise State Public Radio
State colleges and universities in Idaho may no longer require applicants to take a college entrance exam, like the SAT or ACT.
The state board of education Wednesday unanimously approved that policy change.
Board President Debbie Critchfield said the shift allows individual institutions to decide if potential students should take entrance exams.
"They are not compelled by our board through policy to do that," she said, "but again, those are the minimum requirements. They may adapt their requirements to suit what they see their environment is.”
Last year, Idaho State Board of Education members gave these colleges and universities a choice. They no longer required students to take tests like the SAT or the ACT as a condition of admission, but each school could make their own policy.
The change is a response to both challenges presented by the pandemic, and long-term data showing GPA is a better predictor of success in college than standardized test scores.
Biden budget targets K-12 inequities, Cardona tells Senate – By Charles Hendrix, District Administration
The Senate Appropriations Committee’s Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education subcommittee heard testimony from Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on the Biden administration’s $102.8 billion FY 2022 budget request for the U.S. Education Department.
“I’m proud to testify today about President Biden’s fiscal year 2022 budget request for the Department of Education because it makes good on the president’s campaign commitment to invest in education,” Cardona said. “It also begins to address the significant inequities that students—primarily students of color—confront every day in schools in pursuit of higher education and career technical education.”
The Biden administration’s FY 2022 education budget request includes nearly flat-funding $16.5 billion for existing Title I, Part A funding streams, with a proposed $20 billion Title I “equity grants” initiative.
The program is intended to “help address long-standing funding disparities between under-resourced school districts and their wealthier counterparts” through support to “ensure teachers at Title I schools are paid competitively, ensure equitable access to rigorous curriculum, expand access to pre-kindergarten and provide meaningful incentives to examine and address inequalities in school funding systems.”
The proposal includes $15.5 billion for IDEA Part B, a $2.6 billion increase over FY 2021. It would provide $732 million for IDEA Part C, $250 million more than appropriated in FY 2021.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona
Virginia governor signs law that expands eligibility for state financial aid- Megan Cloherty, WTOP
In what he called a move that will make the commonwealth more welcoming and inclusive, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam signed a bill extending financial aid benefits to students who came to the country illegally and who are eligible for in-state tuition.
“They are Virginians, in every sense of the word, except for the immigration status,” Northam said before signing the bill at Marymount University in Arlington on Monday.
The new law makes Virginia students eligible for state financial aid if they are eligible for in-state tuition, regardless of their citizenship or immigration status. It takes effect August 2022.
Northam thanked educators at Marymount University and other proponents across the state for the legislation that extends an existing law Northam signed last year, which makes these Virginia students eligible for in-state tuition.
