Beth’s Briefings (1-14-16)

Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:

 

The roomful of grownups closed their eyes because a teenager told them to. “Imagine if you are 16 years old. It’s only Tuesday, and all you have left is $10,” Sky Lowe, a junior at Oakland High School, said to the California State Board of Education on Wednesday. “You sit there and you ponder: … Will it be bus money to get to school, or will it be laundry detergent for clean clothes? You can open your eyes now.” It’s a decision he was forced to make after his mother lost her job. (Los Angeles Times)

 

School shootings have turned teachers into first responders, and they deserve the same death benefits given to police officers and firefighters, a state lawmaker said Wednesday. (Associated Press)

 

Not for decades have national issues that affect colleges and universities – such as financial aid allocation, student loan debt and campus diversity – been as prominent in a Presidential race as they are this year, political experts say. And while it’s too early in the game to declare a higher-ed favorite candidate, the industry has begun to puts it money on the line. (Hechinger Report)

 

Powerball and other lotteries claim that ticket revenues go to fund state-run programs such as education, parks, emergency responders, veterans’ health and other services. But lottery proceeds don’t always get used for their stated purposes. And while about one third of all lottery money returns to state budgets, critics say the money tends to replace — rather than supplement — existing funding for the targeted programs. (CNN)

 

Some Detroit schools were closed again Wednesday due to the absence of teachers, but it was the smallest number since a so-called sick-out gathered momentum this week over issues such as pay and the condition of buildings. (Associated Press)

 

Without a doubt, the biggest change to the educational landscape in England over the next few years will be the growth of so-called academies and free schools, both modeled at least in part on U.S. charter schools. (The Atlantic)