Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
Congress unveiled its long-awaited spending bill Tuesday evening, which would fund most of the government, including the U.S. Department of Education and federally funded education programs, through September 2015. (Education Week)
President Barack Obama is following up on his promise to expand early education opportunities for tens of thousands of children by announcing a $1 billion public-private investment in programs for the nation’s youngest learners. (AP)
Little children are big news this week, as the White House holds a summit on early childhood education on Wednesday. The president wants every 4-year-old to go to preschool, but the new Congress is unlikely to foot that bill. (NPR)
Maryland
A budget battle is brewing between the Montgomery County school system and the county council. (WAMU)
New York
Principals could swap schools for a year under an unusual — and under-the-radar — provision of the city’s contract agreement with the school-administrators union, city and union officials said Monday. (Chalkbeat)