John on June 30th, 2018

Are policies to eliminate public college and university fees fiscally regressive? That is, do they unfairly favor the already affluent as opposed to those lower income students who really deserve it?

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Budget problems in the federal government could soon lead to lower Pell Grant awards for students in college. Several proposals have been floating around in Congress, and every one would freeze or slash spending on these financial aid awards.

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With a 100,000 teaching jobs on the line, president Obama is looking for Congressional support for the latest bailout of the public school system.

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President Obama has announced the recipients of his Nobel Prize charitable donations, and groups that work to advance higher education are obviously a top priority as they’re receiving the largest part of his prize money.

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John on January 28th, 2010

Obama took time in his State of the Union Speech to outline his vision for the future of Pell Grants. Unfortunately, the president’s spoken ideals may not match the political reality in Congress.

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John on September 17th, 2009

Student loan businesses may soon be losing out on a huge piece of guaranteed profitability. The House of Representatives has recently passed a bill that would cut out private lenders who current act as subsidized intermediaries.

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The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) has often been criticised for inefficiency and redundancy – but thanks to some recent reforms the process may become easier than ever.

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John on May 19th, 2009

Despite early projections of massive job cuts and department closures, some states and districts are revising their education outlook now that federal stimulus funds have begun to work into the system.

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John on April 30th, 2009

Florida’s Bright Futures Scholarship will survive for at least another year – but it will not be able to cover this year’s increase in tuition costs at in-state public universities.

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John on April 29th, 2009

This week, Obama held a press conference to announce his intention toward reforming the public subsidy of student loans. Carrying on momentum begun in 2006 and in the midst of credit market disruptions, Obama’s plan would virtually eliminate the middle-man of private banking from the publicly backed part of the student loan market.

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John on March 13th, 2009

Teachers in California are facing a massive wave of job losses and layoffs. As many as 26,000 educators may find themselves out of work soon. The news compounds prior announcements that grant and tax refund payments had to be suspended, and the economy seems to have a grudge against funding for education.

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John on February 27th, 2009

Stories of students organizing and protesting for political purposes have been on the rise with the arrival of a new, more politically active generation. In England, a recent protest brought hundreds of students together to argue for the cause of free college education.

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John on January 31st, 2009

Obama’s currently proposed financial stimulus plan would provide generous funding to education – not just in assisting state budgets for schools, but also to practically double the annual budget of the federal department of education for the next two years.

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The Florida education budget is being slashed by at least 466 million dollars in 2009, and at least one major county is talking about eliminating all specialized art and music classes as a result. In the midst of a budget crisis, art and music may be the last thing you think of needing, but any loss that isn’t offset by some gain will be a detriment to the development of our students and their education.

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John on January 17th, 2009

The financial situation in the United States is still deteriorating – the latest victim of the credit crunch seems to be California in general. Students in CA may find out as early as next month that financial assistance and grants they had expected from the government won’t be arriving at all

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John on January 2nd, 2009

Analyzing Obama’s likely impact on federal funding for financial aid and money for college. Free college nationwide probably isn’t going to be proposed in such terms, but there will be a few programs coming up quickly that could help take some of the financial pressure off parents and students.

Continue reading about Free College with Obama? Not Quite

I posted six months ago about a decision by a California court to require all parents homeschooling children to have teaching certifications. Apparently, the news is still just getting around.  Some syndicated content recently hit some front pages and sparked a ton of really good debate about the role of government in education and the […]

Continue reading about Homeschooling NOT Illegal in California – Court Reverses Decision

John on June 15th, 2008

Higher education and tuition prices are going up faster than most measures of inflation, and its been this way for years. Will the trend finally reverse, or will the government intervene first?

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John on March 10th, 2008

Obama, Clinton, and McCain don’t offer much in the way of higher education funding reform, with the exception of a small tax credit and minor changes in the financial aid application process that have already been proposed in Congress.

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John on March 8th, 2008

California says home schooling parents must be certified – and the ruling appears to be tied to an interested in protecting the state from dissent.

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Committees in the Florida Legislature are considering major education funding cuts during the 2008 session, updates posted here as they develeop

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John on January 16th, 2008

Huckabee finds himself in quite a controversy regarding scholarships for illegal immigrants under his term as Governor of Arkansas

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