New Federal Regulations & Challenges for Students

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Feb. 24, 2017 – Here’s our weekly roundup of education news you may have missed. Coverage focused on new federal regulations affecting DACA and transgender students. Two new reports highlight financial challenges for low-income college students.

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Elementary & Secondary Education:

  • A report from the Urban Institute examines how transportation options influence equitable access to high-quality education, stating that policies “can have a substantial impact on school district funding, student health and safety, and student access to different schools (including schools of choice), as well as after-school programs.”
  • “President Trump on Wednesday rescinded protections for transgender students that had allowed them to use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity,” reports The New York Times. Some state and local officials have announced that they will continue to ensure protections remain in place at their schools, BuzzFeed says.
  • Brookings looks at the fiscal impact of a Title I portability policy, stating that such a proposal “would not simply shift funds from public to private schools—it would significantly redistribute federal funds within states across school districts, and within districts across public schools”.

 

Higher Education:

  • In The San Francisco Chronicle, University of California, Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks writes, “our system of higher education reflects our country’s wealth divide, and many highly gifted students from low-income families simply never get an opportunity to succeed at the best colleges and universities this country has to offer.”
  • “The cost of tax deductions that previous research has shown disproportionately help wealthier families pay for college continues to outpace what the federal government spends on grants for low-income students,” writes The Hechinger Report.
  • DACA recipients are exempted from plans to deport large numbers of undocumented immigrants for now, but CNN’s coverage notes that the Trump administration does not consider the matter settled for good.
  • Inside Higher Ed shares the findings of a new report detailing financial insecurity among community college students, noting that “nearly half … reported that a lack of finances could cause them to withdraw from their institutions.”

 

Cooke Foundation Highlights:

  • “The true events depicted in Hidden Figures add to the long list of indisputable evidence showing that powerful brains can be found in every group of people,” writes Executive Director Harold O. Levy for The 74 Million. His commentary discussing the film also  praises the Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM) program in New York City, which has received nearly $1.3 million in Cooke Foundation funding.
  • The Cooke Foundation is recognized in Getting Smart’s list of top higher education innovators.
  • The Cooke Young Scholars Program is now seeking applications from high-potential 7th grade students with financial need. Students selected to be Young Scholars will receive comprehensive academic and college counseling, funding for extracurricular enrichments and access to a community of ambitious peers. Tell a talented student you know to apply before our deadline on April 5, 2017.

 

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