National News
Where’s the Senate’s Education Spending Bill? Will the Holdup Affect Schools?
7/14/19- ‘The House spending bills, including an all-time high for federal education aid, have generated a great deal of interest this year. It’s the first time in a decade Democrats control the chamber, and they want to draw sharp distinctions between their priorities and the Trump administration’s. But with all that done and dusted weeks ago, you might be wondering: Where’s the Senate school funding bill for fiscal 2020?’
Mnuchin: Negotiators agree on core elements of budget deal
7/18/19- ‘Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that budget and debt negotiators have reached an agreement on the core elements of a deal to increase the government’s borrowing cap and set a $1.3 trillion overall level for the agency budgets that Congress passes each year.’
State News
Gaping Holes in How States Track K-12 Spending
7/15/19- ‘Where, exactly, do those billions of dollars taxpayers annually spend for schools go? In most states, policymakers really don’t know.’
FL: Lawsuit accuses Florida of shortchanging teachers on bonuses
7/16/19- ‘The Florida Department of Education is being sued over allegations it shortchanged teachers when it paid bonuses awarded by the Legislature, costing the state’s best educators hundreds of dollars each.’
MA: ESSA Forces Uncomfortable Conversations in Massachusetts Over School Spending
6/24/19- ‘Several Massachusetts superintendents are spending more money on schools that enroll mostly wealthy students than they are on schools that educate mostly poor students, even though the state designed its funding formula to do the exact opposite. And some schools are outperforming other schools even though they’re receiving significantly less money.’
7/18/19- ‘The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Education’s law enforcement arm have also been probing Epic Charter Schools’ student enrollment practices and finances, public records obtained by the Tulsa World show.’