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Plus: Hartford Public Schools does indeed face a deficit, state officials found, after they asserted the opposite last month.

Gardeners across the country are flocking to climate-resilient native plants as concerns about extreme heat, flooding, and pollinators grow. The post Once dismissed as weeds, native plants are now flying off the shelves appeared first on MinnPost.

When Eric Adams was still mayor, the city agreed to pay the lawyers representing senior aide Timothy Pearson in four lawsuits alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. Soon after Adams left City Hall, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration abruptly reversed course, moving to cut off all city funding of Pearson’s defense. By then, the law firm Wilson […] The post After Mamdani Cut-Off, Adams Aide Demands Payments for Sex Harassment Defense appeared first on THE CITY - NYC News.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday commuted the sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, an election denier who was convicted and sentenced for her role in a breach of her office’s election system. Polis cut Peters’ sentence from nine years to four years and four and a half months, making her eligible to […]

Iowa’s community colleges are bracing for less revenue from property taxes and shorter-term partnerships with area businesses as legislation passed just a few weeks ago awaits the governor’s signature. In its 2026 session, the Iowa Legislature passed bills capping fixed-rate levies at 2% growth and making changes to the job training programs community colleges use […]

It could take several weeks to complete a recount if one is sought of the razor-thin margin in the Republican primary race between state Sen. Spencer Deery and his President Donald Trump-endorsed challenger.

A pesar de los esfuerzos del equipo veterinario del Central Florida Zoo, Mr. Ginger —el más joven de los perezosos recuperados del fallido proyecto Sloth World, en Orlando— murió este viernes 15 de mayo de 2026, luego de que los expertos debieran aplicarle la eutanasia debido a la gravedad de su estado de salud. Es […]

Senadores del Partido Socialista (PS) presentaron este viernes una reforma constitucional que busca establecer un mecanismo de devolución del IVA...

LINCOLN — The latest $95 million structure to open on a rural health education complex in Kearney is expected to double the number of health care students on the campus, to about 625. That three-story, 110,000-square-foot building opens to full occupancy this month and will enable the University of Nebraska Medical Center to offer — […]

The business cards on the counter at Minzer’s Optical proclaim “45 years of 15-minute service.” If your wait drags on for longer than 15 minutes, you can pick up one of the prayer books that line a shelf beneath the counter. But there’s no need to pray that your eyeglasses won’t cost you an arm... The post The Jewish secret to affordable eyewear that isn’t so secret anymore appeared first on The Forward.

Thousands of people are expected to attend two rallies in Selma and Montgomery on Saturday to protest what organizers call a concerted Republican effort to dilute the voting power of Blacks throughout the South. The All Roads Lead to the South National Day of Action is response to attempts by southern state legislatures to reconfigure […]

Educador defendia a beleza da linguagem, vendo-a como um momento estético e de experimentação. É uma busca por autenticidade e a própria experiência, o que pode exigir “lutar contra a gramática para ter a liberdade de escrever” – e, inclusive, contra os chatbots The post O que Paulo Freire diria sobre escrever com IA? appeared first on Outras Palavras.

(The Center Square) – In the days after California Senate Republicans signed a resolution opposing raising taxes on businesses to pay off more than $20 billion of COVID-era unemployment insurance debt, Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, spoke out about the state’s outstanding debt. “There have been a couple of budget cycles where the governor budgeted maybe a few hundred million dollars for that debt,” Niello, who was one of the resolution’s co-authors, said. “That doesn’t amount to a drop in the bucket. So that creates a huge burden on businesses, frankly, on smaller businesses." Since that debt grows with every year that passes, Niello said, the debt ends up costing the state’s businesses and their employees more and more money. “That debt has got to be paid,” Niello said. “California is the only state in the union that took on this debt during the pandemic shutdown and didn’t pay it back. We probably have to get creative because it’s such a large number, and it’s going to take a number of years.” Senate Joint Resolution 15, which every Republican senator signed on to as a co-author, asks Congress to pass federal legislation to prevent an increase of federal unemployment taxes on businesses. A May 2025 report from the California Employment Development Department shows that California initially took on $17.5 billion of unemployment insurance money through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES Act of 2020, to help the state’s increasing number of unemployed residents who lost work at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. That initial $17.5 billion grew to a $20.5 billion loan balance by the end of 2023, which ballooned to $21.6 billion by the end of 2024, the Employment Development Department report shows. According to research from Stanford University’s Institute on Economic Policy Research, California has the highest unemployment insurance debt, per capita, in the country. The debt ultimately imposes higher costs on small businesses and low-wage workers, that research shows, which also slows hiring and undermines state lawmakers’ efforts to craft a responsible state budget. A 2024 report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office says the state’s unemployment insurance financing system is broken, mostly due to tax revenue not being enough to pay for the costs of unemployment insurance. Deficits resulting from the state’s unemployment insurance are projected to be $2 billion a year between 2022 and 2027, according to the report. The Center Square called or emailed 19 state senators or Assembly members on both sides of the aisle on Friday to ask questions about the state’s unemployment insurance debt and any efforts to pay off that debt. Eighteen did not respond before press time. Assemblymember Natasha Johnson, R-Corona, declined an interview through her chief of staff. The California Chamber of Commerce, which has previously spoken out against unemployment insurance debt, declined to make anyone at the organization available to answer questions on Friday. Representatives from other groups that can speak to unemployment insurance debt, including California Business Roundtable, the National Employment Law Project, Kabateck Strategies, the Stanford University Institute for Economic Policy Research and The Century Foundation, did not respond to The Center Square. The Legislative Analyst’s Office also did not respond.

Fellowship provides columnist with the opportunity to model how to discuss divisive issues during turbulent political times. The post Opinion: Humor is often the shortest distance between divides appeared first on KLC Journal - A Civic Issues Magazine from the Kansas Leadership Center

This story was originally published in The 74. Sign up for their newsletters here.A year ago, there was speculation that the Nation’s Report Card was at risk under the Trump administration. Testing experts at the Education Department had been laid off and the board in charge of the program canceled several optional tests. But now, expansion is coming in the form of additional results that could give the public more information about how students in their states are performing.The National Assessment Governing Board approved a new testing schedule Friday that allows for state-level results in 12th grade math and reading, eighth and 12th grade civics, and eighth grade science. The vote was 16-3.NAGB, which sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, has long aspired to add more granular results, said Executive Director Lesley Muldoon.“That’s what helps drive actual policy action at the state level,” she said. The updated schedule would take effect in 2028 for eighth grade civics and 12th grade math and reading. The eighth grade science test would be administered in 2029 and 12th graders would take a civics exam in 2032. Participation is optional, but NAGB wants to know states’ intentions by this summer.The governing board isn’t alone in wanting NAEP to be more useful to state policymakers. In its recent report on the future of the American workforce, the Bipartisan Policy Center, led by former Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, called for more state-level data in the same three areas and a shorter, six-month timeline between the assessment and the release of the results.Some observers say the board’s vote underscores the importance of NAEP.“This suggests an acknowledgment that standardized testing, and comparable data across states, still matters,” said Dale Chu, an education consultant who frequently writes about assessment. At the same time, in its fiscal year 2027 budget, the administration is requesting less for the program than Congress has appropriated in recent years, $137 million compared with $193 million.Muldoon told The 74 that if Congress maintains $193 million for the program, no additional money would be needed to expand testing at the state level. But if all 50 states want to participate, they might need more resources. State reactions to NAEP expansion could varyThe response from states, she said, has been positive, but she doesn’t expect all to sign up. Board Member Julia Rafal-Baer, who voted against the plan, said while she agreed with the science and civics schedule, she’s concerned about whether enough states would participate in the 12th grade assessments. The announcement, she said, would also come in the midst of a “charged environment.” “You can see it bubbling up now — public trust around testing, technology, AI, screens and student data,” she said during the meeting. “In this room, we understand all the differences. Parents right now do not understand the differences.” Others noted that with 39 governors’ races this year, those who show interest now might be out of office by the time they have to formally commit. But Board Member Ron Reynolds, formerly head of a California private school organization, said the elections shouldn’t affect the board’s decision.“I think we would cross a dangerous line if we began to anticipate what the political environment might be at a specific time and then make decisions in advance that might foreclose an opportunity to assess and report,” he said.States would need to identify a sample ranging from 1,200 to 2,000 students in each of the categories for which they want new results. U.S. Rep. Mark White, a Tennessee Republican and current NAGB chair, told The 74 that his state is among those that would likely “jump on the opportunity” to see how the state’s students are performing in science, civics and in their senior year.“Tennessee realized that our K-12 standards were not adequate in 2011 when we compared our performance to NAEP data,” he said. “We got busy.”In 2013, the state was the fastest improving in the nation, and this week earned recognition as a top performer in post-pandemic academic recovery.More American students are attending private school. Why do so few take NAEP?Angélica Infante Green, Rhode Island’s education commissioner, wants her state to participate in all of the assessments, but is particularly enthusiastic about state-level civics. The state passed a law in 2021 requiring students to demonstrate proficiency in civics to graduate.“It’s important, based on where we are as a country,” she said. “If our students don’t know how the government works and how our democracy works, that poses a challenge.”Chu said he wouldn’t be surprised if Mike Morath, state chief in Texas, or Indiana Education Secretary Katie Jenner also take “a keen interest,” but predicted that “in many other places the reaction would amount to little more than a shrug.”Former Florida Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. criticized the NAEP program after the 2024 fourth and eighth grade results were released. The state saw a sharp decline in reading scores, which he attributed to a sample of schools that he said was not representative of the state overall and included two of the lowest-performing schools. He also blamed the shift that year on the switch to a digital test on school district devices. The Florida Department of Education did not respond to questions about whether the state might participate. Revised NAEP could be ‘powerful source of information’Chu and others, however, question whether state-level data on 12th graders would be that useful. “Low student motivation has long been a cloud hanging over 12th grade,” he said. “I’m not sure bringing those results to the state level adds much unless that issue is addressed.”Muldoon disagreed that motivation is a challenge, but said that getting a large enough national sample of 12th graders can be. Seniors, she said, are sometimes off campus for internships or college trips. Some states, like Nevada, require students to take the ACT for graduation. But Jhone Ebert, superintendent of the Clark County School District, and former state chief, said a college entrance exam might not be the best way to measure the skills of students planning to go straight into the workforce. NAEP, she said, would offer a fuller view of students’ skills.“Not everybody’s going to college,” said Ebert, also on the board. “That doesn’t mean that they’re not going to be successful participants in our society.”National results from 2024’s 12th graders were discouraging. Twenty-two percent tested at the proficient level in math, a 2 percentage point decline since 2019. In reading, 35% were proficient, also a drop. As with fourth and eighth graders in recent years, the percentage of high school seniors scoring at the below basic level increased. But those results don’t tell states anything about their specific strengths and weaknesses. State-level data could be a “really powerful source of information,” Muldoon said. “There is no other nationally representative assessment of high school students’ achievement.” Broader interest in civics education drove NAEP updatesThe same is true for civics. The last NAEP civics test was in 2022, and just in eighth grade. Average scores on the 300-point scale fell by two points, the first-ever decline in the 25-year history of the test, which measures students’ knowledge of government, the founding documents and politics. Twelfth grade results in civics haven’t been available since 2010. The 2032 civics test in 12th grade will also be an updated version. Patrick Kelly, chair of NAGB’s assessment development committee, told the members Friday that while the “bones are good,” the design of the civics assessment is old.The last time the test was updated, “our president of the United States was playing saxophone on late night,” he said. Shawn Healy, chief policy and advocacy officer at iCivics, a nonprofit that provides civics lesson plans and online games, called the state-level results and the update “a big win for our field.”The results, he said, will offer insight into the success of civics education policies at the state level, such as requiring a dedicated course or completion of student projects, or offering diplomas that recognize achievements. This year, he’s tracked 240 civics education bills in 40 states.“That speaks to the interest in this issue across blue and red states,” he said.NAEP scores in 8th grade science drop, gender gap returnsIn science, 2029 won’t be the first time state results will be available. Most states voluntarily participated in 2015. But now, under a new design, the questions will more closely match what states expect eighth graders to know in science, said Christine Cunningham, senior vice president of STEM learning at the Museum of Science in Boston and a NAGB member. Large school systems, those in the Trial Urban District Assessment group, would also be able to opt in to that science exam. Currently, only national data is available for those subjects and grades.“At a time when science and engineering are having such a profound impact on our lives, it’s important to understand how our students are doing,” she said. “Education leaders continue to see value in expanding opportunities for state-level reporting beyond reading and math.” Did you use this article in your work?We’d love to hear how The 74’s reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers. Tell us how Linda Jacobson is a senior writer at The 74. You can reach her at @lrj417 and at Linda@the74million.org.

Guerras, bloqueios econômicos, militarização e avanço da extrema direita fazem parte de uma mesma reorganização imperial do mundo, marcada pela disputa de territórios, destruição de soberanias nacionais e aprofundamento das desigualdades sociais. A avaliação foi compartilhada por lideranças da Palestina, Cuba e Brasil durante a mesa “Imperialismo, guerra e desordem global: uma resposta da esquerda”, […] Fonte

For now, proposed county governance reform measures could pave the way for supervisors to run in districts they don’t live in.  The post County Governance Reform Pitch Includes Potential District Election Tweak appeared first on Voice of San Diego.

伊朗国家电视台周五报道称，伊朗革命卫队海军允许更多船只通过霍尔木兹海峡。前一天，伊朗革命卫队已允许30多艘船只通过这条重要的贸易通道

伊朗國家電視台周五報道稱，伊朗革命衛隊海軍允許更多船隻通過霍爾木茲海峽。前一天，伊朗革命衛隊已允許30多艘船隻通過這條重要的貿易通道

Nos dias 20 e 21 de junho, será realizada a Vivência Agroecológica Sem Terra, no Lar de Pesquisas Agroecológicas Abacateiro, localizado no Assentamento Agroecológico Egídio Brunetto 01, em Lagoinha, no Vale do Paraíba (SP). A atividade – organizada pelos formandos de Técnica em Cooperativismo do Instituto Educacional Josué de Castro de Viamão (RS) – tem […] Fonte