Michigan State to pay for ex-President Simon’s criminal defense – The State News

chigan State will pay for former President Lou Anna K. Simon’s criminal defense, and it’s legal fees relating to the ex-MSU doctor Larry Nassar scandal is reaching nearly $20 million, the Lansing State Journal reports.

The total cost to the university as of November was more than $523 million, according to records obtained by the Lansing State Journal. This includes legal fees, the $500 million settlement with hundreds of Nassar survivors, payments to consultants and the Healing Assistance Fund.

MSU is paying for all, or part, of the defense for three former officials charged in the ongoing investigation into the university’s handling of sexual assault reports involving Nassar — Simon, former MSU dean William Strampel and former MSU gymnastics coach Kathie Klages.

Learn more here:

https://statenews.com/article/2019/01/michigan-state-to-pay-for-ex-msu-president-simon-criminal-defense

Three Chinese New Year Traditions – Adventures in Learning

Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is one of the largest and most significant celebrations in China. There are a lot of activities you can do with your children to help them learn about this holiday, which is celebrated throughout many countries in Asia and around the world. Let’s take a look at three crafts now…

Learn more here…

http://www.pbs.org/parents/adventures-in-learning/2015/02/three-chinese-new-year-traditions/

Black History Month Books for Kids – Adventures in Learning

The following are some of our favorite books for Black History Month (and anytime!). Some describe our different histories, while others show the joys and challenges shared by children of all nationalities as they learn and grow. These books not only help to increase your child’s knowledge, but to foster empathy by placing them in someone else’s shoes.

Learn more here…

http://www.pbs.org/parents/adventures-in-learning/2015/01/black-history-month-books-kids/

Teaching Your Child About Black History Month – Expert Tips & Advice . PBS Parents | PBS

By kindergarten, most children have heard of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. They are taught that he was an advocate for peace and equality. You are your child’s first teacher so take this time to stoke your child’s curiosity when it comes to months of the year that celebrate different cultures. While you have their undivided attention, connect your kids to Black History Month by…

Learn more here…

http://www.pbs.org/parents/expert-tips-advice/2018/02/teaching-child-black-history-month/

Study: Michigan ranks dead last in school funding growth

LANSING, Mich.— No other state tightened its education spending more than Michigan did over a 20-year period, according to a newly released study.

Read more here:

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2019/01/23/school-funding-growth-dead-last/2656750002/

Senate sets votes but U.S. shutdown likely to go on

From Reuters News Service

There was no sign of quick relief for 800,000 federal workers going without pay because of the partial government shutdown as the U.S. Senate scheduled votes on competing proposals to end the month-long impasse that both faced long odds.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he planned to hold a vote on Thursday on a Democratic proposal that would fund the government for three weeks but does not include the $5.7 billion in U.S.-Mexico border wall funding demanded by President Donald Trump.

Its prospects appeared grim. The House of Representatives has passed several similar bills, but Trump has rejected legislation that does not include border wall funding. McConnell previously said he would not consider a bill the Republican president refused to sign.

McConnell also planned to hold a vote on legislation that would include border wall funding and relief for “Dreamers,” people brought illegally to the United States as children, a compromise Trump proposed on Saturday.

Read more here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-shutdown/senate-sets-votes-but-u-s-shutdown-likely-to-go-on-idUSKCN1PH14I

How well does your state protect student privacy? – Network For Public Education

The Parent Coalition for Student Privacy and the Network for Public Education just released a report card that grades all fifty states and the District of Columbia on how well they protect the privacy of students’ confidential information. Since 2013, many laws surrounding student privacy have been passed, but there is more work to be done.

This report focuses on the 99 laws passed in 39 states plus the District of Columbia between 2013 and 2018. Every state received points in each of the following seven categories: Transparency, Parental and Student Rights; Limitations on Commercial Use of Data; Data Security Requirements; Oversight, Enforcement, and Penalties for Violations; Parties Covered and Regulated and Other, a catch-all for provisions that did not fit into any of the other categories.

Read here to see how your state did. Then use the findings as a blueprint for advocacy in your state!

https://networkforpubliceducation.org/how-well-does-your-state-protect-student-privacy/

AP News: Los Angeles teachers head back to school after reaching deal

Los Angeles teachers head back to school after reaching deal

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER

Today

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tens of thousands of Los Angeles teachers planned to return to work Wednesday after voting to ratify a deal between their union and school officials, ending a six-day strike in the nation’s second-largest district.

Read more here:

https://apnews.com/5a4e1deae4d44a25b6131261dbdcf663

AP News: More parents are putting limits on college help

By LIZ WESTON

Tyler Luker of Plano, Texas, is a high school junior who already knows which college he wants to attend (University of Missouri), how much it costs ($43,300 for out-of-state residents) and how much he can expect his single mother to contribute: nothing.

“That’s protecting my retirement,” says certified financial planner Sharon Luker , 64. “I don’t want to work when I’m 70.”

While most parents plan to help with at least some college expenses, more are coming around to Sharon Luker’s point of view that they shouldn’t sacrifice their own financial well-being to do so, a survey by student lender Sallie Mae found.

Learn more here:

https://apnews.com/747d98dcd1a545999bfd676c50d07685

L.A. Teachers’ Strike Is Ending, but Economic and Racial Inequity Remain Along with State Funding Problems

janresseger

Los Angeles teachers reached a tentative deal to end their strike yesterday morning. Teachers began voting on the agreement later in the day, and it was expected that teachers would return to their classrooms today. At noon yesterday, the Los Angeles Times‘ Howard Blume reported that the agreement includes a 6 percent raise, smaller classes, and a promise to create 30 Community Schools with wraparound medical and social services for students and their families. Even as the teachers won some of the protections they demanded for their students, however, years of serious school funding inequity, compounded by racial and economic segregation of students across the district’s schools will continue as major challenges for the school district.

Addressing the Los Angeles teachers’ strike for The Guardian, last week Andrew Gumbel untangled the impact on the state’s public schools of California’s taxing constraints wound together with racial segregation and explosive…

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