Thursday, March 23, 2023

Play

A proposed flavored tobacco ban is back on the table in Minnesota, Trump attorney Evan Corcoran must testify in the documents probe, and a "clean slate" bill in Missouri would make "expungement" automatic.

Play

The Fed raises interest rates and reassures the banking system is sound, Norfolk Southern reaffirms a commitment to the people of East Palestine, and TikTok creators gather at the Capitol to support free expression.

Play

Finding childcare is a struggle everywhere, prompting North Carolina's Transylvania County to try a new approach. Maine is slowly building-out broadband access, but disagreements remain over whether local versus national companies should get the contracts, and specialty apps like "Farmers Dating" help those in small communities connect online.

Education Groups Reject Trump Budget Proposal

Play

Tuesday, February 13, 2018   

LAS VEGAS – Some education advocates are criticizing President Donald Trump's new 2019 budget proposal because it zeroes out funding for several programs that benefit students.

The $4.4 trillion budget increases defense spending but envisions deep cuts in domestic spending. For example, it would eliminate the Gear Up program, which helps kids fill out college applications and access financial aid.

Sylvia Lazos, policy director for the group, Educate Nevada Now and professor of law at UNLV, says the program targets kids who are the first in their family to go to college.

"College access is the key to upward mobility, and it is the key for Nevada and Las Vegas in particular to become a more diversified economy," she says. "We really need our young people to have access to college and to become trained in something other than service-industry jobs, the casino industry."

Lazos notes that 60 percent of the students in Clark County qualify for free- and reduced-price lunch, so they come from working-class families that would benefit from the Gear Up program. Trump has said the cuts are necessary to fund other higher-priority programs.

Trump's budget also would eliminate the 21st-Century Community Learning Center grants, which help schools implement technology education and add more tech such as Chrome books to their schools.

"They have been very good in Clark County and have yielded high productivity for these schools that have been able to get them, in terms of improving their scores and for really helping kids focus on what we need for a 21st-century workforce," she explains.

The budget proposal would also eliminate funding for PBS, which produces quite a bit of educational programming. The president's budget is an outline that will be considered by Congress as it works on the budget for fiscal year 2019.


get more stories like this via email

In 2020, 35% of Idaho mothers had Medicaid at the time of their child's birth. (WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

With concerning trends emerging for pregnant and postpartum women, frustration is growing that Idaho lawmakers could end the session without …


Health and Wellness

Health advocates are promoting a package of bills this legislative session to make health care easier to get - and more affordable. The Care 4 All …

Social Issues

A new study from the University of New Hampshire found New England's LGBTQ+ residents experience higher rates of food insufficiency, the measure of …


According to the Center for American Progress, nearly nine in 10 employers, four in five landlords, and three in five colleges use background checks to screen for applicants' criminal records. (Yurii Kibalnik/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

A large percentage of Missourians who could to have their criminal records "expunged" have not done so, despite the effects expungement -- referred …

Social Issues

A person's work personnel file can be important to review, but some Washingtonians are finding them hard to obtain. A bill in Olympia would ensure …

The most recent Farm Bill covered areas such as agricultural conservation, trade and foreign food assistance, farm credit and research. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

The U.S. Farm Bill is up for reauthorization, and Congress faces calls to avoid any delays so certain programs can keep helping farmers and consumers …

Social Issues

Youth advocates continue to sound the alarm over the impact flavored tobacco products have on teenagers, and hope Minnesota lawmakers take another …

Environment

As wildfire seasons in Colorado and across the American West become longer, less predictable and increasingly destructive, a new report aims to …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021