By Smita Ghosh

Education advocates lament the failure of a bill that would have aided immigrant students…States struggle to finance early education programs in the recession…Unemployed Americans take advantage of adult education programs…Milwaukee residents oppose proposed changes to the school schedule…Limited English proficiency students struggle in Boston.

Tuition backers vow to press on
Denver Post – April 8, 2009
On April 7, advocates gathered at the Colorado State Capitol to lament the death of Senate Bill 170, which would have guaranteed in-state tuition to all graduates of Colorado high schools, regardless of immigration status. The bill, which was sponsored by Chris Romer, D-Denver, died on April 6 after a 16-18 vote.

RecessionStalls State-Financed Pre-Kindergarten, but Federal Money May Help
The New York Times – April 8, 2009
Due to shrinking budgets, many state governments are making cuts to preschool education funding, hoping to compensate with federal funds for early education. Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina and South Carolina have already announced cuts to state-run pre-kindergarten programs. Federal involvement, however, may provide a silver lining: In the economic stimulus package, Congress appropriated more than $4 billion for Head Start and Early Head Start programs and related grants.

After layoffs, many workers go back to school
USA Today – April 9, 2009
Many unemployed adults are attempting to take advantage of local education options. Enrollment has grown at community colleges, many of which plan to use federal funds to support career and vocational education programs. President Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus bill includes $1.7 billion for adult employment services, including training.

Proposed longer MPS school day opposed by most respondents
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – April 6, 2009
Milwaukee residents and school system staff registered their opposition to two of Superintendent William Andrekopoulos’s school reform ideas in community meetings and an online survey. Citing the need to spend federal stimulus money, Andrekopoulous had proposed lengthening the school day for kindergarten through eighth-grade students and putting the school system on a year-round schedule. Many education policy researchers have suggested that students benefit from extensions to the school day and year, and that such reforms can reduce achievement gaps.

Boston students struggle with English-only rule
Boston Globe – April 7, 2009
An April 8 report details the effects of a 2002 English-only education on students in Boston. The report, a joint publication of the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts and the Center for Collaborative Education, found that, after the policy change, the high school dropout rate nearly doubled for Boston students with limited English proficiency. The 2002 ballot initiative put an end to the state’s 30-year-old transitional bilingual education program. Now, students are generally taught in English—and teachers can use bilingual education programs only if their parents submit a request through a relatively unknown provision of the law.

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