Weekly Update 1/30/23

California

On Thursday, 1/26, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) launched his Senate campaign for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) seat…

Three civil rights groups – Disability Rights California, Western Center on Law & Poverty, and The Public Interest Law Project –  filed a petition to the California Supreme Court on Thursday, 1/26, challenging the constitutionality of the CARE Courts program, which Governor Newsom signed into law last year…

According to the Department of Water Resources, recent storms replenished California reservoirs enough for the State Water Project to provide six times more water to local agencies than state officials expected in December, fulfilling 30 percent of the agencies’ requests instead of five percent..

President and Administration

Valerie C. Williams, director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), released the second blog in a blog series on discipline and behavior…

According to a report by Home Care Pulse (HCP), the median caregiver turnover rate—or the percentage of all caregivers who left or were terminated from jobs—was about 64.9 percent in 2021…

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recently released a new toolkit designed to help schools prevent and respond to cyber-attacks…

According to Bharat Ramamurti, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, the Biden administration is not preparing alternative proposals for canceling student debt in case the Supreme Court rejects its current relief program…

On Wednesday, 1/25, the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) released the Mass Attacks in Public Spaces: 2016 - 2020, a comprehensive report examining 173 incidents of targeted violence and highlighting the observable commonalities among the attackers…

On Tuesday, 1/24, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) issued marketing denial orders to two menthol e-cigarette products from R.J. Reynolds, which were Vuse Vibe Tank Menthol 3 percent and the Vuse Ciro Cartridge Menthol 1.5 percent…

On Wednesday, 1/25, the Biden administration announced new actions to increase fairness in the rental market and further principles of fair housing…

Education

The National Center for Education Statistics reported that students with disabilities on average scored 32 points lower in math and 40 points lower in reading than students without disabilities…

On Tuesday, 1/24, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced the ED’s “Raise the Bar: Lead the World” initiative for 2023 to promote academic excellence, improve learning conditions, and prepare students for a world where global engagement is critical to the nation’s standing…

At the beginning of 2022, Secretary Cardona called on schools to provide students who are academically behind with at least 90 minutes of tutoring each week…

 A report commissioned by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute in Ohio found that racial segregation of students tended to decline in school districts where more students were eligible to receive vouchers from the state…

The California State University system now has 25,000 fewer students enrolled than the state says it should educate…

Civil rights lawyers have expanded the scope of their class action lawsuit against the Fairfax County School Board and the Virginia Department of Education after more families came forward alleging the state had denied students their federally-mandated special education services…

Research has shown that alternative discipline approaches used by schools may not only reduce the prevalence of exclusionary discipline but also have positive effects on student and teacher perceptions of school safety…

Public Safety & Justice Update 1/27/23

President Biden said that police in the U.S. should be retrained to use deadly force less frequently in a speech about racial justice…

New York and Los Angeles police – the nation's two largest agencies – top the list of approximately 7,000 departments not reporting hate crimes to the federal government, according to a DOJ report….

Earlier this week, the Council on Policing Reforms and Race officially unveiled more than 50 research-informed recommendations to help address some of the most pressing issues facing policing and public safety…

A 67-year-old “disgruntled worker” shot and killed four people at a coastal farm and three more at another farming business near the heart of Half Moon Bay on Monday, 1/23, marking California’s second mass shooting focused on Asian Americans over two days…

On Saturday 1/21, a 72-year-old man carried out the fifth mass killing of 2023, the fifth time four or more people have been killed in a single incident in the United States…

A Supreme Court decision in June voided New York’s concealed carry law while also encouraging challenges to restrictions elsewhere — including California’s ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines…

California has mandatory waiting periods and background checks for gun purchases…

Officials at a Virginia school were warned on three separate occasions by teachers or employees that a six-year-old boy had a gun or had made threats, but failed to take action on the day he shot his first-grade teacher in class, an attorney for the teacher said…

In the three weeks since a first-grader in Virginia took his mother’s pistol to school and allegedly shot a teacher in the chest, the public has again asked why lawmakers have not done more to ensure that gun owners lock up their firearms…

The U.S. rate of gun homicides has increased in recent years, remaining a clear outlier for both civilian gun ownership and number of gun deaths among the world’s developed countries…

California is reeling from three major mass shootings in just over a week…

Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) reintroduced a bill Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected last year that would curb use of long-term solitary confinement…

The Memphis Police Department fired five officers last week involved in an arrest that led to the death of a 29-year-old Black motorist Tyre Nichols earlier this month…

Diners at a Kentucky restaurant were outraged to see and hear what they believe was video footage showing the killing of Breonna Taylor at an event featuring John Mattingly, an officer involved in the 2020 raid, according to the local NAACP chapter…

Santa Clara County is among several areas critical of incarcerating girls and gender-biased youth (transgender, non-binary, and gender-biased youth)…

Classified documents were found in the home of former Vice President Mike Pence and turned over to the FBI for review…

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and states including California, New York, Colorado and Virginia filed a lawsuit against Google alleging they illegally monopolized the market for online ads through self-dealing, anticompetitive acquisitions, and forcing businesses to use multiple products and services that it offers…

The Justice Department announced 1/27 it had disrupted a notorious cybercriminal group behind ransomware attacks on more than 1,500 victims worldwide and millions of dollars in extorted payment…

Weekly Update 1/23/23

President and Administration

On Thursday, 1/19, the U.S. hit its $31.4 trillion debt limit, forcing the Treasury Department to use “extraordinary measures” to avoid a potentially catastrophic default on the nation’s financial obligations…

On Friday, 1/20, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced 38 awards totaling more than $30 million to colleges and universities from five competitive grant programs of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), which aims to improve higher education opportunities and outcomes for students from underrepresented communities…

According to Gabe Klein, the Executive Director of the new Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, the Department of Transportation plans to issue minimum standards and a “Buy America” waiver for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVI) in the “next couple of weeks”…

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) published an updated solicitation for the Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) program with significantly increased funding awards for the program’s two tracks…

Education

Republican governors across the country are reportedly putting education savings accounts (ESAs) at the center of their legislative agendas…

Last week, the National School Choice Awareness Foundation released a new survey that found 68 percent of parents are happy with the schools their children attend, but 54 percent considered a new school within the last 12 months…

According to a new analysis by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Columbia University’s Teachers College, community college enrollments significantly declined overall. Data shows that community colleges enrolled 850,000 fewer students nationally in the fall of 2021 compared to the fall of 2019, including significant drops among students of color…

Schools are rethinking their approach to discipline and safety, as public administrators report problems with disruptive students despite tougher security plus classroom practices intended to reduce suspensions and expulsions…

Weekly Update 1/17/23

California

President Biden approved California’s request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to support the state’s emergency response to ongoing storm impacts including flooding, mudslides and landslides in communities across the state…

According to antismoking experts, R.J. Reynolds, the maker of Camel and Newport brands, is attempting to evade California’s ban on flavored tobacco by advertising to smokers with its new non-menthol versions, offering “a taste that satisfies the senses” and “a new fresh twist”…

State Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) introduced a bill in December 2022 that would allow a select group of cannabis retailers to operate while waiting for annual permits to be approved…

According to United Way Bay Area’s first public online database, nearly half of the almost 52,000 people who called 211 — the nationwide social services hotline — in six Bay Area counties last year needed housing help, a place to shelter for the night and assistance paying their rent to avoid eviction…

On Tuesday, 1/10, Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) launched her 2024 campaign for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) seat…

President and Administration

According to data, Puerto Rico’s population is aging more rapidly than most places in the world…

According to a study published by Princeton University researchers, a rise in suicide, alcohol abuse, and drug overdoses are more likely to be experienced by those without a bachelor’s degree than those who finished college in the decade leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic…

The Biden administration has been facing backlash due to its stance on the $440 million Charter Schools Program, which is a federal grant that more than half of charter schools rely on…

Beginning on January 17, veterans in acute suicidal crisis will be able to go to any VA or non-VA health care facility for emergency health care at no cost – including inpatient or crisis residential care for up to 30 days and outpatient care for up to 90 days…

According to the American Cancer Society, death rates from cancer in the U.S. have fallen by 32 percent from 1991 to 2019…

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Friday, 1/13, formally invited President Biden to deliver the State of the Union — and Biden has said yes…

Congress

House Republicans reportedly plan on cutting federal spending by at least $130 billion without cutting defense, which is unlikely to be accepted through the Democratic Senate and White House…

Education

On Tuesday, 1/10, the Department of Education proposed regulations to reduce the cost of federal student loan payments…

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights logged a record number of discrimination complaints in the past year…

According to the latest release of the School Pulse Panel, an ongoing data collection effort led by the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. school leaders are feeling limited in addressing student misbehavior…

According to a study published in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management late last year, arts education in K-12 can improve students’ writing skills and build empathy…

California approved a ballot initiative that will provide nearly $1 billion annually to increase access to arts and music programs in schools…

A Rand study analyzing six grow-your-own teacher prep programs designed to increase and diversify the educator workforce found that local “grow your own” alternative teacher preparation programs can help strengthen the diversity of the teaching workforce, as well as enable districts to address broader staffing challenges…

According to a new report by the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice at Temple University, only 18 percent of students who reported experiencing food or housing insecurity were enrolled in SNAP…

According to a new survey released by Populace, a Massachusetts-based think tank focused on public engagement, respondents ranked preparation for college or university nearly at the bottom of their priorities for schools: 47th out of 57 overall…

Weekly Update 1/9/23

California

Research published in December 2022 revealed that the pace of groundwater depletion in California’s Central Valley has accelerated dramatically, which has plagued the Central Valley for decades…

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Vintage 2022 national and state population estimates, 18 states experienced a population decline, compared to 15 and D.C. the prior year…

After a series of storms have slammed California, causing many outages and dangerous floods, Governor Gavin Newsom will ask President Biden to declare a state of emergency…

Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) now show the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on learning…

Coronavirus

According to the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey, nearly half of Americans think COVID-19 vaccines may be to blame for many unexplained deaths, and more than a quarter say someone they know could be among the victims…

According to a new study by Stanford economist Eric A. Hanushek, learning loss could drop $70,000 off the lifetime earnings of children who were in school during the pandemic…

President and Administration

Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on February 28th involving two cases challenging the legality of the Biden administration’s student loan cancellation program, lawyers representing the Education and the Justice Departments and President Biden filed a legal brief arguing that the administration was acting within its executive authority and did not need new congressional authorization for the student loan cancellation program…

On Thursday, 1/5 , President Biden announced new enforcement measures to increase security at the border and reduce the number of individuals crossing unlawfully between ports of entry…

In mid-December, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness released the Biden-Harris Administration’s Federal Strategic Plan to reduce homelessness by 25 percent by January 2025…

According to an analysis from the National Poison Data System, the number of children in the U.S. exposed to cannabis after accidentally eating an edible rose to 1,375 percent in only five years…

According to a Healthy Minds Monthly Poll by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and fielded by Morning Consult between December 7-8, 2022 among 2,212 adults, nearly two out of five (37 percent) Americans rated their mental health as only fair or poor, up from 31 percent a year ago…

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) recently released its 2021 National Survey of Drug Use and Health…

Congress

On Saturday, 1/7, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) obtained a majority on the 15th ballot and officially became the Speaker of the House after four days of voting…

Education

According to a recent report from the Internet Safety Labs, 96 percent of apps used regularly in schools have data-sharing practices that “are not adequately safe for children”…

A new study found that 13 percent of white students and 16 percent of Asian students display advanced math skills by kindergarten while the percentage for both Black and Hispanic students lags behind at  four percent…

According to a survey of 1,200 students nationwide conducted by the virtual health services provider TimelyMD, 50 percent of college students cited their own mental health struggles as their top stressor going into 2023…

Since the CHIPS and Science Act was signed into law, experts are saying that community colleges can play a major role in fulfilling the vision of the legislation…

On Wednesday, 1/4, the Department of Education announced that it would hold a series of negotiated rulemaking sessions this spring to propose new rules regarding accreditation, distance education, student loan deferments and a range of other topics…

A team of neuroscientists at the University of South Carolina found that children who habitually checked their social media feeds at around age 12 showed a distinct trajectory, with their sensitivity to social rewards from peers heightening over time…