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NJ Spotlight--Top Dem wants $125M more for N.J. schools in new plan
TRENTON -- Setting the stage for a potential clash between New Jersey's two most powerful Democratic state lawmakers, Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto won't back Senate President Stephen Sweeney's school funding proposal and has developed his own plan to pursue in the state Legislature, he said Saturday.
Prieto (D-Hudson), in an exclusive interview with NJ Advance Media, called the proposal from Sweeney (D-Gloucester) unrealistic and for the first time unveiled details of his plan to address school aid, a complicated and controversial topic that has long vexed state lawmakers.
At its core, Prieto's proposal would add $125 million to help some of the state's most financially distressed school districts. It is a one-year proposal for now. Unlike Sweeney's proposal, Prieto's plan would not reduce any district's current state aid, a major sticking point for the assemblyman.
By Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com| May 07, 2017 at 9:00 AM, updated May 07, 2017 at 11:43 AM
NY Times--A Little-Noticed Target in the House Health Bill: Special Education
WASHINGTON — While House Republicans lined up votes Wednesday for a Thursday showdown over their bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Vickie Glenn sat in her Murphysboro, Ill., office and prayed for it to fail.
Ms. Glenn, a Medicaid coordinator for Tri-County Special Education, an Illinois cooperative that helps more than 20 school districts deliver special education services to students, was worried about an issue that few in Congress were discussing: how the new American Health Care Act, with its deep cuts to Medicaid, would affect her 2,500 students.
With all the sweeping changes the Republican bill would impose, little attention has been paid to its potential impact on education. School districts rely on Medicaid, the federal health care program for the poor, to provide costly services to millions of students with disabilities across the country. For nearly 30 years, Medicaid has helped school systems cover costs for special education services and equipment, from physical therapists to feeding tubes. The money is also used to provide preventive care, such as vision and hearing screenings, for other Medicaid-eligible children.
ERICA L. GREEN| May 3, 2017
Education Week-- Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft Battle for K-12 Market, and Loyalties of Educators
Dominant Players Revamp School Options for Digital Devices, Operating Systems, and Most Recently, Procurement
If there’s a common thread that unites the rival technology giants Apple, Google, and Microsoft in the education market, it’s this: They’re big.
The three major tech companies—along with Amazon, a relatively new player on the scene—go head-to-head in vying for big chunks of school business, most notably in sales of devices and operating systems, and they try to forge their own paths in others. At the same time, all of them are best known for their work outside education, through their sales to consumers, businesses, or both.
But within school districts, their clout is undeniable.
Each of the companies has seen its fortunes shift in the fickle school market, where vendors of all sizes struggle to gauge what schools want, which administrators make buying decisions, and whether new products will dazzle educators and students, or simply frustrate them.
When the companies have made their biggest headway—as Google is doing now with Chromebooks and its classroom-productivity tools—it’s typically because they have introduced products that not only meet schools’ distinct needs, but also overcome their stubborn limitations.
Sean Cavanagh, Senior Editor| May 8, 2017
