EDUCATION
Students activism should shame officials into action
Actions by students at two Virginia schools – turning a spotlight on the crumbling conditions of their individual facilities– should shame local and state officials to provide the necessary money to rectify the problems. You would think school administrators would herald the initiative by the teenagers, who, in the best investigative tradition, researched the shortcomings, […]
State approves new teacher education programs to fight shortage
In an effort to combat Virginia’s teacher shortage, 15 Virginia colleges and universities will start new four-year teacher education degree programs this fall. The Virginia Board of Education approved the programs last week. The State Council for Higher Education of Virginia, which oversees public colleges and universities, approved the new programs at public institutions in […]
George Mason will study addition of a medical school
George Mason University will study the possibility of launching a medical school in Manassas near its Science and Technology Campus. The study should be finished by early fall, a news release from Prince William County said. The county is chipping in a $50,000 grant to help fund the study. The Claude Moore Foundation, a Fairfax-based […]
Tuition freezes are a ‘watershed moment’ for college affordability, advocates say
At each of Virginia’s public colleges and universities, in-state undergraduate students won’t pay more in tuition next school year. Instead, the schools will get millions more in one-time funding from the state in exchange for leaving tuition alone as a part of deal with lawmakers that advocates hope is the first step on the road […]
More than 300 schools could provide free meals for all with help from a federal program
More than 300 schools in the state that are eligible for federal reimbursement if they provide free breakfast and lunch to all students didn’t use the program this school year, according to an analysis by The Commonwealth Institute. The Richmond-based, liberal-leaning think tank reported that this past school year was the first time since 2014 […]
Lawmakers get first look at what joint VCU-Richmond Squirrels ballpark complex might look like
For years, Richmond has been desperate for a new stadium for its minor league baseball team, the Flying Squirrels. Virginia Commonwealth University, which shares the facility with the Squirrels, says it could use a new ballpark itself. Both have eyed land currently occupied by the state’s central liquor distribution warehouse for a shared baseball stadium, […]
In each of Virginia’s largest metro areas, more than 20% of teachers are burdened by housing costs
Teachers in Virginia’s largest metro areas have a higher cost burden for housing than the national average, according to an analysis of census data. Apartment List, a website that helps people find rental homes, analyzed the cost of housing as it relates to teachers’ incomes the country’s 50-largest metro areas, which includes three of Virginia’s: […]
How does the budget change Virginia’s school counselor ratio?
For the first time in decades, Virginia lawmakers have agreed to increase the minimum number of counselors required in schools. But they also decided not to fully fund those positions in the state budget. “July 1, 2019, there will be a new law in Virginia that improves the school counselor-to-student ratio and puts us on […]
FOIA Council will study bill that creates rules for disclosing conditions of university donations
The Freedom of Information Act Advisory Council will study a bill that would require universities to share the terms and conditions of donations from private entities. Del. David Bulova, D-Fairfax, introduced House Bill 2386 to create firm rules on when donors to public colleges and universities can be anonymous; what donor information isn’t subject to […]
Virginia following legal debate that could threaten interstate lottery games ‘very closely’
A new interpretation of a federal law by the U.S. Department of Justice could mean some nationwide games offered by the Virginia Lottery would have to stop, cutting off about 15 percent of the agency’s annual sales. The Virginia Lottery is following legal proceedings “very closely” related to the opinion, said spokesperson John Hagerty, but […]
Northam wants to have an unscheduled review of state history curriculum
Gov. Ralph Northam wants to do an off-year review of the state’s K-12 history curriculum, an effort that has become more pressing since he committed the last years of his term to racial reconciliation. “The governor would like to have an off-cycle review of our history and civic curriculum, what we’re teaching, making sure its […]
Virginia Explained: How Virginia’s history textbooks are vetted
According to a Houghton Mifflin Harcourt textbook allowed for use in Virginia high school classrooms, the 1965 Watts riots in Los Angeles were a burst of violence brought on by black Americans’ frustration about discrimination. But that’s not the whole story: Before the riots broke out, there was a violent confrontation between police and onlookers […]