California
In California, where about 15.2 million people are enrolled in its Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, up to three million can potentially lose coverage because they no longer qualify or fail to re-enroll, state officials forecast…
There is a new push in California to not just stock school campuses with naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan, but also allow students to carry and administer the drug…
According to state public health officials, children in California will not be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine to attend schools…
President and Administration
President Joe Biden will release his budget proposal for the coming fiscal year on March 9, 2023…
A coalition of major gun safety groups, including Brady United, Community Justice Action Fund, March for Our Lives and Newton Action Alliance, sent a letter to President Biden pressuring him to appoint a gun czar and declare a national emergency over gun violence…
In a bipartisan letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, 12 senators slammed the “repeated failures” of the FDA’s tobacco regulatory authority to take e-cigarettes that appeal to minors off the market…
On Wednesday, 2/1, the Department of Transportation announced that it will put forward a proposed rule that would require airlines to seat families together at no additional charge…
According to a new report, the U.S. would need to spend up to $1.3 billion to meet minimum standards for infrastructure to charge electric vehicles…
On Wednesday, 2/1, the Department of Labor reported that the nation’s demand for labor only got stronger in December as job openings rose to 11 million…
On Wednesday, 2/1, the Federal Reserve moved to increase interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, putting the borrowing rate between 4.5 percent and 4.75 percent…
The Biden administration plans to end the COVID public health emergency on May 11, as the U.S. shifts away from responding to the pandemic as a national crisis and instead manages the virus more like a seasonal respiratory disease…
The Agriculture Department is proposing new, stricter nutrition standards for America’s school meals…
According to a new poll commissioned by the National Parents Union, only 36 percent of parent voters believe the country is on the right track while 58 percent say it’s on the wrong track…
Congress
On Wednesday, 2/1, Axios led conversations with policymakers on the agenda for the newly minted 118th Congress…
On Sunday, 2/5, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that all U.S. senators will receive a briefing about China on Feb. 15, following the Biden administration's decision to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon off the Carolinas…
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) is demanding records from the Department of Education about certain Biden administration decisions regarding threats against school officials during the COVID-19 pandemic…
Student Loans and Repayment
Five former education secretaries, 128 House Republicans and 43 senators said in amicus briefs filed with the U.S. Supreme Court that the Biden administration does not have the authority to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loans for eligible Americans…
The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has a new brief examining how student debt affects retirees' financial security and how that would change under the Biden administration student debt plan…
Republican leaders of the House and Senate education committees want Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to extend the comment period on the proposed changes to income-driven repayment regulations…
Education
According to a new report from the Department of Education (ED), more than 18 million college students received federal COVID-19 emergency funds in the last two years—money that helped them stay in college and cover the cost of basic needs…
According to new data released by the Lumina Foundation, the national share of working-age Americans who hold college degrees increased across racial and ethnic groups and rose in all states between 2019 and 2021…
According to a study released in January 2023, the Connecticut Learner Engagement and Attendance Program (LEAP) made a significant difference in reducing absenteeism, particularly with secondary school students…
According to a new analysis from the National College Attainment Network, nearly $3.6 billion in Pell Grants was not claimed by eligible high school seniors last year…