Weekly Update 12/4/23

Appropriations

Senate Republicans are encouraged that House conservatives say they’re willing to accept the overall funding totals established by the bipartisan debt deal, albeit with some major exceptions, like the elimination of a side agreement that would infuse domestic programs with an extra $54 billion…

California

California’s unregulated cannabis stores are reportedly selling pesticide-tainted marijuana…

Today, a growing number of students in California’s colleges and universities are ineligible for DACA…

The secretary of state’s office has given conservative organizers the OK to collect signatures in support of a sweeping statewide ballot measure that would import red state policies on transgender students into California…

On Tuesday, 11/28, Governor Newsom proposed new legislation to classify xylazine as a controlled substance in California…

On Friday, 12/1, State budget analysts warned of a worsening fiscal outlook, raising prospects for an intense budget fight as California lawmakers brace for cuts…

President and Administration

On Tuesday, 11/28, the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the release of an updated joint-policy statement on supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs…

On Thursday, 11/30, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposal to strengthen its Lead and Copper Rule that would require water systems across the country to replace lead service lines within 10 years…

Congress

George Santos is out…

Education

For the last two decades, the research team at the University of Arkansas has been studying charter school funding in major cities across the country…

Hosted by the K12 Security Information eXchange, the 2024 National K-12 Cybersecurity Leadership Conference is an in-person only event designed to identify and share solutions and best practices to better defend the K-12 education sector from emerging cybersecurity threats, such as ransomware and data breaches…

Some K-12 public schools are working to improve protection against the threat of online attacks, but lax cybersecurity means thousands of others are vulnerable to ransomware gangs that can steal confidential data and disrupt operations…

OJJDP has updated its Statistical Briefing Book with a new Data Snapshot on the prevalence of bullying experiences reported by high school students in 2021…

At least 16 of the 20 largest U.S. public school districts are offering online therapy sessions to reach millions of students, according to an analysis by The Associated Press…

Infrastructure and Transportation Update - November 2023

California

California has won federal approval to enact a first-in-the-nation rule requiring the state’s railroads to reduce, and eventually eliminate, harmful air pollution from their trains…

Just two local transit agencies will receive 85 percent of the entire Bay Area's state and regional transit agencies bailout money, according to the San Francisco Chronicle…

California is eliminating its popular electric car rebate program — which often runs out of money and has long waiting lists — to focus on providing subsidies only to lower-income car buyers…

State lawmakers are looking with dismay at San Francisco's struggles to regulate robotaxis and getting ready to step in before the problem expands…

President and Administration

The Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) Initiative aims to address disparities in rural transportation infrastructure by developing user-friendly tools and information, aggregating USDOT resources into a single web resource, and providing technical assistance…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration announced more than $6 billion in grants on Tuesday (12/5)  for rail projects in California, including some $3 billion for the state's high-speed rail project…

Congress

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s two-year anniversary is an opportunity to revisit several safety concerns, two senior Democratic senators recently said…

Congress at the urging of the Biden administration agreed in 2021 to spend $7.5 billion to build tens of thousands of electric vehicle chargers across the country, aiming to appease anxious drivers while tackling climate change…

Weekly Update 11/27/23

Appropriations

In the House, senior GOP leadership aides are saying that there’s no expected floor action on appropriations bills this week…

California

Eviction cases soared across California in the year after the last portion of a statewide moratorium lapsed, a CalMatters analysis of court data shows…

President and Administration

Congress’ failure to include extra aid money for low-income moms and babies in the spending bill sets up a potential showdown early next year…

Public Safety and Justice Update: 11/22/23

Michigan Democrats who have transformed gun laws in the state in the wake of multiple mass school shootings are now making it more difficult for individuals with convictions for misdemeanor domestic violence to get guns…

Recent mass shootings have put a spotlight on the gun laws in states where tragedies occurred, prompting local legislators to address the growing impact of gun violence on the U.S. Maine has come under scrutiny for its lack of gun restrictions following the 10/25 shooting in Lewiston, Maine, that left 18 people dead and injured 13 more…

In an effort to boost recruiting, Pennsylvania lawmakers have passed a bill to lower the police academy fitness requirement. Pennsylvania police departments have struggled to recruit cadets since the pandemic, and protests in the summer of 2020 over police brutality in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis…

“Super Meth” and other drugs are pushing America’s drug crisis beyond opioids. The utility of medications to reverse overdoses, developed to address the opioid crisis, is diminishing…

California advocacy groups are preparing legislation that would ban schools from expelling or suspending students for possessing drugs, alcohol or nicotine products — an approach no other state has taken…

Weekly Update 11/20/23

Appropriations

Another House Republican spending bill hit a roadblock Wednesday (11/15) as the House punted legislation to fund the departments of Labor, Health and Education until after the Thanksgiving break in the face of opposition from within their own ranks…

House lawmakers left town Wednesday (11/15) for Thanksgiving after a GOP revolt that led to defeat of the rule for floor debate on the final two pieces of legislation before leaving…

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) says she wants to see Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) call up another multibill funding package for floor debate, in short order…

President and Administration

On Monday, 11/13, the Federal Communications Commission proposed the creation of a Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot Program that would allow the Commission to obtain valuable data concerning the cybersecurity and advanced firewall services that would best help K-12 schools and libraries address the growing cyber threats and attacks against their broadband networks…

On Tuesday, 11/14, the U.S. Supreme Court  took up its first major Second Amendment case since it expanded the right to bear arms in a landmark decision last year, and once again the idea of protecting schools was in the backdrop of the debate…

 More Americans used tobacco, misused drugs and alcohol and struggled with mental illness in 2022 compared to 2021, a new national survey released Monday (11/13) shows, leading Biden administration officials to call for more funding from Congress to address the crisis…

Congress

Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum are among a list of conservative luminaries who wrote congressional leadership on Tuesday, 11/14, urging lawmakers to strengthen the Child Tax Credit in a potential year-end tax deal…

Education

Despite undergraduate enrollment gains for the first time since the pandemic began, a new report shows jarring declines among traditional freshmen…

In an unusual, first-of-its-kind ranking of 35 states and the District of Columbia, charter schools in Alaska turned in the highest scores in reading and math, with students there learning the equivalent of about a year’s more material than their peers in other charter schools…

Educators in Los Angeles are awaiting the unveiling of a new policy limiting the use of nearly half the city’s school buildings by independently run charter schools…

Public charter schools are more productive than traditional school districts in terms of their ability to translate a given level of investment into math and reading gains for students…

About 2.9 million high school students took at least one Advanced Placement course in the 2020-21 school year, according to the latest federal data measuring access to educational opportunity…

A new case study found that schools continue to deploy “school hardening measures” like campus police and surveillance technology despite research suggesting that efforts to support youth well-being are more effective…