Education news and discussion

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More Than 400,000 Student Loan Borrowers Had Wrong Monthly Payments
The Education Department said miscalculations had caused many borrowers to see higher monthly payments than they actually owed.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/16/your ... takes.html

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Eight math textbook publishers withdraw from Oklahoma Textbook Committee vote
https://ktul.com/news/local/eight-math- ... ittee-vote

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State Superintendent Ryan Walters says that the new standards could be putting pressure on these manufacturers.

“It’s a pretty easy, clear directive we put out there. We want to teach the basics, math, reading science and history but apparently these textbook companies don’t think they can do that,” said Walters.

Walters tells NewsChannel 8 these withdrawals will give students access to better material but State Representative John Waldron has a different opinion on what this means for education.

“In the marketplace of ideas, we’re gonna have access to fewer ideas in the forms of textbooks for our students. He is shutting down this marketplace and narrowing it down to only the choices he approves of. That kind of political oversight, over free ideas does not belong in a democratic society,” said Waldron.

Walters believes that the companies are not participating any longer because their curriculum doesn’t align with Oklahoma’s current standards.

“We are not going to allow indoctrination in the classroom. We’re not gonna do business with companies that are pushing left-wing indoctrination on our kids and any vendor that does business with the state of Oklahoma and education they’re gonna abide by those rules,” said Walters.

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In Kansas school board races, voters reject candidates pushing culture war issues

TOPEKA — Kansas communities rejected multiple far-right candidates for school boards in what a national education group has characterized as a U.S.-wide trend of demanding “real solutions” on the local level.

In many of Tuesday’s statewide school board races, conservative candidates who campaigned on culture war issues, backed by national right-wing groups, were defeated by their more moderate opponents.

Candidates with connections to Moms for Liberty failed to gain much traction in the state. The extremist group platforms against LGBTQ and racially inclusive school curriculum and has advocated for book bans. MFL was started by Florida women who opposed pandemic-era school closures and mask mandates.

The American Federation of Teachers said school board elections across the U.S. reflected a pushback against outside conservative influences.

https://kansasreflector.com/2023/11/10/ ... ar-issues/

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Biden administration to forgive $4.8 billion in student loan debt for 80,300 borrowers

Source: CNBC

Published Wed, Dec 6 2023 2:45 PM EST

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it would forgive an additional $4.8 billion in student loan debt, for 80,300 borrowers. The relief is a result of the U.S. Department of Education’s fixes to its income-driven repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

“Before President Biden took office, it was virtually impossible for eligible borrowers to access the student debt relief they rightfully earned,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement. “This level of debt relief is unparalleled and we have no intention of slowing down.”

More than $2 billion of the aid will go to nearly 46,000 borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans. Those plans are supposed to lead to debt forgiveness after a set period, but this often didn’t happen because loan servicers failed to keep track of borrowers’ payments, experts say.

In addition, 34,400 borrowers who have worked in public service for a decade or more will receive $2.6 billion in loan cancellation, the U.S. Department of Education said. Borrowers in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program have also struggled to get the debt erasure they’ve been promised due to errors in their payment counts and other issues. The Biden administration has now cancelled nearly $132 billion in student debt for more than 3.6 million Americans.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/06/biden-a ... -debt.html

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New FAFSA launches after a long delay -- but with 'some minor issues,' Education Department says

Source: CNBC

Published Mon, Jan 1 202411:25 AM EST

A simplified Free Application for Federal Student Aid is finally online after a significant delay. However, as part of a “soft launch,” the new FAFSA form has only been periodically available.

It’s likely few, if any, of the millions of students applying to college for the 2024-25 academic year have been able to successfully submit an application, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

“I am convinced that nobody has been able to submit the form,” he said. “Congress required the FAFSA to be available before Jan. 1, 2024. They missed that deadline,” Kantrowitz said.

“Leading up to and as part of the soft launch, we have identified some minor issues,” the U.S. Department of Education said in a statement Sunday . “We are aware of these issues and are working to resolve them.”

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/01/new-faf ... ssues.html

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