US education system April 2010 news

1- Universities looking to federal gov't for funds (AP)
AP - Public university presidents from across the nation are meeting this month to talk about replacing dwindling state support for their campuses with more dollars from the federal government. source...

2- LA schools finds 300 improper contractor hirings (AP)
AP - The Los Angeles Unified School District has found possible conflict of interest violations in the hiring of some 300 construction contractors over the past eight years and has transferred two employees in charge of hiring. source...

3- Wash. school evacuated twice by sickening smell (AP)
AP - An elementary school in Washington state was evacuated twice Thursday because of a sickening smell that sent 11 students to the hospital and forced educators to cancel Friday's classes. source...

4- Md. police suspend 2 more officers in video probe (AP)
AP - Police in Maryland say they have suspended two more officers in their investigation of the beating of a University of Maryland student captured on video. source...

5- Ivy League Schools Dominate America's Best Graduate School Rankings (U.S. News & World Report)
U.S. News & World Report - In the wake of 2008's housing crisis and the recession that ensued, college graduates are finding it harder than ever to penetrate the job market. Many now find themselves competing against recently laid off workers who possess a decade or more of experience. Though it's been nearly two years since the onset of the financial meltdown, the country's unemployment rate still hovers near 10 percent. Rather than wade into such a treacherous job market, many have opted to try their hand at graduate school. ... source...

6- Parents end weeklong school furlough sit-in (AP)
AP - Parents who have been protesting Hawaii's shortest-in-the-nation school year have ended a sit-in that lasted several days at Gov. Linda Lingle's office. source...

7- Student loan change could boost aid work: Clinton (Reuters)
Reuters - More U.S. graduates are likely to work with aid groups and charities after an overhaul of the country's student loan program lessens their debt repayment burden, former U.S. President Bill Clinton said. source...

8- Man accused of taking gun into Pittsburgh school (AP)
AP - Authorities have filed charges against a man they say entered a Pittsburgh high school with a gun and injured a security guard when both men tumbled through a glass door. source...

9- Tribal project lends a hand to India education aims (Reuters)
Reuters - It's an ambitious plan -- giving all children under the age of 6 a free education among India's 1-billion plus population -- but at least one local initiative is making sure millions of tribal people with oral traditions don't get left behind. source...

10- Pa. police: 3rd grader gave heroin to classmates (AP)
AP - Police say a third-grader in Pennsylvania handed out more than 60 small bags of heroin to his classmates before his teacher discovered them. source...

11- Mo. Senate restores education spending cuts (AP)
AP - Missouri senators reversed course Wednesday and decided to preserve a deal freezing college tuition and to fund a program that gives teachers a salary boost for extra work, such as after-school tutoring. source...

12- Church-state issue clouds Ind. schools' conversion (AP)
AP - A plan to create what could be the first U.S. public charter schools run by a Roman Catholic archdiocese is meeting resistance from those who worry about whether religious messages and icons will really stay out of the classrooms and hallways. source...

13- Religion News in Brief (AP)
AP - A constitutional proposal designed to protect religious school vouchers and other state-funded faith-based programs from legal attack is being revived by the Florida Legislature two years after the state Supreme Court took a similar measure off the ballot. source...

14- Missouri gets $54M to fix struggling schools (AP)
AP - Federal officials announced Monday that Missouri will receive a $54 million federal grant to turn around its most persistently low-performing schools by taking drastic action such as replacing principals and closing schools. source...