Class Inc News Today

Lee’s school choice legislation has sailed through four committees in recent weeks with opposition from only a handful of Republicans.

Only $1 million in purchases have gone through, as parents complain of delays and technical glitches on the platform called Odyssey.

State officials are downplaying the result of an internal Idaho State Board of Education review, which pinpointed up to $180,000 in ineligible, taxpayer-funded purchases through the Empowering Parents education microgrant program. The purchases represent less than 1% of the money parceled out through the $50 million program, which uses federal coronavirus aid to cover out-of-pocket education expenses such as laptops, learning materials and tutoring and counseling.

An Idaho State Board of Education review found up to $180,000 in improper Empowering Parents purchases through the grant program.

The Idaho State Board of Education is still working to unravel a scope of issues with the Empowering Parents grants, intended to help low-income and middle-class families offset educational costs. On Wednesday, the board discussed one significant problem. Some taxpayer-funded grants — designed to help parents pay for laptops, learning materials and other out-of-pocket education costs — instead covered items such as smartwatches and cleaning supplies.

Gov. Brad Little has requested a “full financial audit” of the troubled Empowering Parents education micro-grant program, amid signs that taxpayers might have gotten the bill for thousands of improper

An audit of Idaho's Empowering Parents program was ordered to figure out how many taxpayer dollars were diverted away from proper purchases.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little has requested a “full financial audit” of the troubled Empowering Parents education microgrant program, amid signs that taxpayers might have gotten the bill for thousands of improper or dubious purchases.

BOISE — Gov. Brad Little has requested a “full financial audit” of the troubled Empowering Parents education microgrant program, amid signs that taxpayers might have gotten the bill for thousands

Bunnie Jackson-Ransom, who was married to Atlanta's first Black mayor, Maynard Jackson, has died at age 82.