Food banks in Maine are struggling to keep up with demand as the Farm Bill remains stalled in Congress. The bill is renegotiated every five years and contains the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which ensures food banks can help the 11% of Maine households facing hunger. Vince Hall, chief government relations officer for Feeding America, said advocates for these families are asking Congress to double the program s funding as grocery prices remain high and supply-chain disruptions continue. .
A new report finds Mississippi is among the states that it says "chronically underfunds" its K-through-12 schools. The Albert Shanker Institute report measured statewide funding for almost 20 years, ranking state school-funding formulas based on how many students attend schools in districts with funding below the estimated "adequate" levels. Study co-author Bruce Baker, a professor at the University of Miami, said Mississippi has consistently made greater effort than the national average - but the numbers indicate the state still isn t stepping up to give districts the money they need. .
A new report says state funding for public schools has fallen off a "fiscal cliff" in 39 states, and that New Mexico is one of 10 states where some 60% of students attend school in "chronically underfunded" districts. According to the study, a dropoff in state funding in four out of five states began in 2006 during the Great Recession, but co-author Bruce Baker, a professor at the University of Miami, said New Mexico s economic ability to fund schools needs to be considered when looking at the data. "New Mexico spends a higher share of its economic capacity on schools than the national average because it has very weak, very low economic capacity," he said. " .
Massachusetts food banks are struggling to keep up with demand as the Farm Bill remains stalled in Congress. The bill is renegotiated every five years and contains the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which ensures food banks can help the 20% of Massachusetts households facing hunger. Vince Hall, chief government relations officer for Feeding America, said advocates for these families are asking Congress to double the program s funding as grocery prices remain high and pandemic-related supply-chain disruptions continue. .
A New York bill would mandate teaching climate change in the classroom. The proposed bill would establish climate-change courses for all public elementary and secondary schools. It also would provide professional learning opportunities for teachers so they have a better understanding of this subject. .