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The U.S. Department of Education has approved the cancellation of $4.9 billion in federal student loan debt for close to 74,000 borrowers, officials announced on Friday. The announcement – the latest in a series of cancellation efforts that span the last four years – brings the total amount of student loan debt relief under the Biden administration to $136.6 billion for more than 3.7 million borrowers. The additional $1.7 billion in debt relief announced on Friday is the result of fixes to the federal income-driven repayment plan. In the wake of the high court’s decision to strike down the loan cancellation plan, Education Department officials hatched a new strategy to provide large-scale student loan debt cancellation. “In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision on our student debt relief plan, we are continuing to pursue an alternative path to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible,” Biden said in a statement.

Persons: –, Biden, “ The, Harris, Miguel Cardona, ” Cardona, “, Joe Biden, Biden’s, ” Biden Organizations: U.S . Department of Education, “ The Biden, Harris Administration, Public, Valuable Education, Biden, Education Department

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced another wave of federal student loan forgiveness on Wednesday as borrowers brace for payments to restart after a three-year pause that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Democratic president's latest step will help 125,000 borrowers by erasing $9 billion in debt through existing relief programs. “President Biden has long believed that college should be a ticket to the middle class, not a burden that weighs on families,” the White House said in a statement. Biden is scheduled to make a formal announcement at the White House at 1 p.m. Republicans have fought Biden's plans on student debt, but Wednesday's announcement comes as they're consumed by infighting on Capitol Hill.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, “, he's, Miguel Cardona, Kevin McCarthy Organizations: WASHINGTON, Democratic, White House, U.S, Supreme, SAVE, ”, Republicans

The Biden administration is moving forward with a new path to provide large-scale student loan debt cancellation in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling this summer that struck down President Joe Biden’s controversial debt relief plan. The Education Department announced Friday that it’s set to begin the formal regulatory process in October to provide debt cancellation for potentially five groups of student loan borrowers – a lengthy process that involves a panel of negotiators who will meet over several months to try to reach a consensus. “The Biden-Harris Administration has taken unprecedented action to fix the broken student loan system and deliver record amounts of student debt relief,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. “Now, we are diligently moving through the regulatory process to advance debt relief for even more borrowers. “We will also listen to the ideas brought forward by the negotiators.”Notably, the announcement comes as student loan payments are scheduled to restart on Oct.1 for the first time since they were paused at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Persons: Biden, Joe Biden’s, –, “ The, Harris, Miguel Cardona, “, James Kvaal, ”, Biden’s Organizations: Education Department, “ The Biden, Harris Administration, Department, Higher, Biden

☆ Dependence on Tech Caused ‘Staggering’ Education Inequality, U.N. Agency Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Natasha Singer | More About Natasha Singer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In early 2020, as the coronavirus spread, schools around the world abruptly halted in-person education. To many governments and parents, moving classes online seemed the obvious stopgap solution. In the United States, school districts scrambled to secure digital devices for students. Almost overnight, videoconferencing software like Zoom became the main platform teachers used to deliver real-time instruction to students at home. Now a report from UNESCO, the United Nations’ educational and cultural organization, says that overreliance on remote learning technology during the pandemic led to “staggering” education inequality around the world.

Persons: “, ” Organizations: UNESCO, United Nations, Education Locations: United States

☆ A Summer of Strikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Molly Cook Escobar | Christine Zhang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

A Summer of Strikes Work stoppages in the United States this year could reach heights rarely seen in recent decades. “Those are not just the big strikes that are in the news, but there are many smaller strikes across every industry,” said Kate Bronfenbrenner, a senior lecturer at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Some, like Dr. Bronfenbrenner, see the resurgence of strikes and union organizing as a lasting trend. Surveys have shown increased public support for unions in recent years, she said, even as private sector union membership remains low. “When you have large strikes that are like waves across the country, they are contagious,” said Dr. Bronfenbrenner.

Persons: Jan, Ed, Ruth, Ronald Reagan, Joseph A, Reagan, McCartin, ”, Kate Bronfenbrenner, Bronfenbrenner Organizations: SAG, Verizon, General Motors, Railway, The New York Times, Hollywood, United Parcel Service, United Auto Workers, Ford Motor, City University of New York’s Graduate Center and School of Labor, Urban Studies, Gallup, Georgetown University, “, Union, Mining, Arts, Retail, Public, Agriculture, Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations Locations: United States, McCartin, walkouts

☆ Cell phones to be banned from Dutch school classrooms next year
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Reuters —Cell phones, tablets and smartwatches will be largely banned from classrooms in the Netherlands from January 1, 2024, the Dutch government said on Tuesday, in a bid to limit distractions during lessons. “Even though mobile phones are intertwined with our lives, they do not belong in the classroom,” education minister Robbert Dijkgraaf said in a statement. Mobile phones are a disturbance, scientific research shows. We need to protect students against this.”The ban is the result of an agreement between the ministry, schools and related organizations. Schools can find their own way to organize the ban, Dijkgraaf said, but legal rules will follow if this does not yield enough results by the summer of 2024.

Persons: Robbert Dijkgraaf, Dijkgraaf Organizations: Reuters — Cell, Mobile Locations: Netherlands

☆ Biden says the gun safety movement has reached a ‘tipping point’ as he marks one year since passage of major legislation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Priscilla Alvarez Sam Fossum Donald Judd | Priscilla Alvarez | Sam Fossum | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The administration has also implemented two dozen executive actions to try to reduce gun violence. But in the absence of congressional action, the White House has turned its focus to state action to try to reduce gun violence. Ten years later, gun violence remains a challenging issue for the White House. But since the law was signed last year, further action on gun violence has stalled in Congress. But gun violence rates more broadly in our cities are going down this year for the first time in a long time,” Murphy told CNN.

Persons: Joe Biden, ” Biden, Biden, –, Barack Obama, “ You’ve, we’ve, he’s, Democratic Sen, Chris Murphy, “ I’m, Sen, Chuck, Schumer, ”, Murphy, Richard Blumenthal, Mark Barden, Sandy, “, Everytown, Giffords, it’s, ” Murphy, Miguel Cardona, Xavier Becerra Organizations: CNN, National Safer Communities, Safer, White, University of Hartford, Sandy Hook Elementary, Capitol, Democratic, Republicans, Democrats, Elementary, Federal Emergency Management, Department of Health, Human Services, Department, Education, of, Mental Health, HHS Locations: Connecticut, United States, Newton , Connecticut, Nashville, Buffalo , New York, Uvalde , Texas, Friday’s

☆ Feds propose ‘student loan safety net’ alongside forgiveness
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

President Joe Biden announced the repayment plan in August, but it was overshadowed by his sweeping plan to slash or eliminate student debt for 40 million Americans. Education Department officials on Tuesday called the new plan a “student loan safety net” that will prevent borrowers from getting overloaded with debt. “Student debt has become a dream killer,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said. The Education Department formally proposed the new repayment plan on Tuesday by publishing it in the Federal Register, starting a public comment period that often takes months to navigate. Even some on the left have questioned the prudence of the idea, saying it’s so generous that it effectively turns student loans into grants that don’t need to be repaid.

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