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☆ These 13 states — including Florida and Texas — opted out of a $2.5 billion federal food program that would help feed low-income kids this summer
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

During the pandemic, the federal government covered the entire cost of the Summer EBT program, but starting this summer, states will be on the hook to split administrative costs 50/50. AdvertisementThirteen Republican-led states ultimately opted out of the program this summer, citing myriad reasons, including redundancy, insufficient support, and politics. AlabamaAccording to the state's Department of Health, one in four children in Alabama faces food insecurity. The state will reconsider joining the summer program once the backlog is dealt with, the outlet reported. Brian Kemp told local outlet 11 Alive that the state already has a summer food program in place.

Persons: —, Brian Kemp, Republican Sen, Cindy Carlson, Kim Reynolds, Reynolds, Kevin Stitt, Stitt, Biden, Henry McMaster, Scott Olson, Iran Fury, Kristi Noem, Chalkbeat, Fury, Megan Degenfelder, Degenfelder Organizations: Service, Department of Agriculture, SUN, Business, The, Agriculture, state's Department of Health, SUN Bucks, Alabama, state's Department of Education, Assistance, SNAP, state's Department of Children, Families, Florida Department of Children, Republican Gov, Republican, Idaho Education, Iowa, Iowa Iowa Gov, Human Services, Biden Administration, Mississippi The Mississippi Department of Human Services, Magnolia Tribune, Oklahoma Republican Gov, South Carolina Republican Gov, The Texas Tribune, state's, Human Services Commission Locations: Alabama, Alaska Alaska, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, SUN Bucks, NurPhoto Idaho, Idaho, Iowa Iowa, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Dakota South Dakota, Iran, Texas Texas, Wyoming Wyoming, Wyoming

☆ Paper, the online tutoring unicorn, just had a second round of layoffs. The cuts come a year-and-a-half after raising $270 million in Series D funding.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Paper, an edtech unicorn focused on online tutoring for K-12 students, has laid off staff. The cuts come as edtech startups are facing increasing pressure amid a downturn. The Canadian online tutoring startup Paper has laid off 106 employees, or 4% of staff, Insider has learned. Unlike other online tutoring companies, the bulk of the startup's online tutors are categorized as employees, not contractors, according to Paper's website. Other prominent edtech startups including Byju's, GoStudent, and Degreed have also cut jobs in the past year.

Persons: Slack, we've, Cutler Organizations: Employees, SoftBank Investment, Sapphire Ventures, Los Angeles Unified Locations: Canada, Los Angeles

☆ Billionaire DeVos family looks to DeSantis, not Trump, in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Octavio Jones | ReutersThe billionaire DeVos family, whose matriarch, Betsy DeVos, served in Donald Trump's Cabinet, appears to be backing a Trump rival in the 2024 Republican presidential contest: Florida Gov. And though the Federal Election Commission filing does not name any member of the DeVos family, the Michigan billionaires own the team. Following publication of this story, Betsy DeVos' chief of staff, Nate Bailey, said she was "undecided and uncommitted on the race for president, as is the entire DeVos family." Leah Millis | ReutersA spokesman for the DeVos family investment firm, RDV, did not respond to requests for comment. But that curriculum is exactly what draws members of the DeVos family to DeSantis.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Octavio Jones, DeVos, Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump's, wokeness, Joel Glass, Governor DeSantis, Glass, DeSantis, Dick DeVos, Dan DeVos, Nate Bailey, Bailey, Leah Millis, RDV, Jason Miller, Ron DeSanctimonious, Miller, Betsy, Tudor Dixon, Trump, Joe Biden, Mike, Pence, Darius Garland, Schofield Organizations: Florida Gov, Cambridge Christian School, Trump, Republican, DeSantis, NBA, Orlando, CNBC, Governor, Orlando Magic, . Education, Federal Commission, School, White, Washington , D.C, Reuters, Michigan Republican, Trump's, Make, Inc, FEC, Detroit, RDV, Cleveland Cavaliers, National Basketball Association, Getty Locations: Florida, Tampa , Florida, Michigan, Central Florida, Washington ,, Cleveland , Ohio

☆ New York City's public schools reverse their ban on ChatGPT — admitting it had been 'knee-jerk fear'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

New York City public schools are lifting the ban they placed on ChatGPT in January. David Banks, chancellor of the NYC public school system, said the tool caught NYC schools off-guard. The New York City public school system is reversing its ban on ChatGPT. Several other school districts across the country placed restrictions on ChatGPT earlier this year, too, including Baltimore County Public Schools, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and Seattle Public Schools. Now, the NYC school system is saying it's ready to embrace AI in the classroom.

☆ These teachers think ChatGPT can help them spend less time on writing reports – and more time with their students
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tools such as ChatGPT could help teachers reduce the workload of grading and writing reports. They're still dealing with the educational fallout after the pandemic shuttered many schools and they say they're working long hours to help students catch up. He thinks ChatGPT could help teachers spend less time on tasks including grading papers, writing reports, and responding to emails, and spend more time actually teaching students. He also thinks ChatGPT could help answer students' questions and let help teachers "avoid getting bogged down in the infinite loop of late-night email exchanges." Ultimately, Cohen told Insider, "ChatGPT has the potential to support teachers' sanity and protect the sanctity of their time."

☆ New York City schools ban use of ChatGPT — becoming first US district to block AI technology as concern over cheating and plagiarism mounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The NYC Department of Education is banning the use of ChatGPT on its networks and devices. Educators around the country have raised concern over the use of ChatGPT to cheat and plagiarize essays. The ban, in the nation's largest school district, could help set precedent around the US. Educators across the country have said the technology has the potential to "blow up" entire writing curriculums and lead to "the end of high school English." "Are high school teachers going to want students using ChatGPT to write their history essays?

New York CNN —New York City public schools will ban students and teachers from using ChatGPT, a powerful new AI chatbot tool, on the district’s networks and devices, an official confirmed to CNN on Thursday. “Due to concerns about negative impacts on student learning, and concerns regarding the safety and accuracy of content, access to ChatGPT is restricted on New York City Public Schools’ networks and devices,” Jenna Lyle, the deputy press secretary for the New York public schools, said in a statement. New York City appears to be the first major school district to crack down on ChatGPT, barely a month after the tool first launched. While there are genuine concerns about how ChatGPT could be used, it’s unclear how widely adopted it is among students. But many educators fear students will use the tool to cheat on assignments.

Therefore, experts say, hiring Black teachers is necessary to address the racial disparities that lead to poor educational outcomes and criminalization for Black children. Furthermore, advocates say that Black students who don’t have Black teachers are less likely to become teachers themselves, so commitments to diversifying the industry must start early on in the classroom. The Black Teacher Project in Oakland, California, works with Black teachers to “reimagine schools as communities of liberated learning,” the Project’s website reads. It also teaches educators how to implement restorative practices in their classrooms and invites them to retreats to foster community among Black teachers. “Therefore, the Black Teacher Project’s motto is ‘Every child deserves a Black teacher.’”

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