Latest news with #ruraleducation
Fox News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
The fight over charter schools in some of America's rural states
Nebraska, South Dakota, and Vermont have resisted charter schools due to the negative impact such institutions can have on rural school districts — but that's reportedly changing due to a shift in political leadership. "These are states that love their rural public schools, that depend upon their rural public schools," Carol Burris told Education Week. Burris is the executive director of the Network for Public Education, an advocacy group focused on supporting and improving traditional public schools. "These are not states that are going to be welcoming charter schools," Burris added. Burris said that rural states typically resist charter schools. Most states restrict parents to schools within their zip code or the school district that presides over their residential area, but charter schools allow parents the option to send their kids to a different school. When charter schools are located near public schools, they compete for per-pupil funding as parents are allowed to opt out of sending their children to the neighborhood public school. Concerns include that the money taken away from traditional public schools could be used to boost teachers' salaries, invest in public school facilities and recruit more teachers. North Dakota was previously among the states blocking charter school efforts but eventually embraced them. Education Week also spoke with North Dakota's Superintendent of Public Instruction, Kirsten Baesler, who was recently nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education in the U.S. Department of Education. Baesler still has to be confirmed by Congress. Baesler said the "desire for more school choice among legislators and voters changed things," which "prompted the legislature to pass the new law allowing charters" in North Dakota. "This new position—approved by the state's super-majority Republican legislature—also aligns more closely with the Trump administration's policies on K-12 education," Education Week reported. According to American Federation for Children President Tommy Schultz, Trump's Big Beautiful Bill will have a huge impact on education in the country. It is considered "the biggest piece of legislation that's ever passed in school choice history" by establishing a federal tax-credit scholarship program. Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon previously signaled concern about children being trapped in failing schools. "You're not going to have a lot of charter schools in North Dakota. It's rural, and it's small," Burris said. She added that residents "value local control and fiscal prudence, which has contributed to a cautious approach toward new state-funded educational models." The report from Education Week came after several red states with GOP resistance to charter schools eventually flipped on the issue. Iowa, Idaho, Tennessee, Wyoming and Texas eventually passed universal school choice, overcoming pushback from state-level Republican lawmakers who had previously obstructed the effort. The states have many constituents who live in rural areas. Rural schools tend to face funding challenges due to low enrollment and scarce resources. Rural Republicans, once obstacles to school choice measures, have shifted to supporting the policy in those states. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds overcame resistance from her GOP colleagues when she sought to pass universal school choice legislation. Reynolds endorsed nine candidates with a pro-parent platform in primary elections, ousting incumbent GOP candidates who did not support that platform. A similar phenomenon occurred in Texas and Tennessee. Several states with GOP trifectas passed universal school choice legislation. Montana is another state that embraced charter schools after electing a Republican governor, Education Week reported. The state's superintendent of public instruction said the fate of charter schools depends on the state's political leadership. "It depends on the legislature. Charter schools have become a cause of the Republican Party," Montana's Superintendent of Public Instruction Susie Hedalen told Education Week. "When Montana had a governor who was a Democrat, the state rejected charter schools," she said. School choice policies typically face hurdles in blue states and where teachers' unions have significant influence. Left-leaning teachers' unions usually reject school choice measures, claiming they debilitate public school funding and resources. No Democratic-controlled state has passed school choice legislation. "Burris expressed doubts that Nebraska or Vermont will implement any kind of charter authorization laws, because Nebraska has strong support for its public schools and Vermont's legislature is controlled by Democrats," reported Education Week.
Washington Post
27-06-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Rural schools feel the pinch from Trump administration's cuts to mental health grants
WASHINGTON — In parts of rural upstate New York, schools have more than 1,100 students for every mental health provider. In a far-flung region with little public transportation, those few school counselors often are the only mental health professionals available to students. Hennessey Lustica has been overseeing grant-funded efforts to train and hire more school psychologists, counselors and social workers in the Finger Lakes region, but those efforts may soon come to end — a casualty of the Trump administration's decision to cancel school mental health grants around the country. 'Cutting this funding is just going to devastate kids,' said Lustica, project director of the Wellness Workforce Collaborative in the Seneca Falls Central School District. 'The workforce that we're developing, just in my 21 school districts it's over 20,000 kids that are going to be impacted by this and not have the mental health support that they need.' The $1 billion in grants for school-based mental health programs were part of a sweeping gun violence bill signed by President Joe Biden in 2022 in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The grants were meant to help schools hire more psychologists, counselors and other mental health workers, especially in rural areas. Under the Biden administration, the department prioritized applicants who showed how they would increase the number of providers from diverse backgrounds, or from communities directly served by the school district. But President Donald Trump's administration took issue with aspects of the grant programs that touched on race , saying they were harmful to students. 'We owe it to American families to ensure that taxpayer dollars are supporting evidence-based practices that are truly focused on improving students' mental health,' Education Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said. Lustica learned of her grant's cancellation in April in a two-page letter from the Education Department, which said the government found that her work violated civil rights law. It did not specify how. Lustica is planning to appeal the decision. She rejected the letter's characterization of her work, saying she and her colleagues abide by a code of ethics that honors each person's individuality, regardless of race, gender or identity. 'The rhetoric is just false,' Lustica said. 'I don't know how else to say it. I think if you looked at these programs and looked at the impact that these programs have in our rural school districts, and the stories that kids will tell you about the mental health professionals that are in their schools, it has helped them because of this program.' The grants supported programs in districts across the country. In California, West Contra Costa Unified School District will lose nearly $4 million in funding. In Alabama, Birmingham City Schools was notified it would not receive the rest of a $15 million grant it was using to train, hire and retain mental health staff. In Wisconsin, the state's Department of Public Instruction will lose $8 million allocated for the next four years. The state had used the money to boost retention and expand programs to encourage high schoolers to pursue careers in school-based mental health. 'At a time when communities are urgently asking for help serving mental health needs, this decision is indefensible,' state superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement. In recent House and Senate hearings, Democrats pressed Education Secretary Linda McMahon on the end of the grants and the impact on students. McMahon told them mental health is a priority and the grants would be rebid and reissued. 'Anyone who works or spends time with kids knows these grants were funding desperately needed access to mental health care services,' American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said in a statement. 'Canceling the funding now is a cruel, reckless act that puts millions of children at risk.' The strains on youth mental health are acute in many rural school districts. In one upstate New York district, half the students have had to move due to economic hardship in the last five years, creating instability that can affect their mental health, Lustica said. In a survey of students from sixth through 12th grade in one county, nearly half reported feeling sad or depressed most of the time; one in three said their lives lacked clear purpose or meaning. 'We've got huge amounts of depression, huge amounts of anxiety, lots of trauma and not enough providers,' Lustica said. 'School is the place where kids are getting a lot of the services they need.' Some families in the region are unable to afford private counseling or are unable to get their children to appointments given transportation challenges, said Danielle Legg, a graduate student who did an internship as a school social worker with funding from the grant program. 'Their access to mental health care truly is limited to when they're in school and there's a provider there that can see them, and it's vital,' Legg said. In the past three years, 176 students completed their mental health training through the program Lustica oversees, and 85% of them were hired into shortage areas, she said. The program that offered training to graduate students at schools helped address staffing needs and inspired many to pursue careers in educational settings, said Susan McGowan, a school social worker who supervised graduate students in Geneva City School District. 'It just feels, to me, really catastrophic,' McGowan said of the grant cancellation. 'These positions are difficult to fill, so when you get grad students who are willing to work hand in hand with other professionals in their building, you're actually building your capacity as far as staffing goes and you're supporting teachers.' ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Rural schools feel the pinch from Trump administration's cuts to mental health grants
WASHINGTON (AP) — In parts of rural upstate New York, schools have more than 1,100 students for every mental health provider. In a far-flung region with little public transportation, those few school counselors often are the only mental health professionals available to students. Hennessey Lustica has been overseeing grant-funded efforts to train and hire more school psychologists, counselors and social workers in the Finger Lakes region, but those efforts may soon come to end — a casualty of the Trump administration's decision to cancel school mental health grants around the country. 'Cutting this funding is just going to devastate kids,' said Lustica, project director of the Wellness Workforce Collaborative in the Seneca Falls Central School District. 'The workforce that we're developing, just in my 21 school districts it's over 20,000 kids that are going to be impacted by this and not have the mental health support that they need.' The $1 billion in grants for school-based mental health programs were part of a sweeping gun violence bill signed by President Joe Biden in 2022 in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The grants were meant to help schools hire more psychologists, counselors and other mental health workers, especially in rural areas. Under the Biden administration, the department prioritized applicants who showed how they would increase the number of providers from diverse backgrounds, or from communities directly served by the school district. But President Donald Trump's administration took issue with aspects of the grant programs that touched on race, saying they were harmful to students. 'We owe it to American families to ensure that taxpayer dollars are supporting evidence-based practices that are truly focused on improving students' mental health,' Education Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said. School districts around the US cut off training and retention programs Lustica learned of her grant's cancellation in April in a two-page letter from the Education Department, which said the government found that her work violated civil rights law. It did not specify how. Lustica is planning to appeal the decision. She rejected the letter's characterization of her work, saying she and her colleagues abide by a code of ethics that honors each person's individuality, regardless of race, gender or identity. 'The rhetoric is just false,' Lustica said. 'I don't know how else to say it. I think if you looked at these programs and looked at the impact that these programs have in our rural school districts, and the stories that kids will tell you about the mental health professionals that are in their schools, it has helped them because of this program.' The grants supported programs in districts across the country. In California, West Contra Costa Unified School District will lose nearly $4 million in funding. In Alabama, Birmingham City Schools was notified it would not receive the rest of a $15 million grant it was using to train, hire and retain mental health staff. In Wisconsin, the state's Department of Public Instruction will lose $8 million allocated for the next four years. The state had used the money to boost retention and expand programs to encourage high schoolers to pursue careers in school-based mental health. 'At a time when communities are urgently asking for help serving mental health needs, this decision is indefensible,' state superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement. In recent House and Senate hearings, Democrats pressed Education Secretary Linda McMahon on the end of the grants and the impact on students. McMahon told them mental health is a priority and the grants would be rebid and reissued. 'Anyone who works or spends time with kids knows these grants were funding desperately needed access to mental health care services,' American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said in a statement. 'Canceling the funding now is a cruel, reckless act that puts millions of children at risk.' Grant programs put more mental health specialists in schools The strains on youth mental health are acute in many rural school districts. In one upstate New York district, half the students have had to move due to economic hardship in the last five years, creating instability that can affect their mental health, Lustica said. In a survey of students from sixth through 12th grade in one county, nearly half reported feeling sad or depressed most of the time; one in three said their lives lacked clear purpose or meaning. 'We've got huge amounts of depression, huge amounts of anxiety, lots of trauma and not enough providers,' Lustica said. 'School is the place where kids are getting a lot of the services they need.' Some families in the region are unable to afford private counseling or are unable to get their children to appointments given transportation challenges, said Danielle Legg, a graduate student who did an internship as a school social worker with funding from the grant program. 'Their access to mental health care truly is limited to when they're in school and there's a provider there that can see them, and it's vital,' Legg said. In the past three years, 176 students completed their mental health training through the program Lustica oversees, and 85% of them were hired into shortage areas, she said. The program that offered training to graduate students at schools helped address staffing needs and inspired many to pursue careers in educational settings, said Susan McGowan, a school social worker who supervised graduate students in Geneva City School District. 'It just feels, to me, really catastrophic,' McGowan said of the grant cancellation. 'These positions are difficult to fill, so when you get grad students who are willing to work hand in hand with other professionals in their building, you're actually building your capacity as far as staffing goes and you're supporting teachers.' ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
The Independent
27-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Rural schools feel the pinch from Trump administration's cuts to mental health grants
In parts of rural upstate New York, schools have more than 1,100 students for every mental health provider. In a far-flung region with little public transportation, those few school counselors often are the only mental health professionals available to students. Hennessey Lustica has been overseeing grant-funded efforts to train and hire more school psychologists, counselors and social workers in the Finger Lakes region, but those efforts may soon come to end — a casualty of the Trump administration's decision to cancel school mental health grants around the country. 'Cutting this funding is just going to devastate kids,' said Lustica, project director of the Wellness Workforce Collaborative in the Seneca Falls Central School District. 'The workforce that we're developing, just in my 21 school districts it's over 20,000 kids that are going to be impacted by this and not have the mental health support that they need.' The $1 billion in grants for school-based mental health programs were part of a sweeping gun violence bill signed by President Joe Biden in 2022 in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The grants were meant to help schools hire more psychologists, counselors and other mental health workers, especially in rural areas. Under the Biden administration, the department prioritized applicants who showed how they would increase the number of providers from diverse backgrounds, or from communities directly served by the school district. But President Donald Trump's administration took issue with aspects of the grant programs that touched on race, saying they were harmful to students. 'We owe it to American families to ensure that taxpayer dollars are supporting evidence-based practices that are truly focused on improving students' mental health,' Education Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said. School districts around the US cut off training and retention programs Lustica learned of her grant's cancellation in April in a two-page letter from the Education Department, which said the government found that her work violated civil rights law. It did not specify how. Lustica is planning to appeal the decision. She rejected the letter's characterization of her work, saying she and her colleagues abide by a code of ethics that honors each person's individuality, regardless of race, gender or identity. 'The rhetoric is just false,' Lustica said. 'I don't know how else to say it. I think if you looked at these programs and looked at the impact that these programs have in our rural school districts, and the stories that kids will tell you about the mental health professionals that are in their schools, it has helped them because of this program.' The grants supported programs in districts across the country. In California, West Contra Costa Unified School District will lose nearly $4 million in funding. In Alabama, Birmingham City Schools was notified it would not receive the rest of a $15 million grant it was using to train, hire and retain mental health staff. In Wisconsin, the state's Department of Public Instruction will lose $8 million allocated for the next four years. The state had used the money to boost retention and expand programs to encourage high schoolers to pursue careers in school-based mental health. 'At a time when communities are urgently asking for help serving mental health needs, this decision is indefensible,' state superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement. In recent House and Senate hearings, Democrats pressed Education Secretary Linda McMahon on the end of the grants and the impact on students. McMahon told them mental health is a priority and the grants would be rebid and reissued. 'Anyone who works or spends time with kids knows these grants were funding desperately needed access to mental health care services,' American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said in a statement. 'Canceling the funding now is a cruel, reckless act that puts millions of children at risk.' Grant programs put more mental health specialists in schools The strains on youth mental health are acute in many rural school districts. In one upstate New York district, half the students have had to move due to economic hardship in the last five years, creating instability that can affect their mental health, Lustica said. In a survey of students from sixth through 12th grade in one county, nearly half reported feeling sad or depressed most of the time; one in three said their lives lacked clear purpose or meaning. 'We've got huge amounts of depression, huge amounts of anxiety, lots of trauma and not enough providers,' Lustica said. 'School is the place where kids are getting a lot of the services they need.' Some families in the region are unable to afford private counseling or are unable to get their children to appointments given transportation challenges, said Danielle Legg, a graduate student who did an internship as a school social worker with funding from the grant program. 'Their access to mental health care truly is limited to when they're in school and there's a provider there that can see them, and it's vital,' Legg said. In the past three years, 176 students completed their mental health training through the program Lustica oversees, and 85% of them were hired into shortage areas, she said. The program that offered training to graduate students at schools helped address staffing needs and inspired many to pursue careers in educational settings, said Susan McGowan, a school social worker who supervised graduate students in Geneva City School District. 'It just feels, to me, really catastrophic,' McGowan said of the grant cancellation. 'These positions are difficult to fill, so when you get grad students who are willing to work hand in hand with other professionals in their building, you're actually building your capacity as far as staffing goes and you're supporting teachers.' ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Associated Press
27-06-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
Rural schools feel the pinch from Trump administration's cuts to mental health grants
WASHINGTON (AP) — In parts of rural upstate New York, schools have more than 1,100 students for every mental health provider. In a far-flung region with little public transportation, those few school counselors often are the only mental health professionals available to students. Hennessey Lustica has been overseeing grant-funded efforts to train and hire more school psychologists, counselors and social workers in the Finger Lakes region, but those efforts may soon come to end — a casualty of the Trump administration's decision to cancel school mental health grants around the country. 'Cutting this funding is just going to devastate kids,' said Lustica, project director of the Wellness Workforce Collaborative in the Seneca Falls Central School District. 'The workforce that we're developing, just in my 21 school districts it's over 20,000 kids that are going to be impacted by this and not have the mental health support that they need.' The $1 billion in grants for school-based mental health programs were part of a sweeping gun violence bill signed by President Joe Biden in 2022 in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The grants were meant to help schools hire more psychologists, counselors and other mental health workers, especially in rural areas. Under the Biden administration, the department prioritized applicants who showed how they would increase the number of providers from diverse backgrounds, or from communities directly served by the school district. But President Donald Trump's administration took issue with aspects of the grant programs that touched on race, saying they were harmful to students. 'We owe it to American families to ensure that taxpayer dollars are supporting evidence-based practices that are truly focused on improving students' mental health,' Education Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann said. School districts around the US cut off training and retention programs Lustica learned of her grant's cancellation in April in a two-page letter from the Education Department, which said the government found that her work violated civil rights law. It did not specify how. Lustica is planning to appeal the decision. She rejected the letter's characterization of her work, saying she and her colleagues abide by a code of ethics that honors each person's individuality, regardless of race, gender or identity. 'The rhetoric is just false,' Lustica said. 'I don't know how else to say it. I think if you looked at these programs and looked at the impact that these programs have in our rural school districts, and the stories that kids will tell you about the mental health professionals that are in their schools, it has helped them because of this program.' The grants supported programs in districts across the country. In California, West Contra Costa Unified School District will lose nearly $4 million in funding. In Alabama, Birmingham City Schools was notified it would not receive the rest of a $15 million grant it was using to train, hire and retain mental health staff. In Wisconsin, the state's Department of Public Instruction will lose $8 million allocated for the next four years. The state had used the money to boost retention and expand programs to encourage high schoolers to pursue careers in school-based mental health. 'At a time when communities are urgently asking for help serving mental health needs, this decision is indefensible,' state superintendent Jill Underly said in a statement. In recent House and Senate hearings, Democrats pressed Education Secretary Linda McMahon on the end of the grants and the impact on students. McMahon told them mental health is a priority and the grants would be rebid and reissued. 'Anyone who works or spends time with kids knows these grants were funding desperately needed access to mental health care services,' American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten said in a statement. 'Canceling the funding now is a cruel, reckless act that puts millions of children at risk.' Grant programs put more mental health specialists in schools The strains on youth mental health are acute in many rural school districts. In one upstate New York district, half the students have had to move due to economic hardship in the last five years, creating instability that can affect their mental health, Lustica said. In a survey of students from sixth through 12th grade in one county, nearly half reported feeling sad or depressed most of the time; one in three said their lives lacked clear purpose or meaning. 'We've got huge amounts of depression, huge amounts of anxiety, lots of trauma and not enough providers,' Lustica said. 'School is the place where kids are getting a lot of the services they need.' Some families in the region are unable to afford private counseling or are unable to get their children to appointments given transportation challenges, said Danielle Legg, a graduate student who did an internship as a school social worker with funding from the grant program. 'Their access to mental health care truly is limited to when they're in school and there's a provider there that can see them, and it's vital,' Legg said. In the past three years, 176 students completed their mental health training through the program Lustica oversees, and 85% of them were hired into shortage areas, she said. The program that offered training to graduate students at schools helped address staffing needs and inspired many to pursue careers in educational settings, said Susan McGowan, a school social worker who supervised graduate students in Geneva City School District. 'It just feels, to me, really catastrophic,' McGowan said of the grant cancellation. 'These positions are difficult to fill, so when you get grad students who are willing to work hand in hand with other professionals in their building, you're actually building your capacity as far as staffing goes and you're supporting teachers.' ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
