Ed News Colorado Highlights Digital Learning Policy Roadmap
The Education Policy Center’s newly-released Digital Learning Policy Roadmap was headlined in the Denver-based nonprofit news service Education News Colorado‘s March 22 “Thursday churn”: The report, based largely on a national Digital Learning Now! campaign, evolved out of a Jan. 23 gathering co-sponsored by the institute and the Donnell-Kay Foundation and featuring Susan Patrick, CEO […]
Dougco Board and HB 1118: Tuesday’s Colorado Open Union Negotiations Two-Fer
Timing is everything, they say. What were the odds that these two key votes would go down the same day? The dual development certainly is noteworthy.
On Tuesday the Colorado House of Representatives adopted House Bill 1118, which simply requires school districts to open up union negotiations to public observation so taxpayers and teachers can see […]
Independence Institute Shares Colorado’s Own Digital Learning Roadmap
The Independence Institute’s newly-released digital learning policy roadmap reflects the expressed priorities of nearly 50 online education leaders and policy experts who convened in January. The publication covers nine key changes in the areas of funding, assessment and accountability, and student access and eligibility. The new roadmap shows what Colorado can do to effectively allow technology to enhance the work of great teachers and to foster innovation and students’ ability to customize their educational opportunities.
Fix is in: Senator misses testimony, knows to vote with Xcel
Senator Betty Boyd, a democrat member of the State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee, was not present in the committee hearing for any of the testimony either for or against HB 1172, the carbon tax repeal. Yet she knew exactly how to vote — against electricity ratepayers, against the environment, and for Xcel Energy. According […]
Medicaid Block Grants and Medicaid Performance
Governments at all levels are facing severe fiscal stress, and Medicaid is the largest and fastest growing publicly-funded health program in the United States. State and federal authorities have had little success in controlling Medicaid expenditures with conventional reforms, and changing it from an entitlement program to a block grant program is now under discussion. This Issue Paper explores how transforming Medicaid into a block grant program offers the promise of improving patient care and restraining the growth in program costs.
The Truth About Fracking and Water Scarcity
This post will be the first in series on hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), in which Independence Institute research associate, Donovan Schafer, will take on specific issues related to fracking. In this post he focuses on the claim that fracking will deplete Colorado’s water resources. Enjoy! Two recent articles—one in the Denver Post and another in the […]
States can refuse federal health benefits exchanges
The Feds need cooperation from state Medicaid & insurance depts, cutting Medicaid funds is politically difficult, states impose insurance mandates on policies outside exchange. Continue reading
Crony Infrastructuralism
Last night, the Antiplanner dreamed that Apple, the company with the highest market capitalization in the world, was spending some of its $97 billion in cash on roads, bridges, and other local infrastructure. A crazy idea, I know, but then, in the dream, some politician says, “What a great idea! Let’s create some TIF and […]
How Serious is Douglas County Union about Open Negotiations?
Originally posted at Colorado Peak Politics. Re-posted here with permission. By Ben DeGrow On February 21 a Douglas County grassroots citizen group came forward and urged the reform-minded school board to open union negotiations to public observation. Two weeks later the Douglas County Federation (DCF) surprised many by adding the union’s voice to support bargaining […]
Crafting Colorado’s Digital Learning Policy Roadmap
A number of policy obstacles stand in the way of Colorado having the kind of flexible and student-centered system that accommodates choice and innovation through the effective use of new technologies. Education Policy Center director Pam Benigno and the Donnell-Kay Foundation’s director of special projects Matt Samelson join senior policy analyst Ben DeGrow to discuss how Colorado online education leaders came together in support of key innovative ideas featured in the newly-released issue backgrounder “The Future of Colorado Digital Learning: Crafting a Policy Roadmap for Reform.”
The Future of Colorado Digital Learning: Crafting a Policy Roadmap for Reform
Nearly 50 Colorado online education leaders (including school district and charter school staff) and policy experts gathered Monday, January 23, 2012, to help craft a roadmap of digital learning policy priorities for the state. Participants worked together to help identify Colorado’s leading digital learning policy priorities in three major categories: Access and Eligibility, Funding, and Assessment and Accountability. Given a list of policy options that included Digital Learning Now’s recommendations, participants selected those they saw as the most important for Colorado to pursue in the near term and to offer additional ideas or suggestions. According to many of the state’s online leaders, the following policy changes would enhance opportunities for Colorado’s children to achieve educational success.
Why Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion Will Reduce Health Care Access
Medicaid notoriously underpays doctors, so Medicaid patients have trouble accessing them. When Medicaid eligibility expands, many newly eligible people drop “private” health plans to enroll. Continue reading
