Obama Works to Close Achievement Gap, and Other News

By The News Aug 19, 2009

President’s Education Reforms to Help Students of Color According to Juan Sepúlveda, director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, the Obama administration seeks to improve and close the achievement gap for students of color. Reforms include simplifying the financial aid application process, and waiving student loans for new teachers. Oklahoma Tribes Native American Tribes Get Recovery Money Five Native Tribes in Oklahoma will be receiving a total of $12,332,866 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to improve housing. New Sanctuary City Proposal Seeks to Protect Undocumented Youth The San Francisco Board of Supervisors introduced legislation to broaden San Francisco’s sanctuary city policy. Under the new amendment, officials can only hand over undocumented youth suspected of crimes to federal immigration officials if the juvenile is convicted of a felony. Texas Community Unites to Fight Injustice After two years of verbally and physically harassing a Black couple in Arlington, Texas, Grace Snowhead was only sentenced to 180 days in jail, leading members of the community to support the couple and organize against racism in the area.

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