Good morning, you’re listening to the Daily Apple, your source for the latest in Education News. I’m your host Jim Kent, the date is December 17, 2019. Before we get into the news of the day, I’d like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, VictoryXR. VXR’s award-winning content, helps kids experience science and engineering in a way that they have never been able to before, while making sure to cover everything within the NextGen Science Standards, and they’ve made it accessible on every kind of VR headset you can think of. To find out more, check out VictoryXR.com But now for the news.

The Hill reports that National Education Association (NEA) President Lily Eskelsen García on Monday said that even though she thinks Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has continued to target public schools, she credits the backlash for DeVos's appointment for helping to highlight national concerns over public education. García added that she thought DeVos has done more harm than good, accusing the education secretary of having "abandoned public schools."

Department of Education press secretary Angela Morabito pushed back against García comments, saying that DeVos wants to "see education improve for all students." She also accused the union leader of trying to protect the "status quo."

Though many decisions are made on a state and local level, García maintained that education is fundamentally a presidential issue, which she says was highlighted in Saturday's 2020 public education forum in Pittsburgh.

DeVos, who has regularly championed charter schools, has recently come under intense scrutiny from congressional Democrats, especially when it comes to her handling of students who claim they were defrauded by for-profit colleges. During a tense hearing last week, Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) rebuked DeVos as "out to destroy public education."

https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/474716-teachers-union-leader-devos-is-a-cautionary-tale-of-presidential-impact-on-public-education

According to the Hartford Courant, The Connecticut Partnership for Education, a public-private partnership backed by billionaire Ray Dalio, is looking for teachers, employers and community leaders to help the new organization as it tackles challenges created by generations of poverty in Connecticut’s cities. The partnership funded with a $100 million contribution each from the state of Connecticut and Dalio. The group also plans to raise $100 million. Under the state law creating the unusual partnership, board members are allowed to hold closed executive sessions.

The partnership said state estimates show 50,000 to 60,000 disengaged and disconnected youths aged 14-24 across Connecticut. Almost 80% come from low-income backgrounds and 36% of boys of color. Data from 2014-2015 show Hartford, New Britain, Waterbury, Bridgeport and New Haven as having particularly high levels of disengaged and disconnected youth. But over 110 school systems statewide have at least 50 of these young people, and about 9,000 come from towns with above average income levels.

In order to move forward and further define its program offerings, the board’s first requirement is finding a CEO.

https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-connecticut-lamont-partnership-20191216-f4bnd4dybzcjlkq2jiirbrzcna-story.html

In India, the Financial Times reports that A violent wave of protests against a citizenship law that critics said discriminates against Muslims gained strength on Indian campuses on Monday after police stormed a university in Delhi overnight. Many students at the Jamia Millia Islamia university in the Indian capital were injured and dozens arrested late on Sunday, setting off demonstrations at universities in Mumbai, Bangalore and other cities across the country on Monday. Students at Nadwa college in Lucknow threw stones at police after clashes at Aligarh Muslim University prompted authorities to impose an internet blackout.

The campus chaos follows days of unrest around the country after parliament last week passed a law giving non-Muslim migrants from India’s Muslim-majority neighbours a fast-track to Indian citizenship. The bill, championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata party, provoked international condemnation from critics who said it discriminated against Muslims and undermined India’s secular constitution.

Amreen Farooq, a 24-year-old with a masters degree from Jamia Millia Islamia, said she was protesting the law because it was unconstitutional and designed to divert attention from India’s economic slowdown. “This is a vicious cycle to distract the people,” she said. “The protests will keep happening until we get justice.”

https://www.ft.com/content/81506adc-1fc7-11ea-b8a1-584213ee7b2b

According to the Des Moines Register, One of the world's largest banks will reap a windfall from the University of Iowa's multi-billion-dollar plan to outsource its utility operations before students or faculty see any benefit from the deal.

Wells Fargo is expected to get nearly 1% of the nearly $1.2 billion payment that the university has negotiated in exchange for leasing its utility system to a private operator, a university spokeswoman confirmed Friday.

The university hired the bank last year to work as its strategic adviser on a plan to monetize its utility assets through a long-term management contract.

Wells Fargo's contract, obtained by the Associated Press, shows that the bank was to be paid only at the “successful conclusion of a monetization transaction.” Its fee would begin at 0.75% of any transaction's value and escalate if the deal exceeded expectations.

On Thursday, University spokeswoman, AnneBassett said the university was anticipating the firm's fee will average about 1% of the deal, or $11.65 million. On Friday afternoon, she provided a more detailed calculation estimating that Wells Fargo will receive about $10.45 million.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2019/12/16/wells-fargo-get-millions-university-iowa-utilities-deal/2661878001/

The Fix reports that A male student at Adams State University complained that he was repeatedly excluded from the campus gym because of his sex. A day later, the Colorado public university told him the weekly “Women’s Night” had ended.

It was an unexpectedly fast reversal, though the administration didn’t directly tell student Chris Spears that his threat to file a Title IX complaint against the school had killed the program.

Spears told The Fix in an email that he was tired of showing up to the gym all year and being told that men weren’t allowed in the space on those evenings when he wanted to work out.

Spears hasn’t decided whether to drop his complaint in light of the administration’s response, or continue to pursue it for retroactive relief. He told The Fix he would “like to see a legally binding document saying the gym will never exclude people on the basis of sex ever again.”

https://www.thecollegefix.com/university-ditches-womens-night-at-gym-after-male-student-threatens-title-ix-complaint/

According to the South China Morning Post, A top university in central China has expelled nearly 100 international students amid a national call for colleges to get tougher on students from overseas.

Wuhan University in Wuhan, Hubei province, expelled 92 students from more than 10 countries for problems ranging from poor grades to discipline violations and failure to pay tuition fees, Changjiang Daily reported on Monday.

The expulsions followed warnings to the students a year earlier, the report said, quoting a staff member in the admissions office of the university’s School of International Education.

In the past, the university expelled just one or two overseas students a year, but the number rose this year in response to the Ministry of Education’s call to improve standards for overseas students

While most Chinese students heading overseas opt for colleges in Europe, North America or Australia, most students coming into China were from the developing world, according to ministry data.

Last year, nearly 60 per cent of China’s half-million foreign students were from Asia, while about 16 per cent were from Africa.

KMVT in Idaho reports that Presidents from Idaho’s four-year higher education institutions announced a freeze in tuition for resident undergraduate students in 2020.

The announcement was made Thursday. A news release said University of Idaho, Lewis-Clark State College, Boise State University and Idaho State University are taking this step to address the issue of college affordability in Idaho.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little said he commends the university presidents for not seeking tuition increases. Idaho State Board of Education President Debbie Critchfield said the presidents “made good on a pledge” made last spring to work with the board to contain tuition costs. Critchfield said the board is discussing a long-term plan and explained that state funding hasn’t returned to pre-recession levels and internal costs at universities continue to rise.

In April, Idaho colleges and universities approved tuition increases. University of Idaho approved a 5.6% increase for in-state undergraduate students. Boise State University full-time resident undergrads saw an increase of 4.9%. Idaho State University full-time resident students paid 6.1% more. Lewis-Clark State College increased tuition by 5.5% for full-time undergrads.

And that rounds it up for todays headlines. Thanks again to VictoryXr for making this all possible. You can find the full transcript of today’s episode, along with links to the full stories, in the description of the episode. If you have any questions, comments, or stories of your own that deserve to be broadcast, let us know on social media at dailyapplepod or by email at dailyapplepod@gmail.comThanks for listening. We’ll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early