Education

Changing the high school dropout age from 16 to 18 is a legislative priority once again for the Kentucky Board of Education. During the board's regular meeting Wednesday, board members approved a legislative agenda for the upcoming session that starts in January.

Previous attempts to change the dropout age have been unsuccessful because of questions about how alternative education programs to help at-risk students would be funded.

The Indiana Board of Education has approved changes to Indiana's teacher licensing requirements despite arguments from opponents that the new rules could hurt the quality of classroom instruction.

The board voted in favor of the rules changes supported by outgoing Republican state schools superintendent Tony Bennett. Incoming superintendent Glenda Ritz, a Democrat, had asked the board to delay action until after she takes office next month.

The longtime spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education is retiring.

Members of the Board of Education gave Lisa Gross a standing ovation Wednesday at their meeting in Frankfort.

Board chairman David Karem said Gross, whose title is director of the division of communications, has been with the department for 27 years.

Her last day will be Dec. 19.

Karem praised Gross for her years of helping the board of education get its message out to the public.

A replacement was not announced.

A report released this week by the U.S. News Short List include Centre College in the top 10 colleges with the highest percentage of college graduates that financially support their alma maters.

Centre College is seventh on the list that is “dominated by National Liberal Arts Colleges,” which emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in the liberal arts fields of study, according to U.S. News.

Hundreds of thousands of veterans have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan in recent years, eager to get an education under the new post-Sept. 11 GI Bill.

Many vets looking for a school find they are inundated by sales pitches from institutions hungry for their government benefits. Now, lawmakers are looking for ways to protect vets without narrowing their education choices.