Education

University of Louisville officials have announced it will extend its "Upward Bound" college prep program to three more Jefferson County public high schools.

U of L will receive two federal grants totaling $3.3 million to serve some 160 high school students over the next five years.

Over the last decade, U of L president James Ramsey says nearly 85 percent of students participating in the Upward Bound program have graduated college.

Louisville’s 55,000 Degrees initiative will release its second annual progress report Tuesday, and officials say there has been a slight decline in overall education attainment.

The education initiative chaired by Mayor Greg Fischer was created to increase the number of degrees earned by Louisville residents and to promote a college-going culture.

Executive Director Mary Gwen Wheeler says there is some progress in the latest report but not at the rate necessary to reach the group’s 55,000 degree goal by the year 2020.

Indiana Supreme Court justices want to know whether the nation's largest school voucher program primarily benefits students and their parents or religious institutions.

The five justices prodded lawyers for both sides on that point today during a hearing on a constitutional challenge to the 2011 law under which more than 9,000 students have switched from public to private schools with help from state funds.

Enrollment in the Indiana school voucher program, the nation’s largest, has more than doubled since last year.

The Indiana Department of Education says more than 9,300 families have signed up for vouchers for the 2012-2013 school year. That compares with about 3,900 who took part in the program's first year.