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The Shutdown and Education Edition of the Friday Reading List (Better on Thursday)

By Alyson Klein — October 03, 2013 1 min read
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The government shutdown doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. So far, the impact on K-12 education has been relatively miniscule—but preschool hasn’t been so lucky, with several Head Start centers having already been forced to close their doors.

Can’t get enough of congressional dysfunction? Are you one of the nearly 4,000 furloughed Education Department employees and have some time on your hands?

Check out these good reads:

• The Head Start closures are the biggest national edu-story of the shutdown so far. MSNBC, the New York Times, the Washington Post have all talked to centers that have already closed their doors—or are about to. (Hat tip for some of these links: ThisWeekinEducation).

• Want a quick synopsis of where the budget stands right now? And what Congress is actually fighting over? The New America Foundation’s Clare McCann has got you covered.

• What exactly is the root of the shutdown? Partly, it’s got to do with the way that congressional districts are drawn, argues Bellwether’s Andy Rotherham aka Eduwonk.

• If you’re a high school student seeking information about postsecondary education, you’re out of luck. Federal websites aimed at helping with college choices are down, reports Caralee Adams of College Bound fame.

• And speaking of higher education, the shutdown hasn’t been a big deal for most colleges, per Michael Stratford of Inside Higher Education. The big exception? Military academies, reports Politico’s Libby Nelson.

• The shutdown has slowed down the one area of Washington education policy that seemed to have a modicum of momentum: E-rate reform, reports my colleague, Ben Herold over at Digital Education.

• It’s also led to the Department of Education cancelling its participation in an school technology event it organized: “Connected Educators Month,” per Michele Molnar of Marketplace K-12.

Not enough shutdown news for you? Don’t miss our Shutdown Cheat Sheet, and this breakdown of how we got here.

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