Over 60 parishioners of St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church attended a Pima County Interfaith Education Civic Academy in which Rev. Leah Sandwell-Weiss and Jane Prescott-Smith delivered background talks on education funding and teachers Shasha Velgos and Katie Fouts, long-time members of the church, shared stories about their schools: Catalina High School and Borton Elementary.

Small group discussions yielded a variety of stories and passionate concern for children and schools. Participants were invited to sign the #Investined petition and start a voting cascade at the close of the meeting.

Baton Rouge, LA - With seventy 'Together Louisiana' leaders in attendance, Governor John Bel Edwards issued an Executive Order overhauling the nation's largest state program of corporate subsidies, the Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP).

Reforms include requirements that impacted local tax authorities approve the subsidy, including municipal government, school boards and law enforcement; exemptions demonstrate a Return on Investment (ROI) for new jobs or retention of good jobs; and that subsidy applicants sign contractual agreements based on promised investments and local hires.

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New Mexico Representative Mimi Stewart and Sen. Linda Lopez joined the Rev. Trey Hammond of Albuquerque Interfaith at a news conference Tuesday to announce the introduction of House Bill 460, which would bar private firms from running public schools.

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"School board members have lauded the process that Travis Heights used to garner support for the transformation, which they approved last month. Unlike the district's failed partnership with ... the move to turn Travis Heights into a charter school had the enthusiastic backing of the school's parents and teachers, joined by Austin Interfaith and Education Austin.

'It's a real democratic process that empowers the parents, empowers the teachers, empowers the students,' said Britt Adams, a special education teacher at the school."

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"Travis Heights Innovation School Project ....is a collaborative proposal developed by the neighborhood, the school itself, employee union Education Austin, and local nonprofit Austin Interfaith. It would still be the same students and same staff on the same campus: However, rather than taking edicts from AISD central administration, the campus would have a governing board with parents, teachers, and a seat each for Education Austin and Austin Interfaith...."

Austin School Board Considers..., Austin American Statesman

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