Author

Elaine Povich

Elaine Povich

Elaine S. Povich covers education and consumer affairs for Stateline. Povich has reported for Newsday, the Chicago Tribune and United Press International.

Cursive makes a comeback — by law — in public schools

By: - November 17, 2023

In 2016, California Democratic state Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva sat with then-California Gov. Jerry Brown at an event where he signed baseball-type cards featuring the image of his dog, Colusa. But many of the recipients of the cards couldn’t read his cursive signature, Quirk-Silva recalled, much to the Democratic governor’s dismay. “The governor asked me what […]

No more attending classes: These community colleges let students learn at their own pace.

By: - October 24, 2023

Jaqueline Yalda, who has been a campus police officer at El Paso Community College in Texas for a decade, sought a promotion earlier this year. But first, the department required her to complete a college-level course in criminal justice. It had been many years since Yalda had taken any college classes. And at age 38, […]

Students blocked from campus when COVID hit want money back. Some are getting refunds.

By: - August 8, 2023

Thousands of college students will get hundreds of dollars in compensation as colleges and universities move this summer to settle multimillion-dollar lawsuits stemming from canceled classes and activities during COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns. While some of the class-action suits against the colleges and universities are still in litigation, and still others dismissed, several major cases have […]

Plagued by teacher shortages, some states turn to fast-track credentialing

By: - July 31, 2023

Faced with alarming teacher shortages, Virginia last month agreed to partner with a for-profit online teacher credentialing company, hoping to get more teachers into classrooms faster and without the higher tuition costs of traditional colleges and universities. While some of the Virginia school board members had qualms about the process, they agreed to give it […]

Car insurance premiums based on job, education can ding low-wage workers

By: - June 28, 2023

New Jersey resident Anna “Cuqui” Rivera, a high school graduate who works as a labor and civil rights activist and moonlights as a DJ, was paying almost $3,000 annually for auto insurance with one of the big companies. Now, she pays almost $2,000 less for coverage on her 2016 Jeep. The difference? Her new, smaller insurance company doesn’t take […]