New education data from the National Assn. of State Budget Officers estimates cuts to K-12 spending could reach $2.5 billion this year. Nationally, they were slashed $1.8 billion in 2010. The news is even worse for higher education. Those budgets are expected to decrease by $5 billion this year; that's after they were down by $1.2 billion in 2010.
To compensate, most school districts limit or eliminate money for art and music programs, libraries, adult education and textbooks. Schools with high numbers of minority or low-income students are often hit hardest.
Teachers are also laid off, which places more strain on the teachers who remain. Ellie Herman, a teacher at a South Los Angeles high school, described the challenge she faces in Sunday's Op-Ed pages:
The class, one of five I teach each day, has 31 students, including two with learning
Reform-minded education advocacy groups aren't the only folks to watch out for and worry about at the state legislative level, reports ProPublica in a story package about the shadowy conservative legislative juggernaut known as ALEC. The organization develops, writes, and promotes passage of laws affecting education and pretty much every other issue but its workings aren't always clear or transparent in the states where they're working. It doesn't have a liberal equivalent, according to ProPublica, though some would argue 
