education wikipedia

What are teachers being taught? Bill calls for defining teaching terms
Posted in

What are teachers being taught? Bill calls for defining teaching terms

Republicans’ focus on education reform did not end with Gov. Kim Reynolds’ private school scholarship legislation: Lawmakers are now looking at how future educators at Iowa universities are learning to teach.

Lawmakers in a House Education subcommittee moved Wednesday to advance House File 7, a bill requiring Iowa’s three public universities to submit reports to the Legislature on how certain terms are used in courses within the schools’ colleges of education, and establishing an interim study committee to “evaluate practitioner preparation programs.”

The terms the bill would require Iowa’s colleges of education to define concepts ranging from “compulsory heterosexuality” to

…
What Does the End of the Public Health Emergency Mean?
Posted in

What Does the End of the Public Health Emergency Mean?

The national Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19 ends on May 11, 2023.

We can help you stay on top of the latest news that affects your everyday life. Subscribe to stay up to date. (To subscribe to our blog ).

The end of the public health emergency brings a variety of changes to the healthcare system.

Most of the remaining federal COVID-19 vaccine requirements will end for federal workers, contractors and foreign air travelers.

The government is also lifting requirements for Head Start educators and healthcare workers.

Free COVID-19 vaccines and tests will no longer be provided

…
Physician Contracting 101 – Rickard & Associates
Posted in

Physician Contracting 101 – Rickard & Associates

Physician contracts are often complicated and have unique terms. We help our clients understand the terms and negotiate their contracts.

We can help you stay on top of the latest news that affects your everyday life. Subscribe to stay up to date. (To subscribe to our blog ).

Many of our clients are physicians who are negotiating or renegotiating their employment contracts with their employers. Sometimes these are with health systems, hospitals, or small physician offices.

We also have clients come to us with issues after they negotiated their own contracts.

Physician contracts are unique, as they have

…
This Was The Most Ridiculous Part Of The Supreme Court Debate On Student Loan Relief
Posted in

This Was The Most Ridiculous Part Of The Supreme Court Debate On Student Loan Relief

As the Supreme Court heard arguments this week over President Joe Biden’s student loan debt relief plan, the justices asked about the definition of relevant statutory language and whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue, as well as constitutional questions around the separation of powers. These are all typical matters to discuss during judicial review. But the conservative justices also spent a good deal of time asking about a more nebulous subject: fairness.

The fairness issue arose during arguments in Department of Education v. Brown, a case in which two individual student borrowers challenged the Biden plan because they did

…
NAPLAN sets the bar too low to spot students at risk of failing
Posted in

NAPLAN sets the bar too low to spot students at risk of failing

But for this to work, transitioning from numbered bands to proficiency levels must include language that clearly describes each benchmark.

Yet, some linguistic choices, such as “developing” proficiency, are a light touch for defining achievement that is, in fact, not at the proficient level – since below proficiency is, by definition, not developing. And defining what appears to be the proficient level as being “strong” risks further confusing NAPLAN’s users.

Instead, ministers should have taken the opportunity to opt for an unambiguous scale: highly proficient, proficient, below proficient, and well below proficient.

Four in 10 Australian students don’t reach the

…
Is Your Practice Fraudulently Billing?
Posted in

Is Your Practice Fraudulently Billing?

Most of our clients would obviously answer ‘no’, however, some providers are submitting bills incorrectly and could be subjecting themselves to hefty fines.

We can help you stay on top of the latest news that affects your everyday life. Subscribe to stay up to date. (To subscribe to our blog ).

Recently, a Florida Cardiology group and 10 of its physicians agreed to pay $2 million to settle False Claims Act allegations.

According to the settlement, the group submitted inflated claims to Medicare and Medicaid and billed for services while they were outside of the United States.

Whistleblowers

…
Reasons Not to Have an Estate Plan
Posted in

Reasons Not to Have an Estate Plan

We often hear from clients many reasons why they waited so long to draft their estate plans.

We can help you stay on top of the latest news that affects your everyday life. Subscribe to stay up to date. (To subscribe to our blog ).

We often hear the same reasons over and over as to why people don’t have an estate plan or haven’t gotten around to drafting an estate plan.

Some of the most frequent reasons and why they shouldn’t stop you from having an estate plan are:

  1. I don’t have enough money, property, etc. Estate
…
Do You Worry About Your Parents’ Health?
Posted in

Do You Worry About Your Parents’ Health?

Many of our clients worry about their parents. Sometimes, they are concerned for their aging parents in regards to their healthcare.

We can help you stay on top of the latest news that affects your everyday life. Subscribe to stay up to date. (To subscribe to our blog ).

We often recommend that concerned clients have a discussion with their parents to make sure that they have all the right documents in place, to protect their wishes.

One incredibly important document that your parents should have in place is a Medical Durable Power of Attorney.

What is a

…