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Coalition launches to eliminate exclusionary public school boundary lines in all 50 states by 2030

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7 months ago

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Led by yes. every kid., more than two dozen organizations commit to ending public school discrimination based on address

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Today, yes. every kid. announced the launch of the No More Lines Coalition, a group of 28 nonpartisan education groups committed to ending discriminatory public school district boundary lines. These school boundaries are based on a student’s ZIP code and, de facto, a family’s wealth based on their home value. The coalition has set a goal of ending this restrictive practice in all 50 states by 2030.

Public schools will only be truly public when we remove the barriers to accessing them, no matter where families live.

Rooted in redlining practices of the 1930s to 1960s, public school students are assigned to a school based on where they live. These school boundary lines continue to reinforce racial and economic divisions and prevent families from accessing the public school that best meets their children’s needs. This issue is critical, as about 82% of American K-12 students attend public school today. Many states still have a policy in which a child attending any school is a criminal statute.

“Sorting kids into schools based only on their address is discriminatory based on family wealth, promotes segregation, and ensures that low-income kids across the country will continue to have the fewest school options that work for them. It’s educational redlining, plain and simple, and we are better, as a nation, than using these lines to dole out educational opportunity. They need to go,” said Derrell Bradford, yes. every kid. board member and 50CAN president. “By giving families the option to access the public school that meets their kids’ needs – and not sending them to jail for doing so – we will remove significant barriers to every child getting the personalized education that helps them become the best version of themselves.”

In all 50 states, a child’s address is still the primary factor used to determine which public school a child is granted access to. In 24 states, parents and guardians can still be jailed for crossing school or district boundary lines, with districts often hiring private investigators to follow parents to ensure that they meet the residency requirements. These policies and practices are an immoral use of taxpayer resources and disproportionately criminalize people of color and those from working-class backgrounds.

Open enrollment policies empower students to enroll in public schools – for free – outside of their residentially assigned schools. A key facet of No More Lines policies, open enrollment can be a powerful tool in ensuring that a child’s opportunity is not limited by their address.

In 2023, six states made progress in removing public school barriers – Idaho, West Virginia, Montana, North Dakota, Arkansas, and Nebraska. Open enrollment policies have broad public support: in a 2023 YouGov poll, more than two-thirds of respondents supported ending residential school assignment, and the majority believe that open enrollment would strengthen education.

“Every day, children are denied access to a public school that works for them simply because they do not live in the right neighborhoods,” said yes. every kid. Chief Operating Officer Erica Jedynak. “Just like public libraries, pools or parks, public schools will only be truly public when we remove the barriers to accessing them, no matter where families live. The No More Lines Coalition will do exactly that.”

“Families deserve access to a great education for their children, regardless of their income or home address. When I enrolled my children in a safer school district with better resources using my father’s address, I was arrested and put in jail,” said Kelley Williams-Bolar, a parent who was punished for trying to get her children a better-fit education. “Enrolling your child in a public school should never be deemed a crime, and I’m proud that the No More Lines Coalition will work to ensure that no other families experience the injustice that we faced.”

The guiding principles for the Coalition’s work, along with committed members, include opening public school access for all students, ending address discrimination, ensuring that public education is free, and unbundling education and the housing market. More on how the Coalition will expand access to a great education for all students can be found here.

The No More Lines Coalition
50CAN
A for Arizona
Alaska Policy Forum
Association of American Educators
Americans for Prosperity
Available to All
Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy
Children’s Scholarship Fund
Commonwealth Foundation
Democrats for Education Reform (DFER)
Defense of Freedom Institute
EdChoice
Excellent Education for Everyone (E3)
Families Empowered
Foundation for Economic Education
Frontier Institute
Inclusive Strategies
Independent Women’s Forum
The James Madison Institute
Jersey 1st
Maine Policy Institute
Mountain States Policy Center
Ready Colorado
Reason Foundation
School Choice Ohio
Southwest Public Policy Institute
State Policy Network
yes. every kid.

About yes. every kid.

yes. every kid. supports policies that respect the dignity of every student, welcome innovative ideas, and foster a diversity of approaches to learning. yes. every kid. will support and build coalitions to advance new conversations and bold visions by bringing together differing voices and perspectives to revolutionize the K-12 education experience. 

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BASX Hosts Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for New State-of-the-Art Weld Shop

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44 mins ago

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September 19, 2024

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REDMOND, Ore., Sept. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — BASX (“BASX” or the “Company”), a leader in the manufacturing of high-efficiency data center cooling solutions, cleanroom systems, and custom HVAC systems, is proud to announce the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for its newly completed 36,000-square-foot weld shop. The Redmond Chamber of Commerce performed the ribbon cutting on September 18th, 2024, at BASX headquarters.

The weld shop will create significant job opportunities in the Central Oregon region, with the capacity to fill an additional 30 welding positions. Positions range from entry-level to experienced roles, with professional opportunities in various growing departments within the Company.

“This new facility is a major investment not just in our company, but in the future of Central Oregon,” said Dave Benson, AAON VP and BASX President. “We can now deliver even higher levels of quality and efficiency while providing more job opportunities for the community. We’re proud to support local manufacturing growth and look forward to seeing the impact this expansion will have on both BASX and the region.”

The new shop marks a major expansion in the Company’s production capabilities, introducing state-of-the-art welding technology within a climate-controlled environment. Equipped with advanced air filtration systems, including an AAON make-up air unit and multiple air scrubbers, the shop ensures exceptional air quality for its workers. The space also features two 5-ton overhead cranes and six ½-ton cantilever jib cranes, allowing for efficient movement of materials across the facility.

A key highlight of the facility is its cutting-edge tube laser, capable of precision cutting and profiling round and square tubes, as well as C-channel and I-beam profiles up to 27 feet in length. Additionally, a 75-foot-long dual-zone robotic welding cell is scheduled to be installed and operational in early 2025, enabling the welding of large subassemblies up to 10 tons.

The shop’s innovative capabilities will support the Company’s growth and solidify its position for ongoing expansion. In addition to the 30 new welding jobs, BASX is actively hiring across various departments to support its continued success. To learn more about available positions and apply, visit the BASX careers page at www.basxsolutions.com/careers.

About BASX
Founded in 2014 in Central Oregon, BASX is an industry leader in the manufacturing of high-efficiency data center cooling solutions, cleanroom systems, custom HVAC systems, and modular solutions. Acquired by AAON in 2021, BASX continues to focus on quality, innovation, and state-of-the-art technology. The Company is proud to display the Made-in-America emblem on all its products. For more information, please visit www.basx.com.

Contact Information
Christina Lattanzio
Marketing Manager
(918) 508-9272
Email: Marketing@basx.com

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SOURCE AAON

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NASA Sets Coverage for Astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, Crewmates Return

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44 mins ago

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September 19, 2024

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub and Oleg Kononenko, will depart from the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft, and return to Earth.

Dyson, Chub, and Kononenko will undock from the orbiting laboratory’s Prichal module at 4:37 a.m. EDT Monday, Sept. 23, heading for a parachute-assisted landing at 8 a.m. (5 p.m. Kazakhstan time) on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan.

NASA’s live coverage of return and related activities will stream on NASA+ and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

A change of command ceremony also will stream on NASA platforms at 10:15 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 22. Kononenko will hand over station command to NASA astronaut Suni Williams for Expedition 72, which begins at the time of undocking.

Spanning 184 days in space, Dyson’s mission includes covering 2,944 orbits of the Earth and a journey of 78 million miles. The Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft launched March 23, and arrived at the station March 25, with Dyson, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus. Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya were aboard the station for 12 days before returning home with NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara on April 6.

Kononenko and Chub, who launched with O’Hara to the station on the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft last September, will return after 374 days in space and a trip of 158.6 million miles, spanning 5,984 orbits.

Dyson spent her fourth spaceflight aboard the station as an Expedition 70 and 71 flight engineer, and departs with Kononenko, completing his fifth flight into space and accruing an all-time record 1,111 days in orbit, and Chub, who completed his first spaceflight.

After returning to Earth, the three crew members will fly on a helicopter from the landing site to the recovery staging city of Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Dyson will board a NASA plane and return to Houston, while Kononenko and Chub will depart for a training base in Star City, Russia.

NASA’s coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):

Sunday, Sept. 22
10:15 a.m. – Expedition 71/72 change of command ceremony begins on NASA+ and the agency’s website.

Monday, Sept. 23
12:45 a.m. – Hatch closing coverage begins on NASA+ and the agency’s website.

1:05 a.m. – Hatch closing

4 a.m. – Undocking coverage begins on NASA+ and the agency’s website.

4:37 a.m. – Undocking

6:45 a.m. – Coverage begins for deorbit burn, entry, and landing on NASA+ and the agency’s website.

7:05 a.m. – Deorbit burn

8 a.m. – Landing

For more than two decades, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge, and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA is focusing more resources on deep space missions to the Moon as part of Artemis in preparation for future human missions to Mars.

Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

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SOURCE NASA

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Global claims guidance leader EvolutionIQ joins as CALI’s inaugural Life Partner

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44 mins ago

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September 19, 2024

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NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — US-based EvolutionIQ, a global leader in claims guidance technology, has signed on as the Council of Australian Life Insurers (CALI)’s first Life Partner as part of its corporate partner program.

The CALI Partner Program is designed to foster collaboration and create a connected ecosystem of industry experts.

CALI Life Partners share the industry’s mission to make life insurance accessible, understandable and trusted. They are companies that support Australian life insurers to help Australians and their families have peace of mind about their future so they can live in the most healthy, confident and secure way.

“We are pleased to welcome EvolutionIQ as CALI’s inaugural Life Partner. The CALI Partner Program plays an important role in connecting our members to the latest innovators, like EvolutionIQ, that can move their businesses forward,” said CALI CEO Christine Cupitt.

“We want to work closely with each of our partners to strengthen and support the life insurance industry to deliver better customer experiences for millions of Australians on their best and worst days.”

Headquartered in New York, EvolutionIQ has expanded significantly since 2019. Its clients include major insurance carriers such as Sun Life, Reliance Matrix and Principal Financial. Their AI-powered software makes insurance claims processes more personalised, fair and cost-effective so that more people can recover faster and return to work.

“We are committed to supporting the Australian life insurance ecosystem and being a CALI Life Partner enables us to specialise our products to meet the dynamic needs of the Australian markets,” said EvolutionIQ’s Co-CEO, Mike Saltzman.

“Our partnership with CALI means we can contribute to and shape customer experiences in Australia, and ultimately help more people return to health and a livelihood sooner.”

About EvolutionIQ
EvolutionIQ pioneered Claims Guidance in 2019. Its explainable AI guides insurance claims professionals to their highest potential impact claims, improving the claimant experience and delivering better claim outcomes to claimants, carriers and their customers. EvolutionIQ serves the group disability, individual disability and workers’ compensation markets worldwide. EvolutionIQ’s AI native products have been adopted by 70% of the top 15 U.S. disability carriers and a growing list of workers’ compensation carriers. The New York-based company employs 185 staff across the United States, Europe and Australia. For more information, visit evolutioniq.com and follow the company on LinkedIn.

About CALI
We support Australians to make informed choices about their future and help them live in a healthy, confident and secure way over their lifetime.

Our members’ products and services give people peace of mind when making important decisions and provide a financial safety net during life’s biggest challenges.

We advocate for national policy settings that expand Australians’ access to the life insurance protection that suits them when they need it most.

CALI represents all life insurers and reinsurers in Australia. The Australian life insurance industry is today a $26.4billion industry, employing thousands of Australians and paying billions of dollars of benefits each year.

To view CALI’s corporate partners visit www.cali.org.au/about-us/#our-partners

For more information, visit www.cali.org.au

Media Contact
Jason Kapler
Vice President of Marketing
EvolutionIQ
(917) 740-5608
Press@evolutioniq.com

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SOURCE EvolutionIQ

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