“The soaring cost of food, gasoline and other staples is further complicating a fraught debate among President Biden and his closest advisers over whether to follow through on his campaign pledge to cancel thousands of dollars of student loan debt for tens of millions of people,” the New York Times reports.

“While Mr. Biden has signaled to Democratic lawmakers that he will probably move forward with some form of student loan relief, he is still pressing his team for details about the economic ramifications of wiping out $10,000 of debt for some — or all — of the nation’s 43 million federal student loan recipients.”

A new Politico/Morning Consult poll reveals a mixed reaction to reports that President Biden is preparing to forgive $10,000 in student loan debt for Americans who make less than $150,000 a year (or for married couples making less than $300,000):

• 29% of voters felt that the income threshold ($150,000 for individuals, $300,000 for couples) was the “right one” to be forgiven.
• 13% felt that threshold was too high.
• 9% felt that threshold was too low.
• 35% feel that $10,000 in student loan debt should not be forgiven for people at any income level.

“President Biden is likely to decide later this summer whether to partially forgive student-loan debt for millions of borrowers, after the president said more than a month ago that he would weigh in on the issue in the next couple of weeks,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The officials said Mr. Biden is likely to announce his plans in July or August, closer to when the pandemic-related pause in federal student loan payments is scheduled to lapse, as the president and his senior advisers continue to weigh the political and economic fallout of any such move.”

“White House officials are currently planning to cancel $10,000 in student debt per borrower, after months of internal deliberations over how to structure loan forgiveness for tens of millions of Americans,” the Washington Post reports.

“The White House’s latest plans called for limiting debt forgiveness to Americans who earned less than $150,000 in the previous year, or less than $300,000 for married couples filing jointly… It was unclear whether the administration will simultaneously require interest and payments to resume at the end of August, when the current pause is scheduled to lapse.”

“Photos of an AR-15 style rifle, the type of gun used during Tuesday’s mass school shooting in Uvalde, were reportedly shown at a Fort Worth elementary school on Wednesday during what was supposed to be a career day presentation,” the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports.

“The word ‘chief’ will no longer be used in reference to job titles in the San Francisco Unified School District in an effort to avoid the word’s connotation with Native Americans,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The school shooting in Uvalde, Texas this week was the 27th school shooting this year and the 119th since 2018, Education Week reports.

The highest number of shootings, 34, occurred last year.

Dan Balz: “Think about what it means that the killings of children in their schools have become common enough to need such a list.”

“A private Christian university is considering strictly limiting the free speech rights of its students when it comes to sexuality and gender, from how they behave to what they wear and what they can say on campus or even online,“ the AP reports.

“The policy also forbids sex between unmarried heterosexuals.”

Wall Street Journal: “Students and recent graduates with heavy debt loads worry that Mr. Biden’s plan will be too weak, after the president and his advisers signaled they are considering relief that could be far less than the $50,000-per-borrower sought by prominent Democrats.”

“At the same time, voters who tightened their belts to pay off their loans or didn’t go to college say it would be unfair to make taxpayers subsidize school debt for Americans whose education can boost their earning power.”

A notable quote from a recent UNC grad: “They dangled it over our heads to get us to vote for Biden and then did nothing.”

The Atlantic: “Starting in the spring of 2020, school boards and superintendents across the country faced a dreadful choice: Keep classrooms open and risk more COVID-19 deaths, or close schools and sacrifice children’s learning. In the name of safety, many districts shut down for long periods. But researchers are now learning that the closures came at a stiff price—a large decline in children’s achievement overall and a historic widening in achievement gaps by race and economic status.”

“The achievement loss is far greater than most educators and parents seem to realize. The only question now is whether state and local governments will recognize the magnitude of the educational damage and make students whole.”

“Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and fellow Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Raphael Warnock pitched President Joe Biden to go big with student loan forgiveness during a White House meeting Wednesday,” Bloomberg reports.

“The three Democrats, who have been leading the effort in the Senate, support $50,000 in student debt relief, which is five times what Biden has indicated he would support.”

“Senate Democrats don’t want President Joe Biden to make a move on canceling student loan debt until they get one last chance to push him to go as big as possible,” Politico reports.

“Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA), communicated to the White House that they want Biden to hold tight on any executive action until they can press him one last time… The three senators met this week to plot student loan strategy and are seeking a meeting with Biden as soon as he will do it.”

“President Joe Biden is agonizing over ordering a sweeping cancellation of student loan debt, despite pressure from Democrats — including Vice President Kamala Harris — eager for a political win before midterm elections,” Bloomberg reports.

“The White House’s hesitance on the issue represents the latest fracture within the Democratic party, which Biden has failed to unite around his ambitious economic agenda. But this time it’s the Democratic rank-and-file who haven’t yet persuaded the president to use his power for broad loan relief.” 

“E-reader apps that became a lifeline for students during the pandemic are now in the crossfire of a culture war raging over books in schools and public libraries,” NBC News reports.

“In several states, apps and the companies that run them have been targeted by conservative parents who have pushed schools and public libraries to shut down their digital programs, which let users download and read books on their smartphones, tablets or laptops.”

“Some parents want the apps banned for their children, or even for all students. And they’re getting results.”

Minnesota state Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R) argued for abolishing early childhood education, WCPT reports.

Said Drazkowski: “We should let parents raise their kids until they’re 5 at least before government comes with a school bus, backs it up to the maternity ward room door and takes them to the government school.”

David Leonhardt: “When Covid-19 began to sweep across the country in March 2020, schools in every state closed their doors. Remote instruction effectively became a national policy for the rest of that spring.”

“A few months later, however, school districts began to make different decisions about whether to reopen. Across much of the South and the Great Plains as well as some pockets of the Northeast, schools resumed in-person classes in the fall of 2020. Across much of the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast, school buildings stayed closed and classes remained online for months.”

“These differences created a huge experiment, testing how well remote learning worked during the pandemic. Academic researchers have since been studying the subject, and they have come to a consistent conclusion: Remote learning was a failure.”