The U.S. Department of Education announced plans to gradually shift responsibility for roughly $1.7 trillion in student loans to the U.S. Department of Treasury. Under the agreement, the Treasury Department will assume operational responsibility for collecting on defaulted student loans, affecting 9 million borrowers. The department is also set to administer the FAFSA.

College professors have implemented a mishmash of bans, limits, and permissions on generative artificial intelligence use in classrooms, causing confusion and strain across campuses. A university in Australia debuted a model last semester to ease the problem by redefining how students are evaluated. The “two-lane approach” offers a defined set of assessment formats instructors can choose from, either allowing generative AI or not. 

School districts are increasingly building career learning pathways that connect students directly with professional challenges and industry mentors. In one example, a Denver water treatment plant collaborated with a school aquatic robotics team to collect data, identify an algae species in its pipes, and eradicate the algae. This article examines how models like this can work and how they are spreading across the country. 

A bus transporting students in Brevard County, Florida, allegedly hit a train crossing arm that had initially raised after a train passed. In an issued statement, a school representative said the train arm malfunctioned and lowered back onto the bus. The driver reversed off the tracks in fear that another train was coming, breaking a side mirror while doing so. Parents and students report fears of similar instances in the future, which have left students shaken. 

The legacy technology systems that many insurers rely on are holding them back. Still, it’s unsustainable for insurers to keep kicking the can down the road long-term, according to a new study published by Baringa.

“There’s a massive constraint in terms of their ability to get their current legacy environment to respond in terms of pace, in terms of value for money, but also in terms of how they think about being able to capitalize on a more modern architecture stack and what does that look like,” Roy Jubraj, partner of financial services, Baringa said.

Outdated legacy tech is one of the main barriers preventing insurers from capitalizing on AI and other technology advancements and from being able to deliver the level of service customers increasingly demand.

From Amazon to Microsoft, and Home Depot to Wall Street, organizations across sectors are increasingly requiring employees to report to work in person. And it’s pushing many workers out the door, including disproportionate rates of women.

New research from Coworking Café found that about two-thirds of women surveyed would consider quitting if their employer rolled out a full-time, return-to-office mandate, nearly 10 percentage points higher than their male counterparts. That may, in part, be connected to the pervasive imbalance in childcare expectations for working women, highlighting an opportunity for HR to win the war for talent in a post-RTO world.

California’s Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative is a statewide push to expand behavioral health support for people 25 and younger. It includes $4 billion in funding and a state law requiring insurance companies to reimburse schools for the services they provide like screenings, therapy, and case management. Hundreds of schools in San Diego are piloting the program, and students will soon be able to receive care for free at school instead of seeking a private provider. 

Most financial institutions have yet to establish a mature AI strategy, though a majority say regulatory guidance is the single thing that would most advance their efforts, according to a survey of 148 financial institutions by Wolters Kluwer Financial & Corporate Compliance.

The company’s first-quarter survey of banking compliance leaders found that while roughly 32% of institutions surveyed have deployed AI or machine learning technologies into production, just 12% describe their AI strategy as well-defined and resourced. More than half (59%) said regulatory guidance would most help advance their AI strategy, followed by technical training (46%) and industry benchmarks (37%).