Washington, DC, USA. Five years after the recession began, state funding for elementary and high school education remains vastly lower than it was in 2008.

Despite an uptick in state revenues, budgets for the coming school year are lower than they were last year in half of all states, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Washington, DC, USA. Men and women are less likely to experience negative effects to sexually violent media when watching a positive portrayal of a strong female character.

A study shows that this is true even when that female character is a victim of sexual violence, a finding that shows an audence can process popular media portrayals in ways that often are more subtle than accounted for by political critics.

New York, NY, USA. Seldom discussed facts behind American abortion statistics highlight the effects of disruptive events, and their links to poverty and contraceptive use.

Among the eleven disruptive events were job loss, separation, falling behind on rental or mortgage payments, death of a close friend, a serious health problem, a partner being sent to prison, and becoming a victim of crime.

Washington, DC, USA. Most states have received waivers from the federal No Child Left Behind law, but some have found flexibility harder to come by.

With the majority of states no longer abiding by the ten-year old federal law, some experts have concluded that it has effectively been overturned. But some of the remaining 17 states are finding that the feds can be pretty stubborn when it comes to allowing wholesale changes in the law’s provisions.

Washington, DC, USA. Many top private schools decline participation in statewide voucher and scholarship tax credit programs in states such as Ohio, Louisiana and Florida.

Many private schools are wary of government regulations, especially standardized test requirements. Others are concerned about the possible impact on their educational mission, among other things.