Keith Klein (Photo: Indiana Public Media)
Fewer high schoolers are filing Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms compared to last year.
The National College Attainment Network says, about 30 percent of high school seniors have filled out the FAFSA, down 12 percent compared to last year. In Indiana, the numbers are similar: 28 percent of seniors have finished their FAFSAs, a 10.8 percent decrease from 2019. The FAFSA determines eligibility for federally funded financial aid.
The difference in FAFSA completion is more pronounced in schools with high numbers of low-income or minority students: high minority schools are down almost 18 percent, while low-income schools are down about 15 percent.
The Department of Education estimates 70 to 74 percent of Monroe County Community School Corp. seniors completed FAFSAs by Dec. 25.
Chicago is ending driving up to 9 miles per hour over the posted limit. The city is now issuing tickets to people automated speed cameras catch driving between 6 and 9 mph too fast. Mayor Lori Lightfoot is counting on millions of new dollars in 2021 from the $35 tickets to help close a $1.2 billion deficit.
Speeders will receive a mailed warning after the first violation, then tickets for subsequent violations.
The speed camera is among several new taxes Lightfoot included in her 2021 budget. Another includes a 3-cent per-gallon gas tax increase.
Climate scientists are poring over global temperature data, trying to determine if 2020 will surpass 2016 as the planet’s warmest year on record.
The answer won’t be so clear-cut: There are at least six separate data sets for global climate measurements, each using a slightly different system for determining the temperature.
Based on measurements through November, it’s likely that NASA’s data will show 2020 as the warmest year on record.
