AIR TRAVEL
TSA begins warning travelers about non-compliant IDs
As though going through long checkpoints at the airport isn’t complicated enough, the final steps of implementing the REAL ID Act of 2005 are beginning.
In early December, the Transportation Security Administration announced new signs going up at airport security checkpoints letting travelers know about the new rules, which become effective Jan. 22, 2018. Many won’t really see a difference, but REAL ID may present real problems for some travelers.
The purpose of the REAL ID Act of 2005 is to protect the security of U.S. citizens by stopping the “fraudulent issuance and use of driver’s licenses and identification cards,” according to a statement by Secretary Jeh C. Johnson of the Department of Homeland Security. Only those states that issue driver’s licenses or identification cards that have anti-counterfeit technology as part of the actual card, verify the applicant’s identity and run background checks on all employees responsible for issuing IDs will be compliant with REAL ID.
The states where residents will need identification other than driver’s licenses to fly are: Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Washington.
Residents of those states will be required to use other forms of ID, such as passports, military IDs or permanent resident cards) in order to travel, even domestically, until their states become compliant. The non-compliant states may be granted extensions by the government in order to become compliant. However, every traveler must have REAL ID compliant identification by Oct. 1, 2020 or they will not pass through the TSA checkpoints. – Joana Suleiman
JUVENILE JUSTICE
Poor children jailed when families can’t pay court fees
A new report by the Juvenile Law Center found that in most states there is a pile-up on fees and fines imposed on children and their families once a child enters the juvenile justice system, and that “many statutes establish that youth can be incarcerated or otherwise face a loss of liberty when they fail to pay.”
The report, “Debtor’s Prison for Kids? The High Cost of Fines in the Juvenile Justice System,” documents the results of a survey of 183 people involved in the juvenile justice system — including lawyers, family members and adults who had been incarcerated as children — in 41 states.
“The debt in effect creates a rift between parents and their children,” one survey respondent said, and went on to describe a grandmother who was told to consider giving up custody of her grandson in order to avoid paying his insurmountable court fees. In some cases, the parents can even face imprisonment themselves if they fail to pay their children’s fees.
“When parents face incarceration or mounting debt for failure to pay, they have even fewer resources to devote to educating, helping, and supporting their children,” the researchers stated.
The report authors observe that incarcerating children for their family’s inability to pay court fees may be unconstitutional.
“It is worth noting that the United States Supreme Court has made clear that an individual may no be incarcerated for nonpayment if the court does not first conduct an indigence determination and establish that the failure to pay was willful. The Supreme Court has also held that courts must consider alternate forms of punishment other than imprisonment.” – Joana Suleiman
EDUCATION
United States lags behind foreign competitors
The latest results from the Programme for International Student Assessment show declining scores for the United States in reading, math and science.
The test is administered every three years to hundreds of thousands of 15-year-olds in more than 60 countries. From 2009 to 2015, U.S. scores in science and reading dropped slightly, while the decline in math was more significant. Among the 35 countries considered to have developed economies, the U.S. is roughly average in science and reading, but below average in math.
In science, the U.S. lags slightly behind Germany, and further behind Canada, Japan and Singapore. Roughly one in five students are considered to be low performers in science, while only one in 10 are top performers.
Still, U.S. students are interested in working in science. About 38 percent of U.S. 15-year-olds expect to be in a science-related careers at age 30, compared to 24 percent of 15-year-olds in developed countries around the world. A majority of those students expect to work in a health profession.
Certain states perform better than others, however. For example, Massachusetts performed significantly better than Germany and slightly better than Canada while still trailing Japan. – Jason Russell
