Category: East

In just the past two years, the market share of electric vehicles (EVs) has more than doubled, rising from 2.7 percent to 6.4 percent by the end of 2022.

New EVs are rolling onto the market at a blistering pace. As motor vehicle manufacturers race to compete for market share, companies like Ford, Chevy, and Hyundai are investing significantly in their all-electric vehicle lines, while Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 continue to vastly outsell the competition.

The message is clear: the future is electric.

But, as with most innovations, that future may not reach everyone’s zip code (or driveway) at the same time.

 

 

The post Eastern states finding early success in developing Electric Vehicle infrastructure appeared first on CSG ERC.

CSG East provided analysis for this article from fDi Intelligence. You can read the full article on their website.

 

While they are not one of the top-ten holders of US private farmland, the rising interest of Chinese companies in domestic farmland has spooked lawmakers at [the state level].

On February 17, Arizona became the first state to pass legislation that specifically inhibits the CCP from purchasing private or public land in the state.

In 2023 alone, 58 similar bills have been proposed at state level that would restrict foreign ownership of agricultural land in the US, according to figures by the Council of State Governments (CSG), a region-based forum that connects states’ policymakers. However, Arizona remains the only place where such legislation has been enacted into law.

Read the full article from fDi Intelligence, a service of The Financial Times.

[…]

However, new limitations to the foreign ownership of US farmland may be reflected in the 2023 Farm Bill, the most comprehensive US legislation that funds the nation’s food and agricultural system, which is redrafted every five years.

“There is speculation that this issue of foreign ownership of US agricultural land might make its way into the 2023 Farm Bill, and additional federal restrictions might result,” says Tara Sad, agriculture and rural affairs advisor for CSG East.

The post Foreign investments in U.S. agricultural lands raise alarms in Washington appeared first on CSG ERC.

States seeking to solve the teacher shortage, in addition to facing the long-developing crisis of teacher recruitment, are now also facing a crisis of teacher retention.

Especially in the wake of COVID-19, keeping the teachers hired in any given year is an uphill battle.

The National Education Association (NEA) – the nation’s largest teacher’s union – surveyed its members in February 2022 and found that “more than half (55%) of members plan to leave education sooner than planned” and that “the top issue facing educators right now is burnout.”

States across the nation are seeking solutions to improve teacher retention, with research and state examples providing a wide array of options and approaches to choose from. Two key strategies emerging from those examples are:

Supporting career development opportunities through mentoring programs
Improving working conditions for teachers by:

increasing teacher capacity by providing support staff and reasonable class sizes
increasing teacher opportunities to participate in the school decision-making process
supporting administrator training and development

The post States Addressing the Teacher Shortage, Part 2: Retention appeared first on CSG ERC.

States across the U.S. are considering solutions to address potential teacher shortages. While the extent of the shortage differs from state to state, teacher shortages are most severe in subject areas such as math, science, special education and English language development.

The source of teacher shortages is twofold: waning teacher recruitment and poor teacher retention rates.

In March 2022, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported that 44% of schools were reporting teacher vacancies. Resignation is the leading cause of vacancies accounting for 51% of reported vacancies, and retirement is reported for 21% of vacancies. NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr cites the COVID-19 pandemic as a source for these shortages. Other reports note a variety of factors contributing to declining teacher recruitment and retention, such as working conditions, financial compensation and inadequate preparation and support for new teachers.

As turnover rates increase and recruitment decreases, schools are often forced to increase class sizes while decreasing student supports. In addition, many schools are left to fill vacancies with underqualified teachers, which also contributes to higher turnover rates.

 

The post States Addressing the Teacher Shortage, Part 1: Recruitment appeared first on CSG ERC.