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Since her birth 10 years ago, Mackenzie Holmes has rarely called one place home for long. There was the house in Houston owned by her grandmother, Crystal Holmes. Then, after Crystal lost her Southwest Airlines job and the house, there was the trio of apartments in the suburbsand three evictions. Then another rental, and another eviction. Then motels and her uncle’s one-bedroom apartment, where Mackenzie and her grandmother slept on an inflatable mattress. Finally, Crystal Holmes secured a spot in a women’s shelter so the two would no longer have to sleep on the floor. With nearly every move came a new school, a new set of classmates, and new lessons to catch up on. Mackenzie only has one friend shes known longer than a year, and she didn’t receive testing or a diagnosis for dyslexia until this year. She would often miss long stretches of class in between schools. Schoolchildren threatened with eviction are more likely to end up in another district or transfer to another school, often one with less funding, more poverty and lower test scores. They’re more likely to miss school, and those who end up transferring are suspended more often. That’s according to an analysis from the Eviction Lab at Princeton University, published in Sociology of Education, a peer-reviewed journal, and shared exclusively with The Associated Press’ Education Reporting Network. Pairing court filings and student records from the Houston Independent School District, where Mackenzie started kindergarten, researchers identified more than 18,000 times between 2002 and 2016 when students lived in homes threatened with eviction filings. They found students facing eviction were absent more often. Even when they didnt have to change schools, students threatened with eviction missed four more days in the following school year than their peers. In all, researchers counted 13,197 children between 2002 and 2016 whose parents faced an eviction filing. A quarter of those children faced repeated evictions. As eviction rates in Houston continue to worsen, there might be more children like Mackenzie. Falling behind on rentand finding a way to finish the school year Neveah Barahona, a 17-year-old big sister to seven siblings, started kindergarten in Houston but has moved schools half a dozen times. Her mother, Roxanne Abarca, knew moving can be disruptive. So whenever she fell behind on rent and the family was forced to move, she tried to let them finish the school yeareven if it meant driving them great distances. Neveah, a strong student who hopes to join the military, said the moves took a toll. It is kind of draining, meeting new people, meeting new teachers, getting on track with … what they want to teach you and what you used to know, Neveah said. Then there’s finding her way with new classmates. A spate of bullying this year left her despondent until she got counseling. Households with children are about twice as likely to face eviction than those without children, Eviction Lab research has shown. That’s 1.5 million children getting evicted every yearand 1 in 20 children under 5 living in a rental home. Still, much of the discourse focuses on adultsthe landlords and grown-up tenantsrather than the kids caught in the middle, said Peter Hepburn, the study’s lead author. Its worth reminding people that 40% of the people at risk of losing their homes through the eviction process are kids, said Hepburn, a sociology professor at Rutgers University-Newark and associate director at the Eviction Lab. Households often become more vulnerable to eviction because they fall behind when they have children. Only 5% of low-wage earners, who are especially vulnerable to housing instability, have access to paid parental leave. Under a federal law that protects homeless students, districts are supposed to try to keep children in the same school if they lose their housing midyear, providing daily transportation. But children who are evicted don’t always qualify for those services. Even those who do often fall through the cracks, because schools don’t know why children are leaving or where they’re headed. Evicted families navigate invisible school boundaries In the sprawl of Houston, it can be especially challenging for transient students to stay on track. The metropolis bleeds seamlessly from the city limits to unincorporated parts of Harris County, which is divided into 24 other districts. Its easy to leave Houston’s school district without realizing it. And despite the best efforts of parents and caretakers, kids can miss a lot of school in transition. That’s what happened in January, when Mackenzie’s grandmother, then staying in her son’s one-bedroom apartment with her granddaughter, got desperate. Fearful her son would get evicted for having family stay with him, Crystal Holmeswho had no home, no car, and no cellphone servicewalked miles to a women’s shelter. The shelter, where she and Mackenzie now share a room, is in another district’s enrollment zone. She worried about Mackenzie being forced to move schools againthe fifth grader had already missed the first three weeks of the school year, when her grandmother struggled to get her enrolled. Thankfully, the federal law kicked in, and Mackenzie’s school, Thornwood Elementary, now sends a car to fetch her and other students from the shelter. Houston Independent School District did not respond to interview requests. Millicent Brown lives in a public housing project in Houston, alongside an elevated highway so noisy that she had to buy a louder doorbell. She and her daughter, Nova, 5, were forced to move last year when Novas father threatened to hurt Brown. Nova had attended a charter school. But when she moved, the school said it could only bus Nova from her new home if she waited on a street that Brown said was too dangerous. Instead, Nova missed a month of school before enrolling in a nearby public school. Brown grew up bouncing between schools and wants better for Nova. But she may have to move again: The state has plans to widen the highway. It would wipe out her housing projectand Nova’s new school. Nearly three years ago, Neveah and her family settled into a ranch-style home down a country road in Aldine. It’s brightly lit, with four bedrooms and a renovated kitchen. Neveah adopted a neighborhood cat named she named Bella. Her sister Aaliyah painted a portrait of the home that’s displayed in the living room. When we were little, we always kept moving, Aaliyah said. I dont want to move. I already got comfortable here. Then, last year, her mother once again egan to fall behind on rent. Ultimately, Roxanne Abarca received an eviction notice. The mother was lucky. At the courthouse, she met an employee tasked with helping families stay in their homes. The employee connected her with a nonprofit that agreed to pay six months of her rent while Abarca got back on her feet. And she did, working from home as a call operator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But the siblings’ dream of a forever home” may still come to an end. Abarca learned this month the home’s owner hopes to sell to an investor, displacing them once again. ____ The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Moriah Balingit, AP education writer
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Dōen and Gap are teaming up for a second time following the success of the brands collaboration last year, which went viral on TikTok and sold out within a matter of days. This years collection will focus on California vintage-inspired classics, according to a release, and include some customer favorites from 2024, as well as some new additions, including several menswear pieces. This marks Doens first foray into menswear. The 38-piece collection, launching at 12pm ET on May 2, ranges in price from $34 to $158. Dōens dresses normally start closer to $250, so the opportunity to own one of their iconic styles at a more approachable pricepoint had customers running for the racks last year. The brands this year arent expecting anything different. [Photo: Gap] Our first collection with Dōen set a new bar for how a collaboration can infuse a fresh perspective into Gap essentials, creating covetable pieces that left our customers wanting more, said Mark Breitbard, President and CEO of Gap. California natives Katherine and Margaret Kleveland describe the collection as rooted in Dōens feminine interpretation of iconic Gap styles, but it also expands into both menswear and baby this year, key cohorts of the Gap audience. [Photo: Gap] The sisters collaboration with Gap builds on bestsellers from the collection drop last year, including eyelet maxi dresses in new iterations, with different colorways and mini dress options. The collection is nautical-inspired, with notes of red, white and navy blue running throughout, a difference from the 2024 collab. [Photo: Gap] Gingham and collegiate prep are also making a return as strong features of the new collection via matching sets, sweatshirts featuring a hybrid logo along with DŌENss wordmark, and baseball caps. Another essential aspect of the collection is its denim staples: customers can opt for the oversized denim jacket, new denim trouser shorts, or a sailor mini dress. [Photo: Gap] Alongside these items is the mens Pleated Denim Trousers, one of several pieces designed with men in mind. In addition to the other masculine-inspired and gender-neutral pieceslike the baseball cap and sweatshirts featuring a combined Dōen and Gap logothere are five menswear options. A first for Dōen, the pieces include the Organic Cotton Poplin Big Shirt, the Eyelet Shirt, and the Pocket T-Shirt. The menswear was inspired by customer testimonials, as Dōen buyers husbands, brothers, and boyfriends made Dōens knitwear or jackets their own, Margaret Kleveland told Womens Wear Daily. In the first collaboration with Gap, the sisters watched men adopt the collections popular crewnecks. This year, were expanding the conversation, and continuing to drive brand relevance by reintroducing customer favorites, said Breitbard of the Gap x Dōen collection. We also are giving Dōen a platform to debut mens styles at scale, delivering something fresh and unexpected for both brands communities. The Gap X Dōen collection was produced in factories that participate in RISE, or Reimagining Industry to Support Equality. Founded in 2023 by four members, including Gap, RISEs mission is to empower women workers, embed gender equality in business practice and catalyze systems change. Gap cardmembers will receive early access to the collection online on May 1. If you missed last years Gap x Dōen collection, nows your chance.
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In pain so bad he couldnt stand, Chris Meek was rushed to the hospital with a life-threatening ruptured gallbladder. When he emerged from surgery, he learned he had kidney cancer that thankfully hadnt yet spread. Meek, a social studies teacher in Wilmington, North Carolina, was 47 at the time. But he remained confused for years about why, as someone seemingly not at risk, he had gotten cancer until Emily Donovan, a parent of students at his school, gave a guest talk about high levels of harmful forever chemicals known as PFAS in North Carolina’s environment. When Donovan mentioned kidney cancer, the possible cause of Meek’s diagnosis finally clicked. Until then, Meek said, he had no idea what PFAS was. Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency set the first federal drinking water limits for PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, finding they increased the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and babies being born with low birth weight. In a decision with consequences for tens of millions of Americans, the Trump administration is expected to soon say whether it intends to stand by those strict standards and defend the limits against a water utility industry challenge in federal court. PFAS in drinking water created a crisis for many communities In North Carolina, runoff from a Chemours plant contaminated the Cape Fear River, creating a crisis for cities like Wilmington that use it for drinking water. Amid public outcry, Wilmington effectively eliminated it from tap water. Other U.S. communitiesoften near military bases or industrial sitesdid the same when test results were frightening and public pressure, local leadership, or state law forced PFAS-laden wells offline or prompted installation of expensive filtering systems, according to Mark White, drinking water global practice leader at the engineering firm CDM Smith. The EPA said the PFAS found in North Carolina, often called GenX chemicals, can be toxic to the kidney. While other types of PFAS may raise kidney cancer risk, little research has focused on the link between kidney cancer and GenX, according to Sue Fenton, director of the Center for Human Health and the Environment at North Carolina State University. Chemours said evidence doesn’t support arguments that GenX at low levels is a health threat. The company has sharply reduced PFAS discharges. So far, sampling has found nearly 12% of U.S. water utilities are above the recently set EPA limits, but most aren’t above by much. Forcing this group to reduce PFAS more than doubles the rules health benefits but roughly triples its costs, the EPA has said. The Biden administrations rule set standards for two common types of PFAS at 4 parts per trillion, effectively the lowest level at which they can be reliably detected. Standards for several other PFAS chemicals were set, too, and utilities must meet those levels by 2029. PFAS have had wide uses over the decades Manufactured by companies like Chemours and 3M, PFAS were incredibly useful in many applicationsamong them, helping clothes to withstand rain and ensuring that firefighting foam snuffed out flames. But the chemicals also accumulate in the body. As science advanced in recent years, evidence of harm at far lower levels became clearer. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has championed fossil fuels and the rollback of major clean air and water rules. His history with PFAS is more nuanced; during his time as a New York congressman, he supported legislation to regulate forever chemicals in drinking water. Its an issue that touches people in a very tangible way across the political spectrum, including in Lee Zeldins former district,” said Melanie Benesh, vice president of government affairs at the nonprofit Environmental Working Group. Zeldin has offered clues about what the EPA could do. The agency estimated the rule would cost about $1.5 billion annually and Zeldin said recently that communities struggling to afford a fix for PFAS that are just above the standard might be handled differently than wealthy places with lots of it. What we are going to have to be is extremely thoughtful in figuring this out, he said. On Monday, the EPA said it will establish an agency lead for PFAS, develop wastewater limits for PFAS manufacturers, and investigate sources that pose an immediate danger to drinking water, among other actions. EPA decision looms on whether to let the rule stay as it is Soon, the EPA must tell a federal appeals court in Washington whether the rule should stand or be rewritten, although weakening it could be complicated because the Safe Drinking Water Act prevents new rules from being looser than previous ones. The agency could, however, encourage exemptions and deadline extensions, according to Erik Olson, an attorney with the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council supporting the current standards in the court case. Consider Avondale, Arizona, outside of Phoenix, which produces PFAS results modestly above the limits. Officials have done detailed testing and are planning to enhance water treatment. All told, lowering PFAS may cost Avondale more than $120 million, according to Kirk Beaty, the citys public utility director. Thats money a city like Avondale just doesnt have sitting in a back room somewhere,” Beaty said, adding hell defer to federal experts to dictate whats acceptable. Were hoping were a little further ahead of everybody else. If the regulation changes, well you know, we may let off the gas a little bit; we may not, he said, adding that it is hard to justify spending extra money to do more than whats required when the cost falls on residents. If the government decides higher amounts of PFAS are acceptable, that could confuse people, especially in areas where the public is already concerned. If we enter into a gray area over whats healthy and whats not healthy, then utilities are at risk of being caught up in a debate for which they have no real responsibility nor expertise to decide on, said Karine Rougé, CEO for municipal water at Veolia North America, a water operations company. Industry group says the rule goes too far and is too costly The American Water Works Association, an industry group, filed the court challenge to the new rule. It agrees that certain PFAS should be regulated but argues the EPAs standards go too far, underestimate costs, and are neither feasible nor cost-effective. There are serious consequences for residents’ water bills, it says. The burden of complying will fall heavily on small utilities that can least afford it. Many water providers already struggle to maintain their existing infrastructure, some experts say. On topof everything else, they face new requirements to replace lead pipes. The AWWA wants the EPA to extend the PFAS and lead deadlines by two years. There is money available to help. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided $9 billion for chemicals like PFAS, and utilities have won multibillion-dollar settlements against PFAS polluters that help as well. Meek, who successfully recovered after surgery from cancer and is now 59, is planning to sue over his illness. He once didnt second-guess using tap water. Now he reaches for bottled water. Donovan, who introduced Meek to PFAS and helped start Clean Cape Fear, says if the governments standards are weakened, it will relieve pressure on utilities to effectively treat the water. Previously, our local utilities could tell us publicly that the water met or exceeded all state and federal guidelines because there werent any, she said. ___ The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of APs environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment Michael Phillis, Associated Press
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