Family members of victims of the terrorist attacks would receive a free college education under a new proposal by New York Gov. George Pataki.
"These families should not have to worry about how they are going to pay for college and, with this measure, they will never have to," Pataki said.
The proposal, which amounts to about $12,000 per student per year, would cover tuition, transportation, room and board and other fees to campuses of the State University of New York and the City University of New York.
Family members of victims who died, or who were seriously injured, would be eligible for the scholarships.
Students who decide to attend private colleges would receive the same amount of money and be able to apply that to the cost of their schools.
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Teaching tolerance: "We are all committed to making sure our children across America can attend school in a safe and secure environment free from harassment and threats," wrote Secretary of Education Rod Paige, in a letter to educators across the country last week.
Paige urged teachers and school leaders to help prevent harassment and violence directed at Muslim and Arab-American students.
He said teachers should have a system in place to intervene if student conduct endangers others, to encourage students to constructively discuss diversity, and to report threats of racial or ethnic harassment.
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Assistance for schools: The U.S. Department of Education is providing $1.5 million in immediate assistance to New Jersey's Department of Education to help schools affected by the recent terrorist attacks.
The Department also pledged $500,000 to Virginia's Department of Public Instruction and $250,000 to Maryland's Department of Education to assist schools touched by the tragedy.
The funds will be used to provide counseling, add security, hire substitute teachers and hire experts in long-term crisis planning.
Paige previously announced $4 million in relief for New York City Schools.
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__Defaults decline:__Education Secretary Rod Paige announced that college loan default rates have continued to decline. He credited colleges and universities for working to reduce defaults at their schools.
Default rates are at their lowest ever. Loans were defaulted at a rate of only 5.6 percent for fiscal year 1999, which is the most recent data available.
He said that, for the first time, all 101 historically black colleges and universities have lowered their default rates enough to keep them off the Department of Education's so-called watch list. By lowering default rates, schools continue to receive financial assistance for their students from the government.
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Another plagiarist convicted: The University of Virginia announced that another student was found guilty by a student jury, after being caught cheating by a computer program. Physics professor Louis Bloomfield caused a hullabaloo at the school when the software program he built nabbed 122 students.
Each case is being investigated by the student-run honor committee of the school. If there is enough evidence against a student, he or she is sent to a trial and judged by a jury of peers.
Since 1842, the University of Virginia has had an honor system in place that mandates that if a student is caught lying, cheating, or stealing and found guilty, he or she is expelled permanently.
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Loan help for victims: The U.S. Department of Education has asked lenders of federal student loans to provide financial relief from monthly payments to borrowers affected by the terrorist attacks.
Lenders are asked to allow affected borrowers to postpone or reduce the amount of monthly payments from Sept. 11, 2001 through Jan. 31, 2002.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
