"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) You Take the High Road and I'll Take the Low Road: As Appropriations Process Begins, Different Spending Approaches Likely to Delay Process Until After November Elections; (2) Transforming Career and Technical Education: Obama Administration Releases Blueprint to Make Career and Technical Education More Rigorous, Relevant, and Results Driven; (3) Hidden Homeless: Bureaucratic Red Tape Leaves 715,238 Eligible Homeless Children Without Support in United States, New Alliance Analysis Finds; and (4) "Off the Clock": New Report Examines How Extended Time Can Impact Student Learning. (Contains 2 footnotes.)