BACK TO SCHOOL: Enrollment up a bit as kids return to school

The lazy days of summer are ending for millions of children as they grab their backpacks, pencils and notebooks and return to the classroom for a new school year.

The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that 3.5 million students, both public and private, will graduate from high school at the end of the school year.

Undergraduate tuition, fees, room, and board were estimated at $15,640 at public institutions, $40,614 at private nonprofit institutions, and $23,135 at private for-profit institutions for the 2013-14 school year.

The nation's schools districts are working with states and the federal government as they implement a new education law passed last December that returns to the states significant control over education policy.

[...] the Education Department still plays an oversight role for the nation's 100,000 or so public schools.

States and schools are busy developing new accountability systems — a key component of the Every Student Succeeds Act.

The Obama administration has recommended that districts cap the percentage of classroom time students spend taking required statewide standardized tests at no more than 2 percent.

Back-to-school supply costs are expected to decrease this year, but they'll be offset by higher fees for after-school activities such as sports, according to the latest Backpack Index by Huntington Bank.

The report says higher fees for sports participation, especially in high school, are responsible for much of the increase.