Author: BelieveAgain

Decades of research show that students who speak a language other than English develop English-language proficiency best by also building on their home language.That is why researchers look to dual-language immersion programs—where instruction happens in both English and another world language—as the best learning model for English learners. It’s also why, for years, early childhood Head Start programs have encouraged bilingualism in instruction.But a proposed rule change to Head Start would mandate English-only instruction and services. The proposal says the current rule requiring programs to support bilingual instruction is at odds with President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring English the…

Despite ongoing efforts to transfer program responsibilities to other agencies, the U.S. Department of Education will continue to send billions of formula dollars for the current school year through its own online payments system this fall, the agency confirmed Monday.Congress in February approved more than $12.5 billion for K-12 schools to flow to states on Oct. 1, including $10.8 billion through the Title I formula grant for schools serving low-income students and $1.7 billion through Title II for teacher professional development.In a statement to Education Week, the department confirmed that those funds will go through the department’s existing G5 grants…

The U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday instructed schools not to take race into account in student discipline policies and said that considering data showing a racially disparate impact of such policies violates federal law.“Regrettably, prior administrations have imposed disparate-impact liability in the context of school discipline throughout the United States,” Kimberly M. Richey, the assistant secretary for civil rights, said in the “Dear Colleague” letter. “The imposition was never sound as a matter of law or justice, and, as this guidance explains, schools must cease consideration of race throughout their disciplinary policies and practices, absent truly extraordinary circumstances.”The letter…

Civil rights advocates on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Texas law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments, teeing up a potential new test of state-sponsored religious expression in classrooms.Posters featuring the Ten Commandments began going up almost a year ago in classrooms across Texas, which educates about 5.5 million students. An appeals court earlier this year cleared the way for Texas’ law and one in Louisiana, and similar laws have been passed in Arkansas and Alabama.“This is an issue of nationwide importance because a number of states have been considering these laws in recent…

Of the thousands of lawsuits Meta faces over child safety on its platforms, none may be more consequential than one going to trial this week in California.States are seeking extensive financial damages that could, in theory, total as much as $1.4 trillion, plus changes to how the company operates Facebook and Instagram. The lawsuit accuses the social media giant of contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features that get children addicted to its platforms. It also claims that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent, in violation of federal…

NPR’s Senior Podcast Challenge Official Rules These are the rules for the 2026 NPR Senior Podcast Challenge: If you’re looking for the College Podcast Challenge, click here, if you’re looking for the 5th-12th grade competition rules click here. NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. OPEN ONLY TO UNITED STATES RESIDENTS AGE SIXTY-FIVE (65) OR OVER. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. 1. SPONSOR. The NPR Senior Podcast Challenge (the “Contest”) is sponsored by National Public Radio, Inc. (“NPR”), a District of Columbia nonprofit corporation with principal offices at 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 (the “Sponsor”). 2.…

The U.S. Department of Education’s research wing has announced plans to begin new education research grantmaking, marking the agency’s first grant competition for research in more than 15 months amid a period of sluggish spending unprecedented in recent memory.The movement suggests that federal education research funding may be coming back online, even as many details remain unclear—such as what will happen to some $224 million in fiscal 2025 funding that the White House withheld for more than a year and released to the agency only this past May. Those funds could expire at the end of September if the Institute…

In a landmark ruling against Meta, a New Mexico judge likened the company’s social media platforms to factories. The psychological harm to children who use the company’s Facebook and Instagram platforms, he said, can be seen as their pollution.Judge Bryan Biedscheid fined the company $567 million in his ruling Thursday, but he also prescribed steps to clean up what he described as its byproducts. He ordered new safety measures, including a time limit of 90 hours per month for users under 18, AI chatbot restrictions, and mandatory warnings on the platforms.How easily those features can be implemented, and how effective…

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order calling for revamped childhood vaccine recommendations that promote his long-held belief that childhood shots should be spaced out into separate medical visits.The order recommends separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three different shots administered in separate visits, and directs the nation’s health department to improve vaccine research, according to a White House fact sheet first reported by The Daily Caller. Separate MMR vaccines for children are not currently available in the United States.Speaking about the order at the Oval Office on Monday, Trump also said that one-year-olds should…

Big changes and fierce debates over school funding are poised to continue playing out nationwide as the new school year begins.Congress is still far from finished negotiating the federal budget for the 2027-28 school year. High-stakes midterm elections could reshape the balance of power on Capitol Hill and in statehouses across the country. Less than two months later, a new federal tax credit for K-12 scholarships will begin rolling out.All the while, school districts will continue the perennial work of balancing their budgets, and strategizing their investments. Here’s a deeper look at five takeaways from my recent reporting on the…