Author: BelieveAgain

After an unprecedented federal investment in K-12 education, school districts and states are racing to finalize plans for optimizing the final round of pandemic aid, even as they plunge into a future without that support.Congress in March 2021 approved the third and largest round of pandemic relief for K-12 schools, totaling $122 billion and colloquially known as ESSER III. The funds came with two calendar requirements: “obligate” the money, or commit dollars to particular expenses, by Sept. 30, 2024; and “liquidate,” or transfer funds to their intended recipient, by Jan. 30, 2025.Districts have spent the last three years pouring those…

Governor Voters in Delaware, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia have gubernatorial elections.Whoever wins will have the ability to enact or veto laws that could alter school funding formulas, raise teacher pay, restrict classroom discussions on divisive topics, or implement school choice. Governors in Delaware, Indiana, New Hampshire, and Vermont will have the power to appoint a state superintendent of education.Among the gubernatorial candidates are former teachers, school board members, and a former state superintendent.While education hasn’t been the primary focus for most candidates, Republicans in key races generally have called…

The stakes are high for the upcoming election—not only because of the hotly contested presidential race, but because schools are asking voters to approve billions of dollars in spending.The state of California is pushing for $10 billion to fund school infrastructure after failing to secure support for $15 billion four years ago. The nation’s eighth-largest district is seeking voter support for a $4.4 billion bond for improving existing school facilities and building new ones. And dozens of smaller individual districts hope residents trust them to make big investments and pay back debts on time and in full.Districts have two distinct…

The main mechanism under federal law to support school improvement often fails to do its job, according to a new report from EdTrust, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on equity in education. The report examines how state accountability systems have evolved in the near decade since Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act. The law provided more flexibility than its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act, in how states could design their accountability systems and help low-performing schools improve. No Child Left Behind required states to identify schools for improvement with the goal of getting every student to proficiency…

Tiffany Justice, the co-founder of Moms for Liberty, is interested in serving as former President Donald Trump’s education secretary—or in another key position—should he win a second term.“I would be honored to serve,” Justice said in an interview with Education Week. “I’m open to serving in whatever capacity the president wants me to serve, whether that’s more broadly domestic policy, or if it’s focused on education.”She added, “I think there’s a cultural revolution happening in America, and I think our schools are being used as one of the major battlefields. And so, I’m willing to serve in the next administration,…

In the wake of the recent school shooting at the Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., where two students and two teachers were killed, Frank DeAngelis, the former principal of Columbine High School, made an emotional appeal to members of Congress: Schools need more financial and legislative support to prevent mass gun violence. DeAngelis was on Columbine’s campus in 1999 at when 12 students and one teacher were killed in a horrific shooting, which has since shaped the national discourse on gun control measures, student mental health, and how to secure schools against violence. Recalling the names of the 13…

Asian American high school students may get a chance to prove that a key New York City admissions process discriminated against them after a federal appeals court revived their legal case. The case is one of several over selective admissions at the K-12 level that have drawn greater attention in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision largely curtailing the consideration of race in college admissions.The case involves the Discovery Program, a middle school pathway for admissions to the city’s nine selective high schools, which include such nationally known schools as Stuyvesant High School and Bronx High School…

Voters have never approved a ballot initiative that paves the way for private school choice. But that could change this November as several states put before voters the question of public funding for private education.Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska will ask voters on Election Day whether they support laying the groundwork for more state-funded private school choice, and in one case, halting an existing program that offers public dollars for parents to spend on private schooling.In Utah, meanwhile, critics of private school choice believe that if a proposed constitutional amendment is successful, it could free up more state funds for the…

Willard E. Goslin, a tall, unassuming white man with the appearance of a made-for-TV principal, began his life and teaching career in rural Missouri in the early part of the 20th century. He earned a reputation as a progressive educator who championed the rights of African American children, supported school integration, and advocated sex education. After working as a classroom teacher and school principal, Goslin went on to become an award-winning public school superintendent in Webster Groves, Mo., and Minneapolis.In 1948, he moved on to lead the public schools in Pasadena, Calif. His tenure there, however, lasted less than three…

The Sept. 4 school shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., in which four people were killed, brought a renewed national attention to gun violence on K-12 grounds. The fallout—both emotional and economic—of such violent incidents can last years.In the wake of a tragedy, schools need immediate financial assistance to fund a slew of emergency services to start rehabilitating their communities. School and district leaders can lean on a relatively lesser-known source of funding called Project SERV, or School Emergency Response to Violence.Project SERV provides short-term, emergency funds to school districts, state education departments, and institutes of higher education…