Author: BelieveAgain

When states overhauled their school funding models to promote equity, they helped narrow the financial gap between high- and low-income districts, but those efforts did not narrow racial and ethnic gaps, a new study finds. In some cases, differences in funding between largely white and more diverse districts widened. The inequality was most pronounced between states, rather than within them, researchers found, largely because wealthier, less diverse states typically fund their schools at higher levels.“There’s been a lot of work showing that those reforms did successfully increase equality by student income,” said Emily Rauscher, a sociology professor at Brown University…

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked Trump administration restrictions on services for immigrants in the country illegally, including the federal preschool program Head Start, health clinics, and adult education.The order from the judge in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island applies to 20 states and the District of Columbia, whose attorneys general, all Democrats, sued the administration. It puts the administration’s reinterpretation of a Clinton-era federal policy on hold while the case is decided.Under the proposed changes, some community-level programs would be reclassified as federal public benefits, making them inaccessible to people without legal status. Individual public benefits, such as…

The U.S. Supreme Court late Wednesday denied a request by South Carolina to pause a federal appeals court injunction allowing a 9th grade transgender boy to use school restrooms consistent with his gender identity while he challenges a state ban restricting that right.Over the dissent of three justices in South Carolina v. Doe, the court said in a brief order that the denial was “not a ruling on the merits of the legal issues presented in the litigation. Rather, it is based on the standards applicable for obtaining emergency relief from this court.”The court’s action comes amid a growing national…

The U.S. Department of Education will soon put out guidance around “protecting the right to prayer” in schools, President Donald Trump announced Monday—an effort that comes amid a number of states pushing up against the church-state divide, but one that would also reinforce a right students already have.Trump, who made the announcement during a Religious Liberty Commission meeting focused on public education, did not offer specifics on what the guidance could look like. He touted it alongside his efforts to roll back protections for transgender students and to kill “the woke agenda” in schools.The guidance would come as Republican-led states…

Ever since COVID-19 closed U.S. schools for in-person instruction in March 2020, questions about pandemic learning loss have shaped reactions to new data on student learning. How much did achievement fall while schools were closed? (The short answer: A lot.) Do we see signs of recovery? (For the most part, no.)Yet the latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the “nation’s report card” or NAEP, illustrate how this COVID-centric lens distorts as much as it reveals.Yes, science scores for 8th graders are down since 2019, the last time kids were tested in that subject. High…

Education savings accounts, tax-credit scholarships, vouchers, charter schools, hybrid home schooling, tutoring, course choice, dual degrees, and microschools are transforming K–12 in profound ways. In “Talking Choice,” Ashley Berner and I try to make sense of the shifting landscape. Berner directs Johns Hopkins’ Institute for Education Policy and is one of the nation’s leading authorities on “educational pluralism.” Whatever you think of educational choice, we seek to provide a more concrete, constructive discussion of what it means for students, families, and educators.—RickAshley: I’m struck by how frequently the choice debate is dominated by urban myths, dubious claims, and misinformation. The…

Two states are making moves that could upend the two-decade-old, No Child Left Behind-era model of once-a-year, standardized state exams to show whether students are meeting standards.In its place, Oklahoma and Texas—through different paths—could become the latest states to shift to exams given multiple times throughout the school year, with the idea that such tests offer educators and families more timely data on student performance. But Oklahoma’s proposed model, in particular, would drastically undercut accountability requirements that ensure students are learning, opponents argue.The moves come as the U.S. Department of Education invites states to request flexibility from certain federal mandates…

In April, the fight over a Long Island school district’s mascot caught the attention of President Donald Trump.The Massapequa district had refused to abandon its “Chiefs” logo under a New York state policy prohibiting schools’ use of Native American imagery without local tribes’ permission. Its legal challenge to the state mandate was coming up short. So, it sought the Trump administration’s help.What followed had all the hallmarks of the federal government’s involvement in public education during Trump’s second term so far. 🔎 About This Project This project is part of a special report called Big Ideas in which EdWeek reporters,…

Federal spending is in the spotlight this year like never before, as the Trump administration has bypassed Congress and held up billions of dollars lawmakers had already approved for education.Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are currently staring down a Sept. 30 deadline to fund the federal government for the new fiscal year, avert a shutdown, and appropriate funding for programs—a core function for Congress as prescribed by the U.S. Constitution.That’s a tall task for a legislative body that has rarely met budget deadlines in recent years. As the new school year begins, school districts are bracing for more disruption of the…

In the past month or so, federal courts have dealt a string of blows to conservatives’ push for the biblical Ten Commandments to be posted in public schools.Yet as states lose over required religious displays, many are working on another route to faith-based education by allowing kids to attend off-campus religious instruction. This year, Iowa, Montana, Ohio, and Texas passed laws guaranteeing parents the right to have their children excused during the school day for free, off-campus religious instruction, often called “released time.”Those four states are the latest of at least 12 that require school districts to offer released time…