March 9, 2016
Education Week, Vol. 35, Issue 23
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Auditor Says Officials Going Easy on Cheating Principals
Ohio's state auditor has ridiculed the state education department for allowing some Columbus school administrators to take part of the summer off as punishment for data-rigging.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Kansas Lawmakers Nix Ethnic-Studies Bill
Legislators have rejected a bill that would have required the Kansas education department to create ethnic- studies courses and standards, according to the Wichita Eagle.
English-Language Learners
News in Brief
Spanish, Arabic, Chinese Top ELL Home Languages
Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese are the top three home languages for English-language learners in the nation's K-12 public schools, according to data from the federal education department.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Illinois Board Probing Chicago School Finances
The Illinois board of education has asked the Chicago district to send over financial information as part of an investigation into the district's finances, local media report.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
School Police Put on Leave After Incident in Baltimore
Officials in the Baltimore school system placed the district's in-house police chief and two school police officers on leave last week after a video surfaced of one officer kicking, slapping, and swearing at a teenage boy.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Birth Certificates to Gauge Gender for Texas Athletes
School superintendents in Texas have overwhelmingly approved a change that requires public school officials to use a birth certificate to determine a student-athlete's gender.
Equity & Diversity
News in Brief
Federal Officials Investigate Oldest Public School in U.S.
The U.S. attorney's office in Boston is launching an investigation into possible civil rights violations at Boston Latin School, the nation's oldest public school.
School & District Management
News in Brief
Principals' Group Opposes Opting Out of Testing
The National Association of Secondary School Principals has taken a stand against state and district policies that permit parents to opt their children out of standardized tests.
Federal
News in Brief
Federal Officials Launch Anti-Absenteeism Efforts
The Obama administration has announced two new initiatives designed to raise awareness about and combat chronic absenteeism in schools.
Federal
Envisioning Education Policy Under a President Donald Trump
Education Week asked several people from across the political and policy spectrum to weigh in on what a Trump administration might do on education.
School & District Management
Opinion
Why Is Education Leadership So White?
The diversity crisis in K-12 leadership is hurting students of color, writes Chiefs for Change CEO Michael Magee.
Education
Tangled Web: Zuckerberg & Chan's Education Grants, Investments
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, pediatrician Priscilla Chan, are using a diverse mix of entities to support education technology and personalized learning.
Classroom Technology
Zuckerberg Talks Personalized Learning, Philanthropy, and Lessons From Newark
In an exclusive interview with Education Week, the Facebook CEO talks about why he is shifting his K-12 giving priorities to personalized learning.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Facebook's Zuckerberg to Bet Big on Personalized Learning
After learning hard lessons in Newark, N.J., the young billionaire is shifting his focus to educational technology, shaking up the world of K-12 philanthropy.
Education Funding
A Tennessee District Perseveres in Wake of Online-Testing Woes
The state pulled the plug on new online tests aligned to the common core, but school leaders in Kingsport, Tenn., see it as a temporary setback in implementing the news standards and assessments.