December 14, 2016
Education Week, Vol. 36, Issue 15
Every Student Succeeds Act
Final ESSA Rules Flesh Out Accountability, Testing Details
New federal regulations cover areas such as school ratings and quality indicators, dealing with "consistently underperforming" groups of students, testing opt-outs, and more.
Science
Summing Up Results From TIMSS, PISA
Math results were mixed for American adolescents on two major global benchmarking tests released in recent weeks. These charts offer some highlights.
Teacher Preparation
17 Teacher-Prep. Programs Meet 'Tougher' Standards
Seventeen of 21 programs fully passed the first major test of the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation's new accreditation standards.
School Climate & Safety
New Push for Seat Belts on Buses in Wake of Crash
A deadly crash in Tennessee has sparked fresh calls for better bus safety, but no consensus on seat belts.
College & Workforce Readiness
States Beef Up School Counseling Corps
A handful of states are reinvesting in their thinning ranks of school counselors to get more students on the college path.
School & District Management
In Some States, a Tug of War Over ESSA Plans
Now that states are moving to take on new authority over K-12 policy under the Every Student Succeeds Act, skirmishes are breaking out in several states over who's in charge.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Five Steps for Trauma-Informed Ed. Leadership
Effective systems of student-trauma support can be replicated from one district to another, writes Superintendent Tiffany Anderson.
Student Well-Being
Opinion
Student Stress Is Education's Overlooked Crisis
Proven strategies for managing stress help both students and adults within a school community, writes former superintendent Terry Grier.
Student Well-Being
Opinion
The Brain Science Behind Student Trauma
The brain's response to trauma and unpredictable stress has critical implications for student learning, explains researcher Bruce Perry.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
What a Shared Trauma Meant for My School
In Darrington, Wash., a deadly natural disaster magnified the other traumatic circumstances in students' lives, writes Principal Tracy Franke.
Student Well-Being
Opinion
How Art Can Help Children Overcome Trauma
Creative expression in schools gives students an opportunity to work through deep emotional wounds, writes Heidi Durham.
Student Well-Being
Opinion
Inside a Student Wellness After-School Program
Wellness and self-care practices can equip students from underserved communities to handle the circumstances of poverty, writes Ali Smith.
Every Student Succeeds Act
What Are Multitiered Systems of Supports?
Here's a glossary for help in understanding multitiered systems of support, response to intervention, and their related uses.
Curriculum
Practical Lessons on Multitiered Systems of Supports
In Michigan, the Ingham Intermediate school district’s experiences offer a road map to the costs and challenges of its multitiered system of supports model for academic and behavioral improvement.
School & District Management
Can Michigan Sustain Its Multitiered Supports?
An initiative to embed a new instructional model in more than half the state's elementary and secondary schools has met with some successes—and some "false starts."
Special Education
Editor's Note: Response to Intervention 2.0
Education Week's second special report on RTI explores how the instructional framework has expanded into new forms and uses in schools across the country.
Special Education
RTI Expands, Encounters Growing Pains
Response to intervention has come a long way from its origins in special education law—but not without some bumps along the way.
Special Education
Q&A
Ask an Expert: Creating Multitiered Supports in Schools
Georgia school administrator John O'Connor answers readers' questions about implementing an RTI-like system of supports in their own school districts.
Special Education
Ky. District Uses RTI-Like Approach on Social Skills
Martin County, Ky., is using a $1.5 million federal grant to unite its secondary schools in a push to create a better school climate.
Special Education
College Board Expands Test Supports for Special Ed. Students, ELLs
Students with disabilities will find it easier next year to request accommodations on the SAT, the PSAT, and other tests the College Board runs.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
Mich. Senate Seeks to Stop Pensions for New Teachers
A Michigan Senate committee narrowly voted last week to close the pension system to new teachers and other school employees and to instead offer them only a 401(k)-style retirement plan, despite objections from Gov. Rick Snyder.
Every Student Succeeds Act
News in Brief
Simulator Will Allow States to Track Progress for ESSA
A nonprofit organization has created a simple tool that it says will help states, and by extension local districts, know if they're on track for meeting accountability targets under the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
N.C. Teacher Suspended for Stepping on Flag in Class
A North Carolina school board has upheld the 10-day suspension of a high school teacher who stepped on the American flag during a First Amendment lesson.
Federal
News in Brief
Single-Sex Classes in Idaho Violate Title IX, Feds Say
Officials with the U.S. Department of Education said recently that an Idaho school district violated federal law when it segregated elementary students into single-sex classrooms.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Settlements in LAUSD Case Top $200M to Abuse Victims
The Los Angeles Unified School District has reached another settlement with former students who alleged they were sexually abused by a Miramonte Elementary School teacher, bringing the total payout in the case so far to over $200 million.
English-Language Learners
News in Brief
Majority of English-Learners Born in U.S., Study Finds
The majority of English-language learners in U.S. K-12 schools were born in the United States, according to an analysis from the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute.
Federal
News in Brief
Annual Civil Rights Complaints to Ed. Dept. Double Since 2008
The number of annual complaints to the U.S. Department of Education's office for civil rights more than doubled since the start of President Barack Obama's administration, increasing from 6,364 in fiscal 2009 to 16,720 in fiscal 2016.
Federal
News in Brief
Trump Suggests He's Open to Solutions for 'Dreamers'
President-elect Donald Trump says his administration will "work something out" for so-called Dreamers—young immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children—but he did not offer specifics on a potential plan.
Special Education
News in Brief
High Court Sets Date to Hear Special Education Case
The U.S. Supreme Court has set Jan. 11 as the date that it will hear a case revolving around the level of benefit that special education is supposed to provide to students with disabilities.