Issues

March 22, 2017

Education Week, Vol. 36, Issue 25
The Education Department's $68 billion budget would be slashed by $9 billion, or 13 percent in the coming fiscal year under the spending plan proposed by President Donald Trump.
The Education Department's $68 billion budget would be slashed by $9 billion, or 13 percent in the coming fiscal year under the spending plan proposed by President Donald Trump.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal Proposed Budget Targets High-Profile Programs, Favors School Choice
The Trump administration seeks deep cuts to Education Department funding, including elimination of programs supporting professional development and after-school and extended-learning.
Alyson Klein & Andrew Ujifusa, March 21, 2017
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6 min read
Assessment Plan to Shut Detroit's Failing Schools Reveals Lack of Options
Long frustrated by failed efforts to turn around Michigan's worst public schools, top Republican officials in the state decided it was time for a drastic measure: shut down 38 schools that were ranked continually in the bottom 5 percent statewide and shift their students to better options elsewhere.
David Eggert, Associated Press & Corey Williams, Associated Press, March 21, 2017
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3 min read
Cynthia Greaux, a Florida mother, uses vouchers to send her children Tyler, 14, and Chloe, 8, to a private school that specializes in educating students with dyslexia.
Cynthia Greaux, a Florida mother, uses vouchers to send her children Tyler, 14, and Chloe, 8, to a private school that specializes in educating students with dyslexia.
Angel Valentin for Education Week
School Choice & Charters Parents See Benefits in Spec. Ed. Vouchers, But No Silver Bullet
For students with disabilities, vouchers can help open the door to private school attendance, but they come with trade-offs, including the loss of specific legal protections.
Christina A. Samuels, March 21, 2017
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10 min read
Jennifer Langston, a freshman at Plain Dealing High School in Plain Dealing, La., is learning engineering and computer programming skills in a cyber-literacy class.
Jennifer Langston, a freshman at Plain Dealing High School in Plain Dealing, La., is learning engineering and computer programming skills in a cyber-literacy class.
Douglas Collier for Education Week
Classroom Technology With Hacking in Headlines, K-12 Cybersecurity Ed. Gets More Attention
Federal and state agencies are supporting a wide range of education and workforce-development efforts aimed at countering digital security threats.
Benjamin Herold, March 21, 2017
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7 min read
Wheaton North High School students stream through the commons area during lunchtime earlier this month.
Wheaton North High School students stream through the commons area during lunchtime earlier this month.
Alyssa Schukar for Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness The Challenge of Creating Schools That 'Work for Everybody'
One high-achieving school works to get a handle on the racial- and income-based disparities that continue to divide its students.
Catherine Gewertz, March 21, 2017
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11 min read
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, now in her second month at the helm of the Education Department, is still settling into her role of representing the agency in the public eye.
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, now in her second month at the helm of the Education Department, is still settling into her role of representing the agency in the public eye.
Molly Riley/AP
Every Student Succeeds Act DeVos' Challenge: Tuning Her Message as New Education Secretary
After a rough start on the communications front, Betsy DeVos faces a steep climb to get her points across to the public while settling into her policy role.
Mark Walsh, March 21, 2017
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7 min read
Teacher Melissa Guerrette, left, and 5th graders at Oxford Elementary School in Oxford, Maine, talk via Skype with children’s book author Julie Falatko.
Teacher Melissa Guerrette, left, and 5th graders at Oxford Elementary School in Oxford, Maine, talk via Skype with children’s book author Julie Falatko.
Sarah Rice for Education Week
Reading & Literacy Virtual Class Visits Link Book Authors to Students
Educators are turning to Twitter, Skype, and other technology tools to bring real, live writers into their classrooms.
Liana Loewus, March 21, 2017
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7 min read
Education DeVos Isn't Alone: Past Ed. Secretary Gaffes
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is hardly the only one to draw fire for controversial statements or outright verbal gaffes in that office over the years.
March 21, 2017
Curriculum Arts Standards Quietly Take Hold in 14 States
The standards, developed by 50 arts and education groups, stress teaching broad concepts and include media arts.
Jaclyn Zubrzycki, March 21, 2017
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7 min read
Why Are We Criminalizing Black Students? School resource officers are making racial disparities in discipline worse, not better, writes UCLA professor Tyrone C. Howard.
Jared Boggess for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Opinion Why Are We Criminalizing Black Students?
School resource officers are making racial disparities in discipline worse, not better, writes UCLA professor Tyrone C. Howard.
Tyrone C. Howard, March 21, 2017
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5 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Report Roundup Suspensions Can Cost Billions, Calif. Study Finds
Students who were suspended in high school are much less likely to graduate, which, in turn, leads to lower tax revenue and higher taxpayer costs years later.
Francisco Vara-Orta, March 21, 2017
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1 min read
Science Report Roundup Science Education
When parents of high school students are given guidance on how to talk about the importance of science and math, their children are more likely to score well on a STEM standardized test and, years later, pursue a STEM career, finds a study from the University of Virginia and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Liana Loewus, March 21, 2017
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1 min read
Education Funding Report Roundup Substitute Teachers
Instead of hiring substitutes when teachers are absent, New York City could save $9 million a year by sending students online to complete assignments independently, according to a budget office report.
Brenda Iasevoli, March 21, 2017
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1 min read
English-Language Learners Report Roundup Research Report: Immigrant Students
Elementary school students are often acutely aware of their immigration status—and it affects how and when they participate in school activities, finds a study in the American Educational Research Journal.
Corey Mitchell, March 21, 2017
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety Report Roundup Research Report: Bullying
Virtual bullying can do real damage to students' educational and social progress, according to a new meta-analysis of research in the journal Review of Educational Research.
Sarah D. Sparks, March 21, 2017
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1 min read
School & District Management Report Roundup Dual Enrollment
A new study of dual-enrollment programs finds that high-achieving white girls from financially secure homes are more likely to enroll in those college-credit programs than minority, male, or low-income students.
Catherine Gewertz, March 21, 2017
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1 min read
Teaching Profession Report Roundup New Teachers
Retired teachers who mentored new educators showed promise in improving math instruction, according to a new randomized controlled trial.
Sarah D. Sparks, March 21, 2017
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1 min read
Education News in Brief Transitions
Ken Krehbiel, who has been serving as the acting executive director for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics since October, has been selected as the organization's new executive director. Krehbiel joined the NCTM 17 years ago as its director of communications.
March 21, 2017
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1 min read
Every Student Succeeds Act Letter to the Editor We Are Not Just 'Blips on a Screen'
To the Editor:
I am commenting on the Politics K-12 blog post "Betsy DeVos to State Chiefs: Full Speed Ahead on the Every Student Succeeds Act" (Feb. 10, 2017). As educators, we all know about differentiated instruction, different learning styles, etc. It strikes me as a step backwards into ignorance if we can't apply the same research-based principles to reviewing ESSA plans that we've already found to be beneficial elsewhere. There is diversity among the human race. Not every school or writer should need to follow a uniform plan.
March 21, 2017
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1 min read
Federal Letter to the Editor DeVos Ignores Teachers' Needs
To the Editor:
This retired teacher is indeed anxious ("DeVos Takes Reins at Ed. Department, While Anxieties Persist," Feb. 15, 2017).
March 21, 2017
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1 min read
School Climate & Safety News in Brief Five L.A. Students Injured During Science Experiment
Five teenage students were injured, and two were taken to the hospital after an explosion during an after-school science activity at a Los Angeles-area middle school.
The Associated Press, March 21, 2017
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1 min read
School & District Management News in Brief New Database to Help Link Educators With Researchers
The Every Student Succeeds Act's evidence standards are intended to drive more educators and researchers to work together to explore problems in education and find solutions.
Sarah D. Sparks, March 21, 2017
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1 min read
Classroom Technology News in Brief Catholic High School Reaps $24 Million From IPO
A California high school has made millions of dollars from the initial public offering of shares in Snap Inc., the company behind the Snapchat photo-messaging application.
The Associated Press, March 21, 2017
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1 min read
Teaching Profession News in Brief Research Group Names Top Districts For Teachers
The National Council on Teacher Quality has, for the first time, named what it considers to be the best districts for recruiting, supporting, and training great teachers.
Denisa R. Superville, March 21, 2017
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1 min read
Education Funding News in Brief FAFSA Tool Shut Off For Security Reasons
The Internal Revenue Service intentionally shut off a tool for helping students and parents apply for federal student aid, and the tool will continue to be unavailable for "several weeks," government officials say.
Liana Loewus, March 21, 2017
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1 min read
Law & Courts News in Brief N.M. Senate Overrides Teacher Sick-Leave Veto
The New Mexico Senate voted decisively last week to override Republican Gov. Susana Martinez's veto of a teacher sick-leave bill.
Tribune News Service, March 21, 2017
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1 min read
Law & Courts News in Brief Ky. Lawmakers Approve 'Religious Expression' Bill
A bill that has been sent to Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin designed to protect "religious expressions" in public schools has LGBT advocates worried it will give student groups a license to discriminate.
The Associated Press, March 21, 2017
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1 min read
Law & Courts News in Brief U.S. Supreme Court Returns 'Restroom Case' to Appeals Court
The U.S. Supreme Court has returned the major case on transgender rights in schools to a lower court for fresh consideration of the Trump administration's withdrawal of Obama-era guidance that federal anti-discrimination law protects gender identity.
Mark Walsh, March 21, 2017
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1 min read
Reading & Literacy News in Brief Fla. Court Says 3rd Graders Must Take State Test
In a blow to parents seeking to have their children "opt out" of Florida's high-stakes tests, an appeals court has ruled that school districts have a right to hold 3rd graders back when they score badly on a state reading test.
The Associated Press, March 21, 2017
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1 min read
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