December 13, 2017
Education Week, Vol. 37, Issue 15
School Climate & Safety
Five Years After Sandy Hook: Perspectives on Gun Violence and Schools (Videos)
Five years after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, school shootings haven't stopped. And the debate over guns rages on. Here are three video stories about efforts to prevent another massacre like the one in Newtown, Conn.
Law & Courts
Inside a Key Voting-Rights Precedent Affecting School Boards
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling in Shelby County, Ala. v. Holder gutted a portion of the 1956 Voting Rights Act, and the reverberations continue for school board and other local elections.
School & District Management
Partisan School Board Elections a Source of Anxiety for North Carolina
The shift of more than a quarter of the state’s local school board races to partisan ones in recent years has some cheering it could increase voter transparency, while others warn it could shrink representation for minorities.
Equity & Diversity
A Quest to Give Minority Voters a Bigger Voice on School Boards
Across California, school districts are shifting from at-large elections to single-member districts to make it easier for Latinos and other minority communities to elect candidates to local offices.
School Choice & Charters
GAO: Vouchers Leave Parents in Dark On Special Ed. Rights
States don't do enough to inform parents about the rights they lose when they enroll children in private schools using vouchers, the GAO finds.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Hearing Puts Civil Rights, Special Education Nominees on Hot Seat
The Trump administration's picks to head up two key positions in the Department of Education face tough questions from Democrats on Capitol Hill.
Education Funding
Tax Plan Poised to Change Deductions, Choice in K-12
Public education advocates lobby against GOP proposals with funding implications, while some school choice advocates celebrate elements that could boost private school options.
School & District Management
Missouri Chief's Ouster Sparks Political, Legal Aftershocks
The state's Republican governor is in a pitched battle with the state's educators over the process he used to fire Missouri's commissioner of education.
School & District Management
From Our Research Center
Survey: Educators' Political Leanings, Who They Voted For, Where They Stand on Key Issues
Despite strong opinions and partisan viewpoints, an Education Week Research Center survey shows teachers, principals, and administrators working to keep those divisions out of the classroom.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Reader Responds to Personalized Learning Special Report
False debates are a specialty in the world of public education. Whether it's about the Common Core State Standards, public charter schools, or teacher evaluation, the debates are often based on distortions if not outright lies. The latest entry in the field of false debates is "personalized learning."
Education
Letter to the Editor
The English-Only Test Doesn't Measure Up
We read the Oct. 24 article "'English-Only' States Balk on Tests in Other Languages" with great interest. We wanted to see what the rationale is for such a practice in light of substantial evidence against it. Consider the following: Federal laws require statewide assessments in students' first languages. There is a large volume of research supporting these laws, including two federally funded meta-analyses showing the significance of students' home languages in acquiring an additional language.
Education
Letter to the Editor
Students as Change Agents
To the Editor:
Education Week's Nov. 1 issue struck two resonant notes for me. First was the coverage of Summit High School's peer-leadership program ("Peers Help 9th Graders Survive Critical Year"). The California high school's method of pairing freshmen with junior and senior mentors is noteworthy because it's focused on student-to-student interaction.
Education Week's Nov. 1 issue struck two resonant notes for me. First was the coverage of Summit High School's peer-leadership program ("Peers Help 9th Graders Survive Critical Year"). The California high school's method of pairing freshmen with junior and senior mentors is noteworthy because it's focused on student-to-student interaction.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Perspectives on Gun Violence and Schools: Five Years After Sandy Hook
Since Sandy Hook, schools have ramped up security: hiring police and practicing lockdown and active-shooter drills. But in some states, lawmakers want to arm educators, an idea many in K-12 passionately oppose.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
Research Report: Diversity
Student-teachers who report greater awareness of and comfort with issues of cultural diversity in the classroom are better at building more positive classroom environments that help every student succeed, finds a new study in the Journal of Teacher Education.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Teacher Recruitment
The Council of Chief State School Officers, a nonpartisan group of education chiefs across the country, has released a guidebook for state policymakers to build stronger pipelines into the profession.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
School Discipline
As more districts work to reduce discipline that takes students out of class, a new case-study report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute suggests how those policies are implemented can make a big difference.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Report Roundup
Accountability
States have made significant progress in providing the public-accountability report cards that the federal Every Student Succeeds Act requires, but many still have a long way to go to make them easily findable and understandable by parents, according to the latest analysis by the Data Quality Campaign.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Judge Backs Suspensions of Students Posting 'Liking' Online Racial Taunts
A federal district judge has upheld the expulsion of a high school student who created an Instagram account targeting black students and school staff members with racist and derogatory comments.
Education Funding
News in Brief
IRS Audit Finds Boston District Paid Employees Off the Books
An Internal Revenue Service audit that found Boston district employees being paid off the books, mismanagement in student-activities accounts, and failure to deduct Medicare taxes, has led to the city paying nearly $1 million in penalties.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Appeals Court Backs Tenured Teacher Over Indiana Law Involving Layoffs
A federal appeals court has ruled that a 2012 Indiana law curtailing the rights of tenured teachers during layoffs violates their rights under the contracts clause of the U.S. Constitution.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Tougher Nutrition Rules for Schools Headed Toward Chopping Block
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has published revised school meal rules, which will ease heightened nutrition standards championed by former first lady Michelle Obama.
Reading & Literacy
News in Brief
Scripps National Spelling Bee to Offer Wild-Card Slots
Scripps is creating a new path to its National Spelling Bee that could result in the field of spellers nearly doubling, from fewer than 300 to more than 500.
Federal
News in Brief
Sen. Franken, LGBT Student Advocate and DeVos Critic, Will Resign
U.S. Sen. Al Franken, a Minnesota Democrat and a member of the Senate education committee, announced last week that he will be stepping down in the coming weeks, in the face of allegations that he sexually harassed multiple women.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
Most Schools in Puerto Rico Open, Though Student Enrollment Is Down
The vast majority of Puerto Rico's schools have reopened, even though many remain without electricity.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Education Department Seeking to Curtail Civil Rights Investigations in Schools
The U.S. Department of Education wants to narrow the scope of civil rights investigations at schools, focusing on individual complaints rather than systemic problems, according to a document obtained by the Associated Press.
Science
Opinion
Preventing an Artificial-Intelligence Fueled Dystopia, One Student at a Time
Could engaging traditionally underrepresented students in AI development save us from a dystopia? Tess Posner makes the case.
Science
Opinion
Artificial Intelligence Is Around the Corner. Educators Should Take Note
AI could materially improve education—if educators and policymakers start answering some tough questions today, urges Michael Bennett.
Curriculum
Opinion
We Need to Modernize Education. The Clock Is Ticking
Flipping the curriculum and updating the goals of education could prepare us for the artificial-intelligence era, writes Charles Fadel.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
Students Must Be Prepared to Reinvent Themselves
Getting ready for an unknown future of employment means unlearning what we know about education, writes Christopher Dede.