May 8, 2019
Education Week, Vol. 38, Issue 32
Social Studies
Schools Teach Civics. Do They Model It?
Colorado students who led a peaceful protest at their school learned a hard lesson about civics—and it didn’t come from textbooks.
Special Education
Opinion
Students With Disabilities Deserve Inclusion. It's Also the Best Way to Teach
Inclusion doesn't just mean throwing disabled students into general education classrooms without support.
School & District Management
Trump Meets With Teacher Honorees, Even as Two Boycott
National and state teachers of the year got a last-minute face-to-face with President Donald Trump, but two of them refused to attend the White House event in a protest against administration policies.
Federal
House Democrats Seek $4.4 Billion Ed. Dept. Increase
The House subcommittee that handles the U.S. Department of Education's budget unveiled its spending proposal last week. This was a chance for newly empowered House Democrats to show just how far apart they are from Trump on issues like Title I, Title IV, and other programs Trump wants to eliminate.
Equity & Diversity
The Battle Over Who Gets Into Elite Public High Schools
Chicago’s approach to admissions for selective high schools could be a model for New York City, where black and Latino students comprise a tiny share of students who are selected for its most sought-after high schools.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Limited Impact So Far From ESSA's School-Spending Data
Advocates have high hopes that the new law’s school-level data will fuel debate over spending, but the numbers are still trickling out.
Law & Courts
What Are Students' Constitutional Rights?
The First Amendment looks different in schools. (So do the 4th, 5th, 8th, and 14th.)
Curriculum
Letter to the Editor
The Key to Making Curriculum Reform Work
To the Editor:
The authors of the recent Commentary about curriculum reform ("Don't Give Up on Curriculum Reform Just Yet," April 10, 2019) are right that the "Learning by the Book" study from Harvard University, which found disappointing outcomes stemming from the adoption of more rigorous curricula, is not a reason to give up on the promise of such materials. They're also right that an investment in professional development for teachers is necessary to make the most of these new materials. But, it's not just more professional development of any kind.
The authors of the recent Commentary about curriculum reform ("Don't Give Up on Curriculum Reform Just Yet," April 10, 2019) are right that the "Learning by the Book" study from Harvard University, which found disappointing outcomes stemming from the adoption of more rigorous curricula, is not a reason to give up on the promise of such materials. They're also right that an investment in professional development for teachers is necessary to make the most of these new materials. But, it's not just more professional development of any kind.
Teaching Profession
Report Roundup
Teachers' Unions
Efforts to unionize teachers in charter schools are picking up in a handful of states, and counter efforts by school administrators to tamp them down often backfire, according to a study by the University of Washington's Center on Reinventing Public Education.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
School Libraries
More than nine in 10 schools have a campus media center, but there remain significant library disparities, federal data show. Overall, the percentage of schools with libraries slowly but steadily declined, from 94 percent in 2003-04 to 91 percent in 2015-16.
Education Funding
Report Roundup
Early Childhood
Early-childhood-education programs increasingly use quality rating systems, but it's not clear how much the ratings are helping them to improve, finds an evaluation by the research firm Mathematica.
Professional Development
Report Roundup
Student Discipline
American adults favor supportive student-discipline solutions, like school climate efforts and training for teachers, over stricter practices like detentions or suspensions, a new survey finds.
School Choice & Charters
Report Roundup
Research Report: Charter Schools
New proposals to open "no excuses" charter schools have dropped sharply over the past five years and so, too, have the number of approvals for such schools, according to a new report from the National Association of Charter School Authorizers.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
To Protesters Go the Spoils
Teachers walked out of their classrooms last school year in protest of low wages—and in some cases, won sizable pay raises. A new analysis by the National Education Association shows the likely extent of their victories.
Federal
News in Brief
Former Denver Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet Runs for President
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., the former Denver schools superintendent, is joining the crowded Democratic campaign for the White House.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Ky. Attorney General Sues to Block Subpoenas for Teachers' Records
Kentucky's attorney general followed through on his warning and filed suit last week to block subpoenas issued by Gov. Matt Bevin's administration as part of an investigation into teacher sickouts that shut down schools.
Education Funding
News in Brief
Legislature in Washington State Lifts Local Tax Cap for Schools
Washington lawmakers last week reached a deal to lift the state's "levy lid," blunting tighter limits on voter-approved local taxes for schools that were set to take effect this year. Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, was expected to sign the legislation that Republicans had criticized.
School Choice & Charters
News in Brief
Florida Lawmakers Approve Measure to Expand Vouchers for Private Schools
Florida lawmakers sent Gov. Ron DeSantis a Republican-crafted bill last week to create a new voucher program for students to attend private schools, including religious ones, using taxpayer dollars traditionally spent on public schools.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Supreme Court Won't Hear Challenge to Exclusive Union Representation
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a case that held the potential to deal a further blow to public-employee unions, including those in K-12 and higher education, in the wake of last term's major decision that removed the ability of such unions to collect service fees from nonmembers.
Federal
News in Brief
Youths Promote Presidential Debate on Environmental Policy for 2020
A student-led petition urging 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to debate on environmental policy has garnered more than 51,000 signatures since its posting nearly three weeks ago.
Classroom Technology
News in Brief
School Districts Often Out of Touch With Teachers' Technology Needs
Although they are convinced they know what technology is most effective for their students, many teachers say they're not being given the tools and platforms that meet classroom needs, a new nationwide survey finds.
Mathematics
Opinion
Ditch the Math Worksheets and Stop Killing Kids' Curiosity
Too many early-childhood educators think math and play are mutually exclusive. They don't have to be, writes education professor Kathy Liu Sun.
Social Studies
Opinion
Antisemitism Is on the Rise. Can Teaching About the Holocaust Help?
The Holocaust is practically ancient history for many students, but that doesn't make it any less relevant, argues Lindsay J. Friedman.
College & Workforce Readiness
Why the High-Achievers Have Moved to 'Shop' Class
Higher-achieving students are flocking to career-technical-education classes, a new study says, and their participation could help erase the stigma that has long dogged old-school “voc ed” classes.
Assessment
Girls Outshine Boys on Federal Exam of Tech, Engineering Skills
Overall, average scores were up two points since 2014 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in Technology and Engineering Literacy.