June 19, 2019
Education Week, Vol. 38, Issue 36
School & District Management
Voter Turnout Drops for School Board Elections Where Charters Thrive
In Ohio, enrollments in charters were linked with modest declines in votes cast in odd-year school board elections.
Federal
Timeline: Party Platforms & Charter Schools
A look at the two major political parties' platforms since the first charter school law was passed shows how Democrats' positions on school choice have evolved, including increased calls for accountability.
States
State Legislators Revamp Funding in Texas, Nevada
Several states this year sought to replace their funding formulas, a monumental fiscal and political feat, but only a handful of legislatures have been able to get proposals to their governors' desks.
Families & the Community
A District Knew It Was Failing Some Students. How It's Using Parents to Help
The Minneapolis district—with large achievement gaps between white and black students—is enlisting parents from communities of color to help it gather broader and better feedback on how to improve.
School & District Management
Teacher Tensions Fuel Kentucky Governor's Race
After clashing with the teacher community in often confrontational terms, Republican Gov. Matt Bevin faces a fierce battle to win re-election against Democratic rival Andy Beshear, the state's attorney general.
Education Funding
Arthur Levine, Known for Harsh Critiques of Teacher-Preparation Programs, to Step Down
The 70-year-old president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, who called schools of education “unruly and disordered,” will end his tenure this month.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Camp Giving Vulnerable Students an Academic 'Home' for the Summer
While many students eagerly count down the last few days of the school year, the start of summer break is a more anxious prospect for students in and on the verge of homelessness.
School Climate & Safety
State Lawmakers Tackle Broad Basket of Issues on Parent Checklist
School safety, student data privacy, and the charter sector all drew significant attention in this year’s legislative sessions, most of which have now wrapped up.
Federal
How Charters Could Factor in 2020's Democratic Primary
Charter schools are playing a notable role in remarks about education from candidates like Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. Yet it's not clear what if any role they'll have in important states like Iowa and New Hampshire.
States
See Where Teachers Got Pay Raises This Year
More than a year after teachers began walking out en masse to demand higher salaries, at least 15 states have given their teachers a raise.
Law & Courts
News in Brief
Justice Backs Suit to Force Tuition Aid
The Trump administration has entered a lawsuit in support of three families seeking to require Maine to pay tuition for their children to attend religious high schools.
Equity & Diversity
Report Roundup
School Discipline
In schools that use corporal punishment, students with disabilities and black students are disproportionately more likely to be hit than their peers, finds a new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Early Childhood
Report Roundup
Early-Childhood Education
A new report by the Government Accountability Office provides the first comprehensive nationwide look at state early education programs and how they are funded.
School & District Management
Report Roundup
Arts Education
Arts education affects students' social-emotional development—for good or ill, concludes a new report by the Consortium for Chicago School Research and the nonprofit Ingenuity.
Assessment
Report Roundup
Research Report: Education Technology
When it comes to a key international test, there's little evidence that technology use benefits student scores and some evidence that it could drag them down, according to a new report by the nonprofit Reboot Foundation.
School Climate & Safety
Report Roundup
School Start Times
Pushing secondary school start times to let adolescents catch a little more shut-eye may improve students' engagement in school, indicates a new study in the journal Sleep.
Education
News in Brief
Correction:
A map in the June 12, 2019, issue of Education Week on states prohibiting "lunch shaming" incorrectly displayed Minnesota and Wisconsin. It has been corrected to show Minnesota among the states prohibiting the practice. Wisconsin does not have any such prohibition.
Professional Development
News in Brief
Unable to Pass Math Test, N.C. Teachers Running Out of Time to Keep Jobs
Hundreds of North Carolina teachers are in danger of losing their jobs at the end of this month unless they can pass a licensure exam or state lawmakers take action to let them stay in the classroom.
Teaching Profession
News in Brief
School Workers in Oregon Sue Union Over Window of Opportunity to Quit
Three Oregon school employees sued their union in federal court last week, arguing it's unfair that the teachers' union only lets members drop out and stop paying dues during the month of September.
Assessment
News in Brief
Utah to Drop $44 Million Contract With New Assessment Company
Utah education officials have abruptly canceled a $44 million contract with a Minnesota-based standardized-testing company amid a flurry of technological glitches that have created uncertainty about whether this year's test scores will be validated.
Professional Development
News in Brief
Indiana Educators Race to Renew Teaching Licenses Before Deadline
Thousands of Indiana teachers are scrambling to begin renewing their professional teaching licenses before new rules that state lawmakers approved this spring take effect July 1.
School Climate & Safety
News in Brief
District Officials Consider Closing and Rebuilding Columbine High
School officials in a Colorado community are gauging support for demolishing Columbine High School and rebuilding it nearby.
Student Well-Being & Movement
News in Brief
New York State Recommends Schools Test Flooring for Mercury Vapors
The state education department last week requested that all New York schools conduct an inventory of rubberlike floors and recommended testing them for mercury, after three in Long Island shut down this spring upon detecting mercury vapors.
Ed-Tech Policy
News in Brief
Analysis Indicates Millions of Students Lack Home Internet to Do Homework
Nearly 3 million students around the country face struggles to keep up with their studies because they must make do without home internet.
Curriculum
A Popular Social Studies Curriculum Got an Internal Review. The Findings Weren’t Pretty
Studies Weekly's lessons had hundreds of examples of errors and racial bias.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
If You Won't Do Restorative Justice Right, Don't Do It
My school tried its best at restorative justice, but we needed something more than good intentions: resources and training, writes former teacher Allison Fried.
English Learners
Opinion
Stop Trying to Standardize Your Students' Language
Instead of fixating on the word gap and other false language-skills dilemmas, focus on what's really hurting students, writes Olivia Obeso.
Education Funding
Money, Data, Security: The Biggest Challenges Facing K-12 Tech Leaders
From budgeting on a shoestring to breaking down information silos to guarding against breaches, five school district tech leaders discuss their biggest worries.
College & Workforce Readiness
Is the Nation's Rising Graduation Rate Real?
More high school students than ever are graduating, and a new report suggests that’s not due to lowered standards—it’s because students are actually learning more.