Rules for Engagement
The Rules for Engagement blog explored the nonacademic issues that bear on students’ learning. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: social-emotional learning, student well-being, and school climate.
School Climate & Safety
'We Will Get Through This Together': Principal Shares Emotional Message After School Shooting
"I will hug each and every one of you," Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Principal Ty Thompson said in a video message to students days after a school shooting at the Parkland, Fla., school.
Equity & Diversity
Ed. Dept. Won't Investigate Transgender Students' Complaints About School Restroom Access
The U.S. Department of Education won't intervene if transgender students file complaints about access to school restrooms, a spokesperson said, confirming a position the agency has effectively held since it rescinded guidance on transgender student rights a year ago.
Equity & Diversity
In a First, a State May Ban Its Schools From Teaching About Gender Identity
A South Dakota lawmaker has proposed a bill that would prohibit public schools from teaching kindergarten through 7th-grade students about gender identity or gender expression. Critics say it would hurt transgender students.
School Climate & Safety
School Shooters Are Rarely Female. What Does That Mean for Schools?
Police arrested a 12-year-old girl after a shooting at a Los Angeles middle school Thursday. School shooting suspects are rarely female, but safety experts urge educators not to assume a narrow profile when addressing safety concerns.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Flu Levels Are Especially High This Year. Here's What Schools Need to Know
The country is on track to have one of its worst flu seasons in years, which won't come as a surprise to schools that have seen high rates of absences as the spread of the virus intensified.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Social-Emotional Learning for Senators: This Elementary School Exercise Helped End the Shutdown
A group of senators used an elementary school listening exercise to help negotiate an end to the government shutdown. Here's what Congress can learn from schools.
States
What if Hawaii's False Alarm Had Happened on a School Day?
Hawaii's schools are prepared to respond to ballistic missile threats, education officials wrote in a letter to parents after Saturday's false alarm.
Student Well-Being & Movement
'When Are We Going to Use This?' Strategies to Help Students Find Relevance in School Work
A researcher who studies student motivation has developed strategies for helping students find personal relevance of classroom work. That's key to helping them stay engaged, he says.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Watch: Parents Push for (and Win) More School Recess Time
Why a pair of moms set out on a mission to ensure that every elementary school in their state offered recess.
Equity & Diversity
Rep. Scott Urges DeVos to Keep Obama-Era School Discipline Guidance
The ranking member of the House education committee urged U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos not to scrap a directive issued by the Obama administration with the aim of driving down disproportionately high discipline rates for students of color.
School & District Management
School-Based Telemedicine Can Be a Game Changer For Students With Asthma, Study Finds
For students with asthma, a combination of telemedicine services and taking medication under the supervision of a school nurse cut emergency room visits and hospitalizations in half, a study found.
Student Well-Being & Movement
School Police Group Supports Change in Federal Marijuana-Law Enforcement
A national organization that trains school-based police officers says it supports Attorney General Jeff Sessions' recent decision on federal enforcement of marijuana laws.
Student Well-Being & Movement
Students Make a Prosthetic Leg for a Duck, Showing the Value of Purpose in Learning
Arkansas middle school students persisted through months of challenges in designing a 3D-printed prosthetic foot for a duck. Researchers say a sense of purpose, like helping an animal, can help engage students in the classroom.
Equity & Diversity
#MeTooK12 Seeks to Spotlight Problem of Sexual Assault in Schools
After months of discussion of workplace sexual assault and harassment, organizers hope the #MeTooK12 campaign will shine a spotlight on sexual violence in public schools.