North Dakota

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in North Dakota
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options the state has for the assessment of students during a press conference May 8, 2015, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D.
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options the state has for the assessment of students during a press conference May 8, 2015, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D. President Donald Trump has tapped Baesler to serve as assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education.
Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune via AP
Federal Trump Picks Long-Serving State Chief With Bipartisan Fans for Top Ed. Dept. Role
Trump nominated North Dakota State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler to a key post overseeing K-12 policy at the U.S. Department of Education.
Alyson Klein, February 14, 2025
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5 min read
budget school funding
iStock/Getty
School Choice & Charters Private School Choice Will Keep Expanding in 2025. Here's Where and How
The conditions are ripe in at least a dozen states for proposals to invest public dollars in private educational options for families.
Mark Lieberman, January 10, 2025
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12 min read
A collage of two faceless students sitting on an open book with a notebook and laptop. All around them are numbers, math symbols and pieces of an actual student transcript.
Nadia Radic for Education Week
Assessment Explainer What Is Standards-Based Grading, and How Does It Work?
Schools can retool to make instruction more personalized and student-centered. But grading is a common sticking point.
Matthew Stone, September 16, 2024
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11 min read
Houses made out of 100 dollar bills and lined up in a row.
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Budget & Finance The Future of Property Taxes Is on Ballots This Fall. Why It Matters for Schools
Several states are considering reforms that would lower property taxes—or ask voters to approve eliminating them altogether.
Mark Lieberman, August 30, 2024
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4 min read
Photo of principals walking in school hallway.
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School & District Management New Principals Have a Steep Learning Curve. Could Apprenticeships Help?
North Dakota's leaders share what they've learned about creating a principal apprenticeship in a playbook aimed at other states
Olina Banerji, July 2, 2024
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5 min read
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options the state has for the assessment of students during a press conference May 8, 2015, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D.
North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announces the gathering of a task force to look into future options for student assessment during a press conference May 8, 2015, in Bismarck, N.D. Baesler, the nation's longest-serving state schools chief, is running for a fourth term, facing opponents with no experience serving in public schools.
Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune via AP
States The Surprising Contenders for State Superintendent Offices This Year
Two elections for the top education leadership job feature candidates who have never worked in public schools.
Libby Stanford, June 17, 2024
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8 min read
A teacher putting her arms around her students, more students than she can manage herself. A shortage of Special Education teachers.
Nicole Xu for Education Week
Recruitment & Retention Retention Is the Missing Ingredient in Special Education Staffing
Many special education teachers switch to other teaching positions. Districts are exploring ways to keep them in the needed role.
Evie Blad, May 13, 2024
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9 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
School & District Management Opinion How One State Is Talking About School Improvement
The country's longest-serving state schools chief addresses what's changed in the field of education during her tenure.
Rick Hess, December 21, 2023
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6 min read
Image shows a hand arranging wood block stacking as step stair on paper.
Getty
School & District Management What's Next for Principal Apprenticeships? 3 Things to Know
A new federal approval will allow principal candidates to train on the job with the help of federal funding. Here's what comes next.
Evie Blad, July 25, 2023
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2 min read
Protesters cheer outside Senate chambers at the Indiana Statehouse on March 22, 2023, in Indianapolis. Indiana schools may soon be required to notify parents if their child requests a name or pronoun change at school, after state Senators on April 10, 2023, advanced a bill that some worry could out transgender kids to their parents.
Protesters cheer at the Indiana Statehouse on March 22, 2023, in Indianapolis. Indiana schools may soon be required to notify parents if their child requests a name or pronoun change at school, after state lawmakers advanced a bill that some advocates worry could out transgender kids to their parents.
Arleigh Rodgers/AP
Equity & Diversity Pronouns for Trans, Nonbinary Students: The States With Laws That Restrict Them in Schools
Under the laws, teachers aren’t required to use trans or nonbinary students’ requested pronouns.
Eesha Pendharkar, June 14, 2023
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7 min read
Teachers walk out onto a field of speech bubble shaped holes.
Collage by Vanessa Solis/Education Week (Images: iStock/Getty Images)
Social Studies Social Studies Groups Are Training Teachers to Navigate 'Divisive Concepts' Laws
They're teaching how to defend the discipline against charges of indoctrination and maintain quality despite curricular restrictions.
Sarah Schwartz, June 8, 2023
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8 min read
A crowd gathers at the outside of the Indiana House chamber as the House Education Committee discuss House Bill 1608 at the Statehouse on Feb. 20, 2023, in Indianapolis.
A crowd gathers at the outside of the Indiana House chamber on Feb. 20, 2023, as the House Education Committee discussed the legislation that became a state law that requires teachers to inform parents if their children identify as transgender. Indiana is one of at least nine states that have passed laws targeting transgender students' pronouns.
Darron Cummings/AP
Equity & Diversity Laws on Trans, Nonbinary Student Pronouns Put Teachers in a Bind
Under laws passed in nine states, teachers don't have to use students’ pronouns and names if they don’t align with their assigned sex.
Eesha Pendharkar & Libby Stanford, May 30, 2023
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8 min read
Senior Brings Rain Demaray works on a computer during a Senior Seminar Class at New Town High School. The course is aimed at having seniors become Choice Ready, a North Dakota state initiative.
North Dakota adopted computer science and cybersecurity standards in 2019. Students must study either cybersecurity or computer science to graduate.
Kristina Barker for Education Week
Curriculum Should Cybersecurity Be a Graduation Requirement? This State Thinks So
North Dakota is requiring all students to study either cybersecurity or computer science content to graduate.
Alyson Klein, April 17, 2023
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3 min read
Photo of dollar bills frozen in ice.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
States Should Superintendent Salaries Be Capped? Some States Are Considering It
Superintendent pay is under constant scrutiny, and proposals come up occasionally to cap it. But they rarely gain traction.
Caitlynn Peetz, March 13, 2023
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6 min read
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