DA Staff

Social-emotional learning is the latest flashpoint in the education wars

Conservatives have accused schools of hijacking SEL to promote progressive ideas about race, gender and sexuality, while liberals have warned of threats to student privacy.

K-12 students are becoming activists, drawing on lessons from historic fight for ethnic studies

The events of the past are inspiring younger students of today to stand up for civil rights.

New contact tracing, quarantine procedures begin in NC K-12 schools

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services no longer recommends contact tracing or quarantines for students who test negative, even if they've been exposed to a positive COVID case.

Parents and students protest over K-12 school mask mandates throughout the Central Valley

"Remove the masks from our children, at least give the children the choice to come to school without a mask so they can get their education," says Brandon Marks, a community member attending the protest.

Million-dollar requests: From COVID to critical race theory, freedom of information demands flood districts

Leaders of small Minnesota school districts have been inundated with public records requests seeking millions of documents with information on everything from their schools’ COVID protocols to classroom materials, names of teachers and the buildings where they work, even text messages that mention race or social-emotional services.

Portland Public Schools expects to see 3,400 students leave by next school year

Administrators expect the biggest drop in enrollment will be in elementary schools at 20%. Because of that decline, there's a potential for less state funding, and leaders expect they'll need to make staff cuts.

Families are suing a West Virginia school district for holding a Christian assembly

Parents and students are suing a West Virginia school district for allowing an evangelical preacher to hold a religious revival assembly during the school day that some students were required to attend.

COVID forces hard school choices for students with Down syndrome and their families

The pandemic has forced some of Minnesota's youngest and oldest learners with Down syndrome to miss out on in-person education and programs vital to their progress

How the new banned books panic fits into America’s history of school censorship

Experts see a special virulence in this winter's wave of conservative-driven school book banning efforts.

Indiana school counselor tells parents their kids can opt out of Black History Month lessons

Counselor's message to parents highlights the benefits of teaching equity and understanding differences but ends with an opportunity to opt out.

San Francisco voters recall three school board members amid parent frustration

Board members were ousted following a tumultuous period that included fights over remote learning, renaming schools, a First Amendment lawsuit and changes to the admissions process at the city's most elite public high school.

Washington district closes immediately after surprise vote to defy state mask mandate

District officials said they need to plan a path forward as state officials are already working on warning letters that could threaten their funding.

Kansas lawmakers want schools to post class lessons online as a tool against critical race theory

Under a proposed Parents' Bill of Rights, Kansas K-12 schools and libraries would no longer be exempt from obscenity laws, opening them to potential criminal charges if they distribute material found to be harmful to minors.

School boards get death threats amid rage over race, gender, mask policies

Local school officials are being inundated with threats of violence and other hostile messages from anonymous harassers nationwide, fueled by anger over culture-war issues

California ‘getting close’ to ending school masking requirement, top health official says

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are rapidly falling in California to the point where health officials are getting close to ditching the state's mask mandate in schools