DA Staff

Supreme Court to hear case on government aid to religious schools (subscription)

The case, from Maine, will address questions left open in a decision last year requiring Montana to let religious schools take part in a scholarship program.

As schools reopen, will Black and Asian families return?

The pandemic has underscored racial injustices in education. Black and Asian families want those issues fixed before they return to the classroom.

Ohio lawmakers ban requiring COVID-19 vaccine at public schools

"Parents, in consultation with their personal doctors, have the right to make decisions about their children especially for vaccinations that are not fully approved by the FDA," said Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Powell. "This is about personal rights."

2 vacant school district properties in California will become teacher housing

The Oakland Unified School District board voted to lease two East Oakland sites for employee homes. The developments will also include a Black Cultural Zone hub and a job training center.

Closing the homework gap so ‘no child is left offline’

A new survey finds that 15 percent of kids in lower-income families still lack reliable internet at home. New federal funds are aimed at changing that.

Teaching critical race theory isn’t happening in classrooms, teachers say in survey

“We don’t get it. This objection is being pushed upon us, and it’s not even happening in our classes,” an English teacher in the Phoenix area said.

12 big challenges from last school year that could now define the fall of 2021

If the 2019 school year was when things derailed, and 2020 was the year we did the best we could in an impossible situation, 2021 is poised to be the moment the nation turns the page and doubles down on education as a post-COVID priority.

Alabama schools are seeing teachers retiring at the highest level in nearly a decade

“There’s no doubt that [recruiting and retaining teachers] is a tremendous challenge, and it’s exponentially more difficult now.”

Florida governor vetoes civic education bill citing ‘action civics’

Sen. Jeff Brandes called the veto explanation “nebulous” and said he would need to speak with DeSantis himself to find out what would need to change in order to potentially propose similar legislation next session.

NYC to pay for summer school taxis for homeless students and those with disabilities

The city will pick up the tab for taxis to ferry homeless students and those with disabilities back from its summer school program after facing criticism from advocates who said the education department’s transportation plans violated the law.

School funding winners and losers in Pennsylvania’s new $40 billion budget

In the past few years, the state has routed new education funding through a student-weighted formula designed to give more cash to the neediest school districts, taking into account student poverty and English language fluency.

Enduring Trauma: Indigenous boarding schools will be investigated

With nearly 1,000 bodies in mass graves discovered this month on the grounds of Canadian boarding schools amid their ongoing investigation, and Secretary of the Interior Deb Halaand’s recent pledge to investigate past abuses in the U.S., Arizona’s Indigenous boarding schools are facing fresh scrutiny.

N.J. won’t require masks in schools in the fall, Gov. Murphy says

New Jersey will not have a statewide requirement for all students to wear masks in school when the next academic year begins and will instead leave it up to individual districts to determine whether to mandate face coverings.

Puerto Rico to receive $4 billion in federal education pandemic relief funds

The announcement was made during Cardona's official three-day trip to Puerto Rico, the first for a Biden administration Cabinet member. It marks the first time the island has full access to those funds.

Survey: NYC parents want more engagement, mental health supports & teaching about racial justice

Seventy-five percent of parents surveyed reported that they were not included in the planning for the opening of their child’s school for the 2020-21 school year.