DA Staff

Public schools move to hold families responsible for broken, missing laptops

The Palm Beach County school district moved to hold parents financially responsible for damage to school-owned laptops issued to students during the pandemic.

Should every student move up to the next grade? (subscription)

Chicago will vote on whether to automatically send students up the ladder, regardless of their performance during the coronavirus pandemic, while other districts encourage summer classes.

More than 50% of new Memphis teachers quit. Here’s what the district is doing to reverse the trend.

Local school leaders are hoping that higher pay, more classroom support, and aggressive recruiting will help bring in new hires who will stay.

Special education: Beneficial to many, harmful to others

Despite the rising cost of, and participation in, SE, there is limited quantitative evidence on who benefits from SE and to what extent SE impacts achievement in school and beyond.

Teachers worry Oklahoma’s ban on systemic racism lessons could put jobs at risk

Oklahoma’s new law, which does not specify consequences for teachers who violate it, is one of many across the country targeting the study of racism's legacy.

A Nevada school district describes what success, financing of online learning academy might look like

Nevada's school board approved for the Nevada Community School District to move forward with its plan to have Edmentum EdOptions offer an online academy in the fall for K-12 students.

Schools try pep-rally tactics to get students vaccinated

A growing number of public schools are using mascots, food trucks and prize giveaways to create a pep-rally atmosphere aimed at encouraging students to get vaccinated against the coronavirus before summer vacation.

Could more time in school help students after the pandemic?

It’s an appealing idea but research often shows small to no benefits.

Tennessee governor signs bill restricting how race and bias can be taught in schools

Among the 14 concepts that teachers will not be able to discuss: that one race bears responsibility for past actions against another; the United States is fundamentally racist; and a person is inherently privileged or oppressive due to their race.

Absentee data from 5 school districts show alarming trends

Whatever you’ve heard about student absenteeism during the pandemic, it’s likely worse than you thought.

NYC schools will be in-person only this fall, mayor says

Mayor De Blasio said that the increase in vaccinations, decrease in cases and layering of health measures will make the move possible.

Florida high school edited girls’ yearbook photos to cover more of their chests

It's not odd for there to be a little drama when high school yearbooks are released at the end of the year, but at Bartram Trail High School in St. Johns County, Fla., the drama has reached national attention.

Some schools pledged anti-racism last year, but are they following through?

Schools were specifically challenged for perpetuating racism through whitewashed and incomplete histories and were called on to play a new role: to teach the next generation to be anti-racist.

Alabama governor signs bill lifting yoga ban in K-12 schools

Gov. Kay Ivey has signed a bill allowing K-12 schools to offer elective yoga classes to students, ending a nearly three-decade ban on the practice in the state's public schools.

Texas pushes to obscure its history of slavery and racism (subscription)

The proposals in Texas, a state that influences school curriculums around the country through its huge textbook market, amount to some of the most aggressive efforts to control the teaching of American history.