DA Staff

MS Gov. to sign bill to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports

Governor Reeves said on Twitter that the bill would “protect young girls from being forced to compete with biological males for athletic opportunities.”

$20 million lawsuit filed against high school over ‘blackface photo’

Two California students and their parents are suing a private Catholic high school for $20 million, claiming that the boys were forced to withdraw after they were falsely accused of wearing blackface in a photo.

All Florida school employees, regardless of age, can receive COVID-19 vaccine

Gov. Ron DeSantis says Florida will comply with new federal mandate.

Texas school boards don’t have to require masks, education officials announce

Masks are still required in Texas public schools unless local school boards decide to make them optional, the Texas Education Agency announced.

Caught by surprise, Texas education officials unsure how end of mask mandate will affect schools

Some superintendents say they will continue requiring students and staff to wear masks as they await further guidance from the Texas Education Agency.

Los Angeles teachers union slams California schools plan as ‘propagating structural racism’

The United Teachers of Los Angeles' strong condemnation is a bad sign for Gov. Newsom who spent months working to strike a deal on legislation they believe will spur districts to reopen.

During the pandemic, ‘lost’ education jobs aren’t what they seem

So, what caused the education job losses? And what do they mean for the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill making its way through Congress?

Va. school district pulls Dr. Seuss from Read Across America Day citing ‘racial undertones’

“Research in recent years has revealed strong racial undertones in many books written/illustrated by Dr. Seuss. Examples include anti-Japanese American political cartoons and cartoons depicting African Americans for sale captioned with offensive language."

Georgia teachers going out of state to get vaccinated

The Georgians making these trips see vaccinations as essential to safety in their schools. Health leaders in the destination states say the traveling teachers are taking vaccines away from their residents, but they haven’t prohibited the activity.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom strikes school reopening deal with lawmakers

The new proposal would offer $2 billion in grants to schools that open transitional kindergarten through second grade by the end of March and bring back at-risk students in all grades.

How ‘assurance testing’ has kept thousands of Texas students in classrooms

“It’s a game changer,” said San Antonio ISD Superintendent Pedro Martinez, adding the tests are an additional safety measure.

Free, no frills programs lead the class in new federal study of remote learning

U.S. Education Department found only three technologies met stringent criteria for being effective.

Schools face a substitute teacher crisis. These districts are getting creative to fix it.

In Missouri, a barrel company's employees serve as substitute teachers. In Connecticut, a superintendent turns to recent high school grads.

Unprecedented numbers of students have disappeared during the pandemic (subscription)

New Mexico could not account for more than 12,000 students at the start of the school year, children who were enrolled before the pandemic but never showed up in the fall.

What do predictions of ‘herd immunity’ mean for schools?

As schools look toward the 2021-22 school year, health experts say that a return to “pre-pandemic normal” may not be wise – or possible.