DA Staff

8,000 Chicago Public Schools students won’t have bus service on first day of school, district says

With only half of the 1,300 drivers needed to transport students who require bus service, Chicago said it will instead prioritize transportation for students with disabilities and those experiencing homelessness.

‘No one is coming to our rescue’: Inside rural California’s alarming teacher shortage

In small, rural districts like Modoc Joint Unified in Alturas, a cattle ranching town of 2,700, being short even a few teachers can send a school spiraling.

Oklahoma parents, faith leaders and education group sue to stop US’s first public religious school

The lawsuit seeks to stop taxpayer funds from going to the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which was established despite a warning from Oklahoma’s Republican attorney general that the school would violate both state law and the state constitution.

Nassau BOCES Superintendent Robert Dillon dies after complications from surgery, family says

Dillon previously served as superintendent of four school districts, East Meadow and Eastport on Long Island, as well as Sugar Loaf in Orange County and Abbott Union in Westchester County.

These two Utah school districts took opposite paths when the pandemic hit

Juab School District says it “took care of kids,” while the Wasatch School District says it “didn’t change anything.” Here’s how that affected learning in the two districts.

LGBTQ+ students feel erased as school boards ban pride flags in rural districts

Fowlerville High School's inclusivity club was a space meant to "unite LGBTQ+, multicultural, and allied youth" to form a stronger sense of community. But unity felt faraway at Fowlerville High to some LGBTQ+ students.

Iowa school district flags 374 books as potentially banned, from ‘Ulysses’ to ‘Heartstopper’

The Des Moines Register obtained a list of 374 books that the Urbandale Community School District believes could violate Senate File 496, which, among other changes, requires teachers and administrators to review their libraries and classrooms for books that depict sex acts and prohibits them from buying them in the first place.

Atlanta Public Schools confront teacher burnout as new year begins

Some teachers have said their jobs didn’t offer a work-life balance, and some reported putting in 12-hour days to keep up.

Seattle-area teachers worry as heat waves can make classes unbearable

During the Seattle area’s May heat wave, teachers grabbed ice pops and sprayed students’ flushed necks with water, urging them to move in front of a fan. Some found refuge under a shady tree outside, and some kids got sick and went home. 

71% of parents say kids experienced challenges last school year. Here are the top stressors.

The top issues identified by parents included safety concerns, academic challenges, bullying, ongoing pandemic-related social challenges and mental health challenges.

Record number of Florida students cash in on school choice vouchers; could cost $2.5B

This fall will mark the first year Florida families don’t have an income requirement to qualify for a school voucher, and many are cashing in.

Schools lost track of homeless kids during the pandemic. Many face a steep path to recovery

By the time Aaliyah Ibarra started second grade, her family had moved five times in four years in search of stable housing. As she was about to start a new school, her mother, Bridget Ibarra, saw how much it was affecting her education.

Here’s who is behind Florida’s new Black history education standards

Gov. Ron DeSantis says the standards are “honest history” and were created by a work group he called “African American history scholars.”

Democrats defend pandemic school closures: 3 takeaways from a heated House hearing

For many families, the learning loss and emotional trauma caused by remote learning linger, a painful reminder of what is now widely considered one of the biggest policy mistakes of the pandemic.

Rockaway School District agrees to pay $9.1M to family of bullied student who died by suicide

Mallory Grossman was a sixth-grade student at Copeland Middle School. Her parents say she took her own life after she was bullied online by other students.