DA Staff

Ransomware criminals are dumping kids’ private files online after school hacks

Complete sexual assault case folios containing these details were among more than 300,000 files dumped online in March after the 36,000-student Minneapolis Public Schools refused to pay a $1 million ransom.

Breaking down the Blueprint: The challenges school districts face in meeting students’ behavioral health needs

Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plan, officials in all of Maryland’s 24 school systems must outline how they will fulfill the plan’s fourth “pillar": how they will provide resources for all students to be successful.

Netherlands: Phone ban announced to stop school disruptions

There will be some exceptions, including for students with medical needs or a disability, and for classes focused on digital skills, the Dutch government has announced.

It’s getting hard to stage a school play without political drama

At a time when lawmakers and parents are seeking to restrict what can and cannot be taught in classrooms, many teachers are seeing efforts to limit what can be staged in their auditoriums.

Charter school lost case over skirts rule for girls, but debate over charter autonomy isn’t over

The debate over whether privately run charter schools can forgo constitutional protections, often in the name of innovation, is far from settled.

Mayor Adams mandates daily ‘mindful breathing’ exercises in NYC public schools

Officials said educators will have flexibility when it comes to implementing the requirement. Some schools may incorporate the exercises into morning meetings, physical education or academic lessons.

How parents outraged by library books, diversity initiatives and sex ed transformed one New Jersey school board

An angry parent confronted a New Jersey school board president, accelerating a chain of events that pushed the board to the right.

Pittsburgh Public becomes the latest school district to push back start times

“A lot of folks have been asking for it,” school Director Jamie Piotrowski said. “We know the research behind it, I think it’s a great idea. I know not everybody’s going to be happy but until we get past this post-pandemic situation that we’re in I appreciate that the administration is doing the best that they can.”

Albuquerque Public Schools custodian shot on job

Middle school custodian Paul Tafoya almost lost his life when he showed up for work. Just past 5:30 a.m., he asked a few people to leave after he found them trespassing and that’s when someone him in his back, twice, police say.

More Alabama schools will offer free lunch and breakfast. There could be even more.

Meals were free to every student in every school from 2020 to 2022 because of the pandemic. But when schools began charging again in 2022-23, many families didn’t know they would have to pay for meals or didn’t file the required forms for free and reduced price meals.

AI tutor Khanmigo excels at asking questions, heralding possible turn in education

In a possibly groundbreaking development, Khan Academy, a non-profit educational organization, has unveiled Khanmigo, an AI-powered tutor aimed at providing personalized learning experiences to students across the globe.

Mass. adjusts licensing rules amid teacher shortage

The amendments create an easier pathway for already-licensed teachers to be able to teach special education and English as a second language and create a new license for pre-K teachers of students with disabilities.

Dallas ISD superintendent worries new schools rating system will lead to drop in scores

It will now be more difficult to score well in the metric that assesses how prepared graduates are for college, career or the military. Changes will impact other data points as well, including by weighing scores differently based on campus size.

NYC’s ex-school food chief convicted in bribery case tied to icky chicken tenders

Eric Goldstein was convicted Wednesday in a bribery case that picked apart how chicken tenders riddled with bone and bits of metal were served for months in the nation’s biggest public school system.

This Michigan school district is state’s first to quantify its greenhouse gas emissions, officials say

Ann Arbor Public Schools quantified the direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions the district produces,, documenting 13 years of utility data for electricity, natural gas, water and other sources of carbon emissions and carbon removal among its 3.5 million square feet of property.