DA Staff

Dyslexia Legislation: What District Leaders Need to Know

Date & Time: Friday, December 1 at 2 pm ET

Attend this 20-minute DA Ed Talk to learn more about state mandates for screening, intervention and teacher training, how to support students with dyslexia, and how to connect the dots between state legislation and evidence-based solutions. 

Powering the Future: How to Transition to an Electric School Bus Fleet

Date & Time: Thursday, November 30 at 2 pm ET

Attend this 20-minute DA Ed Talk to learn more about electrification, how an electric bus fleet operates, and answers to the most common questions including “range anxiety,” routing, and what funding is currently available to help bring your district into the future of school transportation. 

School Safety Roundtable: Lessons Learned—And What Has Changed—Since Parkland

Date & Time: Wednesday, November 29 at 2 pm ET

Attend this webinar to learn current best practices and strategies to improve any school safety plan with Max Schachter, who lost his son in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018, and founded Safe Schools for Alex. Additional panelists include district leaders from the Center Grove Community School Corporation (Ind.) and the Albuquerque Public Schools.

Education superintendent mandates book challenge policies at Alabama school libraries

While public libraries have been the center of debate about appropriate books for children, Alabama’s school libraries have mainly remained unchallenged.

Inside Texas’ explosion of uncertified new teachers filling shortages

Roughly 1 in 3 new teachers hired across Texas last year were uncertified, meaning the state has no way to know if they received rigorous training. That’s up from 12% in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Houston ISD principals have a new evaluation system. It’s strongly tied to test scores

The state-appointed leaders of Houston’s public school system approved a new evaluation system for campus administrators on Thursday. Superintendent Mike Miles says it’s key to improve the quality of classroom instruction, but critics argue it depends too much on standardized tests.

The Kentucky Board of Education wants student teachers to get paid

The Kentucky Board of Education on Tuesday approved a list of legislative priorities for 2024, including a proposed stipend of up to $8,000 per semester for student teachers.

Warning for Seattle: The schools’ pandemic hangover is not easing

According to the district’s September count, 48,960 kids showed up for the city’s public K-12 schools. That’s down from 50,111 last September. It’s nearly 5,000 fewer students than in the fall of 2019, before the virus and the school closures touched off an unraveling.

Pittsburgh Public considers closing schools amid budget deficit and declining enrollments

By 2024, the district is expected to have a $28 million operating deficit, chief financial officer Ronald Joseph said during Monday’s business and finance committee meeting.

HISD officials reveal plan to pay principals based on student performance

Superintendent Mike Miles said the district's principal evaluation plan is based on improving the quality of instruction and improving the student achievement gap.

A third of schools don’t have a nurse. Here’s why that’s a problem.

More than a third of schools nationwide don't have a full-time nurse on-site, according to a 2021 survey by the National Association of School Nurses. The schools that don't have a dedicated nurse either share one with other campuses, or don't have one at all.

Distractions in the classroom: School districts sue social media giants over mental health crisis

Not surprisingly, school officials in Charles County and elsewhere are alarmed at how social media affects child development and mental health. That concern is also reflected in the lawsuit, which alleges that companies are aware of the negative impacts the platforms have on children’s mental health, but they choose to prioritize profit.

Consequences could be on the way for Kansas schools that misspend at-risk student funding

Among several other education issues, the Kansas Legislature’s Special Committee on Education honed in on the results of a report this summer from the Kansas Legislative Post Audit that examined how schools used more than $400 million in at-risk funding during the 2021-22 school year.

Chronic absenteeism in some Colorado schools improving, but still a long ways to go

A new Colorado Department of Education analysis says one in four students across the state missed roughly 10% of the 2022-2023 school year, otherwise known as chronic absenteeism.

Naloxone can save students’ lives, but not every school has it

"Never would I have imagined that students would today have contact with a substance where even just a small bit of a pill could kill you," says Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District.