USA Today

Is the Education Department’s civil rights office at a breaking point?

Complaints rose to the highest level ever last year. For months, the Biden administration has been pleading with congressional Republicans to direct more money to the office.

Biden administration launches review of office overseeing FAFSA, student loans

The agency said Thursday it hired an independent consulting firm to make recommendations about how to improve the Federal Student Aid office, which has drawn bipartisan scrutiny this year amid its bungled overhaul of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.

Want to live near your state’s top schools? Prepare to pay $300,000 more for your house.

Homes near the top-rated elementary schools cost 65% more than a state’s average home, while homes near the top-rated high schools cost about 45% more.

Parents think their kids are doing well in school. More often than not, they’re wrong

LaShanta Mire’s daughter was, at least on paper, thriving at her public school in Fort Worth, Texas. Her grades were good but the child’s assessments told a different story.

With rising rents, some school districts are trying to find teachers affordable housing

Across the country, low pay, costly rents and tight housing markets put many teachers just a few steps away from Wall's situation—especially those new to the profession and earning starting salaries. The housing struggles teachers face have become such a crisis that many school districts are trying to solve it by building apartments teachers can afford.

Native American mascot ban proposed for K12 schools in Illinois

The bill would also prohibit schools from selling items with banned mascots and remove banned logos from school property. As of 2021, there were more than 50 high schools in the state with Native American names or imagery for their mascots, according to Illinois Public Media.

As states make it easier to become a teacher, are they reducing barriers or lowering the bar?

A 2022 report published by that task force revealed that about 1,000 aspiring educators were unable to begin a preparation program each year due to their failure to pass the Praxis Core.

6 years after Parkland shooting, school librarian works hard to make her space the safest

The library at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School brims with resources to promote mental health. There’s a “Zen den” for resting and decompressing, a therapy dog named River, yoga equipment, a button-making station and smartboards that display videos of crochet lessons.

Colorado Springs school district plans teacher housing on district property

The $6 million dollar project will offer electrically powered homes at a rent of $825 a month. The average rent in Colorado Springs is $1,720 per month and the average home price is $523,456, according to Forbes Advisor.

Supreme Court declines to weigh in on battle over bathrooms for transgender students

The court declined to decide whether schools can bar transgender students from using a bathroom that reflects their gender identity, leaving in place a lower court ruling that allowed a transgender middle school boy in Indiana to use the boys' bathroom.

Iowa school shooter’s parents say they had ‘no inkling of horrible violence’

Jack and Erin Butler, the parents of 17-year-old Dylan Butler, said that on their way to school their son had discussed future plans with them and "it felt like he was ready to get back to school after Christmas vacation and the start of a new semester."

Iowa students to stage walkout to state capitol in wake of school shooting: ‘Need to utilize this energy’

In the wake of a deadly shooting at Perry High School, Iowa students are planning to to protest what they say is lawmakers' inaction on gun violence.

Schools don’t want kids on cellphones. Is banning them the solution?

Tweens, teens and their parents have mixed reviews of the new restrictions amid concerns about the effects on safety. Advocates cite benefits on young people’s academic achievement and mental health.

Florida teachers file federal suit against anti-pronoun law in schools

Under a provision of the law, which took effect in July, teachers may not “provide to a student his or her preferred personal title or pronouns if such preferred personal title or pronouns do not correspond to his or her sex.” The law defines sex as based on someone’s reproductive organs at birth.

College board again edits African American studies framework: What’s changed and why

"So far the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive," said Brandi Waters, senior director of AP African American Studies at the College Board. Waters, a New Jersey native who holds degrees from Yale, Harvard, Johns Hopkins and the University of Pennsylvania, said many students have called the course "a transformative experience."