The first year of COVID wiped out a decade of enrollment growth in the nation's public schools, according to the first nationwide tabulation of the pandemic's impacts on attendance.
Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut wrote in an opinion piece that family "values systems" are being disrupted by some educators who, he said, show "bias" when they teach about "a sensitive topic like sexuality and gender."
Districts are awash in COVID relief funding but the inflation fueled by the pandemic means the power of teacher salaries has declined over the past 10 years.
Black and Hispanic students receive 4% less funding than students of all other races and ethnicities. States often correct inequities in "funding progressivity" created by local property taxes.
New Hampshire's recently adopted law restricting certain kinds of teaching about racism has yet to yield any charges against teachers. But the state's top education official says he's still concerned that teachers are "knowingly dismantling the foundations" of families' values.
As the Florida measure critics call the "Don't Say Gay" bill awaits final approval, a new curriculum transparency law requires schools to list library books and reading materials.
Education officials want to use federal education funds to conduct focus groups and surveys to analyze students' moods over the next year, and come up with recommendations on how schooling can be improved.
Nearly 20 states earned a "red light" warning for a lack of clarity on how their COVID-relief spending plans will help students and schools most in need, according to a new analysis.
