The department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued new federal guidance warning school leaders that they should not consider a student's race in discipline matters or they would risk being investigated.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools has promoted Rafael A. Villalobos to superintendent, 32 years after he started in the district as a high school teacher.
When Superintendent Aaron Fleming arrived at the growing Alamance-Burlington School System, he faced $3 million in debt, "dismal" test scores, leaky roofs and a district out of sync with the local economy.
Date & Time: Tuesday, September 29, 2026 at 2 p.m. <br><br> In this first installment of Mission: Attendance, you'll learn how to create a consistent approach to improving attendance. Dr. Marcy Burroughs, the Superintendent at the Sumter County Public School District in Alabama, will join to share how her district has reduced chronic absenteeism through a shared Attendance Manual, a codified approach to family engagement, and uniform reporting across school sites. You'll leave with a blueprint you can start using in your own district tomorrow.
Date & Time: Tuesday, November 03, 2026 at 2 p.m. <br><br> In this third and final installment of Mission: Attendance, you'll learn how to engage families in a way that helps uncover the real barriers to attendance. We'll explore how to audit official letters and notifications for tone, frame outreach in ways that demonstrate support, and reach every family early, warmly, and in their home language. Chris Henson, the Acting Superintendent of Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD in West Texas, will join to share how his district builds the kind of family trust that encourages families to share what's getting in the way of regular attendance and partner with campuses to fix it.
