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Ed Dept prioritizes school mental health staff expansion in funding distribution

The funding is the first of nearly $300 million in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the fiscal 2022 budget allocated to school mental health.

Districts shuffle operations in response to COVID-19

A RAND report finds districts most commonly increased substitute pay to an average of $122 per day last school year, compared to $115 pre-pandemic.

School mask mandates continue to loosen

Only 1.2% of 500 districts are requiring mask mandates going into the 2022-23 school year, according to data tracking company Burbio.

Despite inflation, back-to-school spending expected to rise

Deloitte parent polling shows spending could increase 8% over last year, resulting in $661 per child, compared to $612 last year.

Senate Appropriations Committee proposes 13% increase for K-12 in FY23

The spending plan includes $20.1 billion for Title I grants and $15.3 billion for special education grants, but the proposal is meeting partisan resistance.

Republican AGs sue to stop USDA guidance on LGBTQ protections

The lawsuit comes weeks after a federal judge temporarily halted the Ed Department’s enforcement of Title IX to protect gay and transgender students.

Pushback continues for school choice program in Tennessee

Another injunction filed by local governments in the state’s two largest districts seeks to temporarily stop the voucher program two weeks before school starts.

ASCA ‘22: Our recap of the annual school counselor gathering

We’ve rounded up all of our coverage from this year’s show in one location for your convenience.

How to encourage teachers to embrace universal design for learning

Once committed to UDL practices, teachers need strategies to remove inequities and learning barriers.

House committee advances child nutrition reauthorization bill

The bill would expand access to free meals for students, address school meal debt shaming and help with ending child hunger during summer months.

Groups seek more guidance on 18-month extension for ESSER spending

School administration organizations are asking for a streamlined approach to requests for spending extensions.

Federal judge: Tax-exempt private schools subject to Title IX

The ruling falls in line with a 1983 Supreme Court decision that found such tax exemptions amount to “a form of subsidy” equal to a cash grant.

Over 1,700 colleges won’t require SAT, ACT for fall 2023, up from same point last year

The latest FairTest number trails a final count of more than 1,800 institutions in 2022's admissions cycle, but tracks ahead of a tally from last July.

How a Texas district extended the school year to improve achievement

The Aldine Independent School District has seen positive outcomes from a program in which four campuses have 210 school days.

As supply chain woes persist for school meals, districts get creative

Some districts are leasing warehouse space to store items for meal programs as they navigate shortages, according to a report by school nutrition advocates.

Law leaves little wiggle room for loosening special ed teacher requirements

A federal law requires special educators to have a bachelor's degree and meet certain standards if not fully certified.

OCR: Discrimination complaints involving K-12 total over 5,200 in fiscal 2021

The Education Department’s civil rights arm received more than 8,900 complaints in total, according to a newly released report.

Modeling ideal behaviors in curriculum plans can help young students develop executive function

Watching teachers perform skills can help young students learn to manage their time, share and gain impulse control.

Smartphones tip-toe curricular line between useful and distracting

Though smartphones can be useful curricular tools, dialing students back from pandemic-driven habits presents a challenge.

Study: Pandemic-era suspension rate drops may be misleading

Suspension rates in California would have been substantially higher in 2019-20 for certain student populations had COVID-19 not disrupted the school year. 

School COVID-19 mitigation strategies mixed as experts expect new wave of infections in fall

A small number of districts are beginning to reinstate face mask requirements for the new school year as omicron subvariant BA.5 picks up.

Florida to let veterans teach without bachelor’s degree

While the plan is designed to address shortages, some ed leaders say the temporary certification undermines teacher quality standards.

How higher ed collaboration helped a district streamline college opportunities

A superintendent shares how a partnership with Arizona State University expanded postsecondary opportunities with an automatic-entry program.

Ed Dept inspector general finds GEER misspending in Oklahoma

The state’s COO said corrective steps already taken include hiring of grant management execs and development of rubric for grant decision-making.

As states tackle teacher shortages, which plans show the most promise?

Local and regional nuances mean there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to the problem, but some solutions are better suited to those challenges than others.