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A recent Bellwether analysis found that while most types of districts have seen enrollment declines over the past decade, “fringe” districts, or those located on the outskirts of urban areas, are experiencing growth.

The report highlights the role birth rate declines have played in enrollment drops, noting that every state and the District of Columbia experienced at least a 6% drop between 2012 and 2024. Other factors include competition from school choice options, interstate migration, international immigration patterns, and the impact of the Trump administration’s recent immigration enforcement policies.

From social media to AI, schools tackling tech concerns

• Multidistrict litigation involving some 1,400 school districts nationwide alleges that social media giants like Meta, Snap Inc., YouTube and TikTok have harmed student mental well-being and put additional financial burdens on schools that have had to hire more counselors and staff to address bullying, depression and school security concerns. Of these cases, six have been identified as “bellwether” cases that could foreshadow outcomes for the other lawsuits. One such case was dismissed when the companies settled with Kentucky’s Breathitt County Schools in May for a reported $27 million.
• Jared Bloom, superintendent of Franklin Square Union Free School District in New York, sat down with K-12 Dive to share how his school system is using artificial intelligence tools, training educators on the technology, and navigating conversations about AI with parents. “If we don’t teach it, if we don’t share about it, they’re going to go home, they’re going to use it, and they’re not going to know how to use it in an appropriate way,” he said. “We want to make sure we’re providing those guidelines.”
• The percentage of Americans who support banning cellphones for the entire school day hit a high of 48% in a Pew Research Center survey released July 29. That’s up 12 percentage points from 2024.

School operations updates

• The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions approved a proposal on July 30 that would bar the U.S. Department of Education from transferring four of its offices to other federal agencies. Among them are the offices that oversee special education, postsecondary education, elementary and secondary education, and Native American education programs. The bipartisan bill, which was advanced to the full Senate in a 13-9 vote, comes just weeks after the House introduced 10 bills that would codify some of the moves.
• The U.S. departments of Justice and Education invoked the 1978 Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act in recent investigation announcements involving parental rights and LGBTQ+-inclusive district policies and practices. Two separate investigations under PPRA were launched into Washington’s Bethel School District and Colorado’s Denver Public Schools on July 28, while Maryland’s Anne Arundel County Public Schools and Michigan’s Ann Arbor Public Schools have been threatened with enforcement action under FERPA.
• AASA, The School Superintendents Association, warned that a new U.S. Department of Homeland Security final rule will create a “chilling effect” by allowing immigration officials to deny applications for permanent residency or visa extensions to noncitizens who use school meals and other public benefits like Medicaid or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. DHS anticipates savings of $13 billion to federal and state governments after noncitizens are disenrolled from these programs. But AASA suggests those savings could fall at least in some part on schools, which are often a “primary safety net” when students lose access to crucial healthcare and nutrition services.