Unlearning and workforce development: The week's most-read education news

Stay ahead of the class with the latest on diversifying the teacher workforce and more here.

By Roger Riddell • Aug. 26, 2016

Justice Dept sues Georgia over treatment of students with disabilities

The lawsuit alleges illegal segregation by a state-run program.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 26, 2016

Black community sees split over charter schools

The NAACP and the Movement for Black Lives have both recently called for a moratorium on charters, passing resolutions saying they have worsened segregation — but not all agree.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 26, 2016

Average score lowers as more students take ACT

A smaller share of test-takers were considered college-ready at the end of the 2015-16 school year than the prior year, but the dip in scores was expected.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 25, 2016

New York State Ed Dept names first privacy officer

Temitope Akinyemi will be expected to develop policies and procedures that keep data of students, parents and educators safe, and then implement and oversee their adoption. 

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 25, 2016

EdBuild ranks nation's most segregating school district borders

The nonprofit focused on issues of school funding analyzed all of the bordering districts in the country, naming 50 as the most dramatically segregated by poverty rates.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 23, 2016

School takeovers leave parents without a voice

When states swoop in to take over failing schools, they strip local school boards of their power, leaving many parents feeling like they have no reason to be involved.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 23, 2016

Federal judge blocks Title IX enforcement in bathroom battle

US District Judge Reed O’Connor of Texas blocked the Obama administration’s directive that schools accommodate transgender students by allowing them to use the bathroom of their choice.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 23, 2016

Tenure protections upheld in Vergara v. California

The state Supreme Court voted not to hear an appeal following a lower court decision that tenure and other job protections for teachers were not to blame for educational inequity.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 23, 2016

Los Angeles charter battle could revert El Camino Real to district control

The school has been fairly successful academically but is under the microscope because of alleged financial mismanagement since becoming a charter in 2011.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 22, 2016

Texas district spearheads successful turnaround

The Premont Independent School District was in danger of losing accreditation in 2011, but residents approved a tax hike and a Texas A&M partnership helped boost performance.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 22, 2016

Frustrated Oklahoma teachers running for office

Education Week reports a group of educators united by Facebook are running for state office after being active in policy fights from the outside.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 22, 2016

Tennessee takeover district plagued by own failures

The body charged with turning around failing schools across the state is the target of a ‘blistering critique’ by state auditors for financial mismanagement. 

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 19, 2016

LAUSD adds more magnets to compete with charters

The Los Angeles Unified School District opened 16 new magnet schools this year, hoping to repeat academic success achieved by others and keep families in the district.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 18, 2016

New York provides model for nation in universal pre-K

Since 2013-14, the city has added thousands of new seats for preschool and hired 2,000 teachers in a push to make high-quality pre-K an option for every 4-year-old attending public schools.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 18, 2016

Colorado not bogarting weed tax funds from schools

The state’s sale of recreational marijuana sends up to $40 million per year to the Building Excellent Schools Today program, and grants are starting to flow to schools.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 18, 2016

Measuring the impact: Schools struggle from multiple angles with incarceration

Schools face the challenge of educating children with incarcerated parents and reintegrating students after they have entered the juvenile justice system themselves.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 17, 2016

Los Angeles schools plan credit recovery changes

After posting the highest graduation rate ever in the nation’s second-largest school district, thanks in part to questionably rigorous credit recovery options, the district is taking a second look.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 17, 2016

Texas schools shift to earlier start time after new law

Going beyond requiring a 180-day school year, a new Texas law mandates 75,600 minutes of instruction per academic year, and some schools have responded with earlier starts.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 17, 2016

Solution for Utah's extreme teacher shortage has other states wary

The Utah State Board of Education unanimously approved a measure that allows schools to hire teachers with no prior training or experience to fill empty spots. 

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 16, 2016

Ohio auditor suggests performance-based funding for virtual schools

The state’s largest online charter school, ECOT, currently is paid based on enrollment like other charters, but Auditor Dave Yost wants to change that.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 16, 2016

Schools try range of strategies to achieve equity

Districts nationwide are turning to community organizations to support the nonacademic needs of students, offering school choice, incorporating blended learning and addressing bias. 

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 15, 2016

Opt-out activists also oppose test-based evals, privatization

A study out of Teachers College at Columbia University examines the demographics of the opt-out movement and the motivations of its activism.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 15, 2016

Study highlights limitations of Ohio's virtual school

Research from NYU professor June Ahn, published by the Fordham Institute, argues Ohio's statewide virtual school cannot serve as an alternative to traditional schooling.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 15, 2016

Alabama appoints non-educator state superintendent

Michael Sentance started his career as a lawyer and went on to work in various state government positions in Massachusetts before joining the Alabama Department of Education.

By Tara García Mathewson • Aug. 15, 2016