Policy & Legal: Page 2


  • Students hold signs in protest
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    Joe Raedle/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Book ban attempts soared 65% in 2023

    Groups disputing book titles focused on public libraries, where the number of titles targeted rose by 92%, compared to 11% in schools.

    By April 3, 2024
  • A row of yellow school buses lined up on a parking lot.
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    jhorrocks via Getty Images
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    School buses included in updated EPA emissions standards

    The new rule aiming to reduce pollution comes as the agency has developed grant programs to help schools buy zero- and low-emission vehicles.

    By , David Taube • April 3, 2024
  • Explore the Trendline
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    Michael Loccisano via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Equity in Education

    From early learning to high school, the pandemic impacted equity at all levels of K-12, from persistent and widening achievement gaps to uneven access to school meals.

    By K-12 Dive staff
  • Oklahoma Supreme Court weighs nation’s first religious public charter school

    State justices anticipated that the landmark case questioning the constitutionality of St. Isidore would make it to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

    By April 3, 2024
  • The Match High School and Career Center.
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    Courtesy of Ameresco
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    $5.3M Energy Department grant to fund Indianapolis vocational education campus

    Ameresco and charter school operator Matchbook Learning are building a high school and career center powered by renewable energy.

    By Brian Martucci • April 3, 2024
  • FAFSA form
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    Richard Stephen via Getty Images
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    330,000 FAFSAs must be reprocessed, Education Department says

    A tax data issue affecting about 5% of submitted applications will be corrected starting in early April.

    By Laura Spitalniak • April 3, 2024
  • A student and adult sit across from each other at a desk. The adult holds a poster with the letter "A" and points to it while opening their mouth.
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    KatarzynaBialasiewicz via Getty Images
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    School-based Medicaid billing concerns delay proposed rule

    Some worry children's school-based services can adversely affect outside services, but school administrators said there have been no examples of this.

    By April 2, 2024
  • A student types on a computer while using a generative AI chat.
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    Stock Photo via Getty Images
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    As teacher use of AI detection grows, discipline guidance a mixed bag

    Student discipline in response to plagiarism rose from 48% to 64% over the last school year, according to the Center for Democracy & Technology.

    By April 1, 2024
  • Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a microphone.
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    Brandon Bell / Staff via Getty Images
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    Texas policy defining gender-affirming care as child abuse blocked again

    A Friday opinion upheld a block on a 2022 policy requiring licensed professionals to report parents for child abuse if children are receiving gender-affirming medical care.

    By April 1, 2024
  • A wide shot of the Education Department building with a sign that reads Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education building.
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    The image by U.S. Department of State (IIP Bureau) is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    Alaska designated ‘high risk’ for losing ARP funds

    The state failed to meet federal maintenance of equity requirements, the U.S. Department of Education says.

    By April 1, 2024
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    Just_Super via Getty Images
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    Federal coordinating council formed to support K-12 cybersecurity

    The Education Department and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency created the council to coordinate federal, state, tribal and local efforts.

    By April 1, 2024
  • A photo illustration of a circle encompassing a question mark, pencil, and scantron test.
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    Photo illustration: Shaun Lucas/Industry Dive; Getty Images

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    POP QUIZ

    Test yourself on this week’s K-12 news

    From a federal plea to address chronic absenteeism to strategies for approaching teacher layoffs, what did you learn from our recent stories?

    By March 29, 2024
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    LdF via Getty Images
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    The 6-month countdown to the end of ESSER begins

    States and districts must commit their last ESSER allocation by Sept. 30. Spending, however, can continue to Jan. 28, 2025 — or beyond for some.

    By March 29, 2024
  • People wearing red t-shirts reading "Moms Demand Action" stand hand-in-hand
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    Jon Cherry/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    It’s been a year since the Covenant School mass shooting. What’s changed?

    Tennessee GOP Gov. Bill Lee pushed lawmakers to consider gun reform, making the state ripe for change. But a year later, many efforts have failed.

    By March 28, 2024
  • A wide shot of the Education Department building with a sign that reads Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education building.
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    The image by U.S. Department of State (IIP Bureau) is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    Students won’t be able to correct FAFSA forms until April

    The notice from the U.S. Department of Education marks yet another delay in the fraught rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

    By Natalie Schwartz • March 27, 2024
  • A view of the state capitol building in Olympia, Washington, with pink flowering cherry trees bordering the stone architecture.
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    Stock Photo via Getty Images
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    Washington becomes 7th state to require LGBTQ+ related instruction

    Another seven states have banned discussion of LGBTQ+ topics in classrooms, illustrating the political divide on the curriculum issue.

    By March 27, 2024
  • Two people sit in chairs on a stage. A curtain and US flag are behind them
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    Kara Arundel/K-12 Dive/K-12 Dive
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    How ESSER propelled improvements at school, district and state levels

    From better lunchroom behaviors to statewide literacy initiatives, leaders share the benefits of COVID-19 aid and how they are sustaining that progress.

    By March 27, 2024
  • Miguel Cardona speaking at a podium.
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    Joshua Roberts / Stringer via Getty Images
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    Ed Dept: Districts should start now to improve 2024-25 attendance

    Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wrote in a Dear Colleague letter that “there is still more work to do” to tackle chronic absenteeism.

    By March 27, 2024
  • An adult holds a box full of office supplies on their way out of a classroom.
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    Stock Photo via Getty Images
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    Teacher layoffs are growing — and won’t be going away anytime soon

    When budget cuts loom, district leaders should avoid attrition and seniority-based policies in layoff strategies, a K-12 finance expert says.

    By March 26, 2024
  • A tray of milk cartons in a school lunchroom with students in the background.
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    John Moore via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    The dairy industry’s influence in Congress is harming students’ health

    A pediatrician writes that the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act would circumvent dietary guidelines and increase saturated fat content in school meals.

    By Yami Cazorla-Lancaster • March 25, 2024
  • A school employee walks alongside a student in a school hallway
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    SolStock via Getty Images
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    How can districts ensure students have enough social-emotional support?

    A CDC program director shares four key steps to build these supports into busy academic schedules.

    By March 25, 2024
  • A photo illustration of a circle encompassing a question mark, pencil, and scantron test.
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    Photo illustration: Shaun Lucas/Industry Dive; Getty Images

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    POP QUIZ

    Test yourself on this week’s K-12 news

    From state AI guidance to Supreme Court rulings impacting district leaders’ social media use, what did you learn from our recent stories?

    By March 22, 2024
  • Detail view of the US Capitol east facade in the early morning sun.
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    drnadig via Getty Images
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    Biden signs FY 24 budget for Education Department, other agencies

    The bipartisan and bicameral agreement cuts Education Department funding by $500 million.

    By Updated March 25, 2024
  • A view of a person's hand assembling multiple rows portioning meals to be served out on individual serving trays.
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    Stock Photo via Getty Images
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    BY THE NUMBERS

    By the Numbers: The end of universal school meals hurt student meal participation

    Student participation in school lunch dropped 6% between 2021-22 and 2022-23, after the pandemic-era policy expired, FRAC found.

    By March 22, 2024
  • A security camera on the side of a home with gray siding.
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    Onfokus via Getty Images
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    Ed Department should ban federal funding for K-12 surveillance tech, civil rights groups say

    The uptick in AI-driven school surveillance technologies is a “dangerous new chapter in the school-to-prison pipeline,” a coalition of 41 groups wrote.

    By March 21, 2024
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    Retrieved from Flickr.
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    Alabama governor signs law banning school DEI funding

    The legislation, which will take effect Oct. 1, reflects a broader trend of state bills moving to limit or prohibit diversity programming in public education.

    By Laura Spitalniak , March 20, 2024