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 Anna Merod • March 22, 2024

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 Anna Merod • March 21, 2024

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from K-12 Dive

K-12 Dive has gathered some a selection of our best coverage from 2025 so far as a one-stop resource on the trends to watch in the months ahead.

By K-12 Dive staff

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 , Naaz Modan • March 20, 2024

DOE unveils $180M for energy efficiency, air quality upgrades in K-12 schools

The 2024 Renew America’s Schools Prize will provide school districts funding for new HVAC systems, building envelope and lighting projects, electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies.

By Joe Burns • March 20, 2024

Special education advocates warn of ‘chilling effects’ from anti-DEI efforts

A researcher at the Heritage Foundation, however, says DEI rollbacks would benefit the special education community.

By Kara Arundel • March 20, 2024

What themes are emerging from state AI guidance?

States are focusing on how the tech will impact the workforce as they stress the need for AI literacy.

By Anna Merod • March 19, 2024

Data privacy, cybersecurity lead comments on COPPA Rule proposal

Some commenters called for more alignment of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

By Anna Merod • March 18, 2024

Supreme Court protects public officials’ free speech rights in social media rulings

The two cases could impact how school board members and district leaders navigate social media.

By Naaz Modan • March 18, 2024

Test yourself on this week’s K-12 news

From the ongoing wait to finalize Title IX rules to concerns of states’ underspending of ESSER funds, what did you learn from our recent stories?

By Anna Merod • March 15, 2024

Superintendent pay fails to keep pace with inflation

School districts' top leaders are making around $7,000 less than a decade ago when adjusted for inflation, according to a study from AASA.

By Naaz Modan • March 14, 2024

Education Department plans to ramp up transmission of FAFSA data to colleges

The agency also announced fixes to issues that prevented some students from completing the form, though it flagged several new glitches.

By Laura Spitalniak • March 14, 2024

Districts increasingly turn to 4-day school weeks to recruit, retain staff

About 2,100 schools across 900 districts have adopted four-day school weeks, as of the 2022-23 school year, said an Oregon State University researcher.

By Anna Merod • March 14, 2024

Anti-abortion curriculum measures proliferate in handful of states

Proposals would require students to watch a fetal development animation that has been questioned by state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

By Naaz Modan • March 13, 2024

Florida ‘Don’t Say Gay’ settlement loosens LGBTQ+ restrictions in classrooms

The deal significantly limits the scope of the law in multiple areas that had concerned educators, students and parents for chilling speech and expression. 

By Naaz Modan • March 13, 2024

Texas takes over charter school network following yearslong investigation

After probing allegations of “financial and operational impropriety,” the Texas Education Agency is appointing conservators to oversee IDEA Public Schools.

By Anna Merod • March 13, 2024

How might Parents’ Bills of Rights impact the future of collecting student-related data?

Three attorneys write that growing state legislative pushes create additional data privacy, collection and access obligations for schools.

By Sarah Hutchins, Laura Lashley and Will Barker • March 13, 2024

Biden proposes 3.9% FY 2025 increase for Education Department

Investments in achievement, pre-K, and teacher recruitment and retention are recommended as Congress remains undecided on FY 2024 funding levels.

By Kara Arundel • March 11, 2024

States ramp up efforts to limit student cellphone use

Educators and lawmakers cite student mental well-being and academic concerns as reasons to restrict personal devices during school hours.

By Kara Arundel • March 11, 2024

Concerns increase around ESSER underspending, fiscal cliffs in last year of aid

High-poverty districts will face greater challenges transitioning to more typical budget years, says a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report.

By Kara Arundel • March 11, 2024

Title IX rules still behind. When will they be finalized?

Time is winding down before there's possibility that the rules could be blocked by a new Congress or presidential administration.

By Naaz Modan • March 8, 2024

Test yourself on this week’s K-12 news

From chronic absenteeism rates to proposals for paid pregnancy leave for educators, what did you learn from our recent stories?

By Anna Merod • March 8, 2024

Biden’s State of the Union: High-quality tutoring is in, book bans are out

Most of President Joe Biden’s speech touched on similar education policies as previous years. His brief pushback on book bans, however, marked a new addition.

By Anna Merod • March 8, 2024

Lawmakers remain divided over charters during House hearing

Congressional leaders debated the effectiveness and direction of the increasingly popular charter school movement.

By Naaz Modan • March 8, 2024

FAFSA submissions from high school seniors are down 38%

Members of the class of 2024 submitted roughly 1.1 million forms by Feb. 23, according to a recent analysis from the National College Attainment Network.

By Natalie Schwartz • March 7, 2024

Can microcredentialing help address teacher shortages?

UCLA’s ExcEL Leadership Academy aims to use the model to create a pathway for current teachers to earn multilingual certification.

By Anna Merod • March 7, 2024