Policy & Legal: Page 12

  • MPS, Milwaukee public schools, Sean Kane, lead paint abatement
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    "Fourth Street School" by Freekee is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
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    Ousted Milwaukee school facilities chief had lost parents’ trust over lead abatement

    Community groups had been calling for facilities director Sean Kane’s dismissal for what they said was a failure to act on risks and follow safe practices.

    By Robert Freedman • April 8, 2025
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    Avosb via Getty Images
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    Supreme Court maintains freeze on teacher training grants

    The case in question involves the agency’s February announcement to cancel $600 million in “divisive” teacher preparation grants. 

    By • April 6, 2025
  • High school students are dropped off for school and begin walking into the building. Explore the Trendline➔
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    Stock Photo via Getty Images
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    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
  • An adult is sitting on a floor with two toddlers who are sitting on the floor. The adult is guiding one of the child's hands while the other child plays with blocks on the floor.
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    FatCamera via Getty Images
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    Head Start imperiled by HHS cutbacks, advocates say

    The agency's overhaul has sparked concerns about access, affordability and safety for the program serving preschoolers from low-income families.

    By • April 4, 2025
  • A person is seated as a desk. They are waving their left hand. A name plate sits in front of them and people are seated in row in the background.
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    Win McNamee via Getty Images
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    ‘New sheriff in town’: DOJ to enforce anti-trans Trump orders

    A joint Title IX Special Investigations Team will shift some civil rights investigations and enforcement from the Education Department to the Justice Department.

    By • April 4, 2025
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    Photo illustration: Shaun Lucas/Industry Dive; Getty Images

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    Test yourself on this week’s K-12 news

    From rescinded funds to one state’s curriculum controversy, what did you learn from our recent stories?

    By • April 4, 2025
  • Public school district administrators pour balloons representing the sports drink Powerade over their superintendent's head following a public speech.
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    Permission granted by Springfield Public Schools
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    AASA '25

    Here’s how Missouri’s largest district rallied its community to boost attendance

    With a pandemic-era order sunsetting and funding at stake, Springfield Public Schools used consistent strategy — and a little Powerade — to gain buy-in.

    By • April 4, 2025
  • Several people are seen outside the U.S. Department of Education headquarters during a protest. Two people with their backs to the camera are sitting in wheelchairs. One sign reads "Protect Students Protect Public Schools." Another sign says "Our Schools Are Not For Sale."
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    Kayla Bartkowski via Getty Images
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    Special education cuts will have ‘immense harm,’ Democrats say

    Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are seeking answers about impacts on students with disabilities and proposing full funding for IDEA.

    By • April 3, 2025
  • Students are sitting at several tables working in groups. There are laptops and notebooks on the tables and the tables are pushed to a wall of windows.
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    FatCamera via Getty Images
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    Districts encouraged to use Title I flexibility for school choice

    Existing federal formula grants under Title I can be used to help parents choose access to advanced courses, CTE and tutoring, the Education Department says.

    By • April 2, 2025
  • The Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse is pictured.
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    Spencer Platt / Staff via Getty Images
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    Teacher with PTSD entitled to accommodation under ADA, 2nd Circuit says

    On remand, a New York school district might demonstrate that the 15-minute break the teacher requested wasn’t reasonable, the court noted.

    By Laurel Kalser • April 2, 2025
  • A person points at a touchscreen, ready to press, which features AI chatbot prompts.
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    Laurence Dutton via Getty Images
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    House panel weighs AI’s pitfalls, potential as Education Dept cuts loom large

    Innovating with artificial intelligence in schools remains exciting to some lawmakers, while others fear deepening inequities.

    By • April 1, 2025
  • A close-up short of Linda McMahon in a crowded room.
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    Tierney L. Cross via Getty Images
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    McMahon: Lack of transparency on ‘ideological indoctrination’ violates FERPA

    Withholding information such as a student's gender transition violates parents' rights and could result in lost funding for schools, the education secretary said.

    By • April 1, 2025
  • A jar of cash sits next to a stack of books on a teacher's desk.
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    Stock Photo via Getty Images
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    Education Department cancels ESSER spending extensions

    The move shocked some education leaders in states where previously approved funds had been spent and were awaiting federal reimbursement.

    By • April 1, 2025
  • Police put up crime scene tape at Perry High School in Iowa following a school shooting on January 4, 2024.
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    School shooting database slashed in Trump downsizing

    Amid an overall increase in school shootings, experts have lamented the lack of a federal database and rely on such research projects for information. 

    By • March 31, 2025
  • Senators Tim Scott and Elizabeth Warren converse during a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
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    Kayla Bartkowski / Staff via Getty Images
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    Democratic senators call for probe of Trump Education Department cuts

    Eleven lawmakers say efforts to shutter the agency and transfer its responsibilities will “interrupt and degrade” essential programs and services.

    By • March 28, 2025
  • Eagle Eye Networks
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    Courtesy of Eagle Eye Networks
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    Sensors help building operators detect vaping

    The sensors can also monitor temperature, humidity and CO2 levels to make air quality easier to manage, the manufacturer says.

    By Robert Freedman • March 28, 2025
  • 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 Trump's plan to change federal special education operations to a report on the state of school infrastructure, what did you learn from our recent stories?

    By • March 28, 2025
  • A high school student waits in line holding a tray of food before being served at a high school cafeteria.
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    Stock Photo via Getty Images
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    As USDA scraps a $600M local food program, an Arizona district looks to next steps

    Without the expected federal funds from the Local Food for Schools program, Tucson Unified School District will have to offset the costs.

    By • March 28, 2025
  • While wearing masks, a teacher speaks with a student in a school hallway in front of billboard that reads "welcome back."
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    John Moore via Getty Images
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    The key moments that shaped school response to the pandemic

    Take a look back on the events that unfolded for educators after COVID-19 was declared a national emergency in March 2020. 

    By • March 27, 2025
  • Kousisis, racial preferences, supreme court
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    Douglas Rissing via Getty Images
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    E-rate’s future hangs in the balance as Supreme Court hears arguments in universal service case

    At question is whether Congress and the FCC violated the Constitution by granting power to a private nonprofit company.

    By • March 26, 2025
  • An empty hallway in a school shows lockers and a door to a classroom or cafeteria
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    urfinguss via Getty Images
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    Schools earn a ‘D+’ for infrastructure

    Many public school buildings are hitting their 50-year design life, requiring “comprehensive” upgrades and replacements to key facility systems.

    By • March 26, 2025
  • A crowd of people are standing in a lobby of a convention center. They are seen from an above angle.
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    Kara Arundel/K-12 Dive
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    CEC 2025: What we learned at the gathering of special education professionals

    Key takeaways from the Baltimore convention included strategies for breaking down silos and curbing restraint and seclusion practices.

    By • March 26, 2025
  • An employee leaves the U.S. Department of Education building with their belongings in tow.
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    Win McNamee / Staff via Getty Images
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    What do the massive Education Department layoffs look like? See for yourself.

    In eight visuals, we examine what the Trump administration's moves could signal for education's near future.

    By , • March 25, 2025
  • A student wearing a brace on their chest is seated at a desk in a classroom. An adult is standing nearby holding a pencil to a notebook on the desk.
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    FG Trade via Getty Images
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    Deep Dive

    How will Education Department cuts impact special education?

    Opponents predict lapses in civil rights protections and IDEA accountability, but supporters are embracing the promise of local flexibility.

    By • March 25, 2025
  • Maine Gov. Janet Mills sits behind a placard baring her name
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    Win McNamee/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    OCR to Maine: Define sex by reproductive systems or lose funding

    An Education Department draft agreement directs the state to adopt a definition that “there are only two sexes” that produce “egg” and “sperm” respectively.

    By • March 24, 2025
  • Activists gather in front of the U.S. Department of Education in protest of President Donald Trump's executive order to dismantle the agency.
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    Kayla Bartkowski via Getty Images
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    AFT, school districts sue to block Education Department dismantling

    The plaintiffs allege the executive branch exceeded its constitutional authority and violated law after the president’s order to wind the agency down.

    By Ben Unglesbee • March 24, 2025