The Latest

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    PeopleImages via Getty Images
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    From Zzzs to A’s: Classroom lessons focus on good sleep habits

    Curricula can help students build healthy habits, such as putting smartphones away before bed and using trackers or activities that promote good sleep, experts say.

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    iStock/SDI Productions

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    Sponsored by Identity Automation

    5 strategies to get leadership buy-in for MFA

    Leverage these 5 strategies to get MFA buy-in from non-technical leaders and secure your district!

  • A young student uses chalk to draw on school asphalt. Next to them is a backpack and an apple sitting on a notebook.
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    Stock Photo via Getty Images
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    After-school meal participation is on the rise

    The total number of students served is still low, according to FRAC, though participation in after-school suppers increased 6.4% between 2022 and 2023.

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    TW Farlow via Getty Images
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    Energy Department program helps school districts decarbonize

    Benchmarking and retrofit implementation are among categories in which districts can apply for recognition in the Efficient and Healthy Schools Program.

  • Two IT staff members at Des Moines Public Schools in Iowa are shown working at computers in a server room following a ransomware attack targeting the school district.
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    Retrieved from Des Moines Public Schools/X.
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    EDUCATION EXTORTION

    4 key strategies for school ransomware prevention and response

    Using state and federal supports and embracing a people-first approach are among the most crucial best practices, school district tech leaders say.

  • An overhead view of two students holding trays with sandwiches as they wait in line in a cafeteria.
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    Stock Photo via Getty Images
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    USDA to eliminate school meal ‘junk fees’ for low-income families

    Schools will not be allowed to charge online processing fees to students eligible for free and reduced-price meals starting in the 2027-28 school year.

  • Alejandro Mayorkas, Miguel Cardona and Jill Biden stand in the center of the East Room of the White House between two screens that read “Back to School Safely: Cybersecurity for K-12 Schools.”
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    Dufour, Tia. (2023). Retrieved from Flickr.
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    EDUCATION EXTORTION

    K-12 cyber incident reporting is coming. Here’s what we know.

    Questions — like what CISA will do with districts' information — remain for K-12 cybersecurity experts as the federal agency finalizes reporting requirements.

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    SDI Productions via Getty Images
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    Older struggling readers can benefit from explicit decoding instruction

    Early and targeted interventions are critical in helping these students understand increasingly complex tests, a study finds.

  • A group of Black students walks on a school campus.
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    Vladimir Vladimirov via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    School censorship laws undermine Black and brown students and educators

    Education that ignores students’ history and culture cannot inspire and nurture them, a Memphis educator writes.

  • Tony Dotts works at his desk with two computer monitors. The screen on the left reads “Cybersecurity Awareness Month.”
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    Permission granted by Tony Dotts
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    EDUCATION EXTORTION

    How to navigate the rising cost of cyber insurance for schools

    As districts face increased premiums for covering ransomware threats, cybersecurity experts suggest leaders read the fine print of insurance policies.

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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 highly anticipated U.S. Education Department guidance to an increase in K-12 ransomware attacks, what did you learn from our recent stories?

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    Stock Photo via Getty Images
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    Most applicants consider E-rate vital, but want cybersecurity supports, too

    New survey findings come amid uncertainty for the popular program after a court struck down a funding mechanism for the Universal Service Fund.

  • A face clock sits next to a pile of books on a stand alone desk in a classroom.
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    Светлана Зайцева via Getty Images
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    Daylight saving time ends this weekend. What does it mean for schools?

    Proponents of a switch to year-round standard time say more daylight when students are coming to school in the mornings would increase safety.

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    Cedar Attanasio/AP

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    EDUCATION EXTORTION

    What Albuquerque Public Schools learned from a cyberattack

    The New Mexico school district shored up defenses after a "devastating" 2022 experience and is working with partners to prevent another crisis.

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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    What’s on state ballots for education in the 2024 elections

    In addition to voting for president next week, voters in some areas will decide on issues such as school choice and education finance.

  • A photo illustration of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump shoulder to shoulder facing away from each other. The background is a purple wave with a grid gradient.
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    Photo illustration: Industry Dive; Joe Readle/Getty Images; Brandon Bell/Getty Images

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    Election 2024: Where Harris, Trump stand on AI regulation

    Analysts expect Kamala Harris to largely continue the current approach to AI oversight, while Donald Trump’s promise to repeal a Biden executive order signals a major shift.

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    Photo illustration: Industry Dive; K12 Six

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    EDUCATION EXTORTION

    School ransomware attacks are on the rise. What can districts do?

    Cyberattacks inflict logistical, legal and financial damage on schools — and take an emotional and physical toll on their communities.

  • A student is shown below the shoulders skipping across numbers chalked in asphalt on the ground. The students' shadow is also seen.
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    Milena Khosroshvili via Getty Images
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    Keys to teaching data literacy in elementary school

    Tracking the weather and tapping into a child’s natural curiosity are ways to build young learners' understanding of data, math instruction experts say.

  • The Education Department's seal can be seen on a podium.
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    The image by U.S. Department of Education is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    Education Department releases highly anticipated AI toolkit for schools

    The federal guidance, prompted by a Biden administration executive order, includes district strategies for mitigating risks and developing AI use policies. 

  • Group of students eating lunch in school cafeteria.
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    Stock Photo via Getty Images
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    Tips to promote ‘zero waste’ on school campuses

    Environmental experts offer strategies for replacing disposables with “reusables” in school cafeterias.

  • An adult and small children are walking away from the camera down a hallway in a school building. In the forefront is yellow caution tape across another hallway.
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    George Frey via Getty Images
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    Was districts’ ESSER spending effective? Federal watchdog says maybe.

    A GAO report says districts prioritized spending of COVID-19 emergency funds based on community input, financial need, state policies and other influences.

  • Two teachers are walking and talking together down the school hall.
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    Stock Photo via Getty Images
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    Lawsuit targets Illinois minority teacher scholarship program

    The case marks a new step in the debate over race-conscious policies, with plaintiffs claiming the program discriminates against nonminority teacher candidates.

  • A person types on a laptop as an AI graphic hovers above the keyboard.
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    Stock Photo via Getty Images
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    What can be learned from early adopters of AI?

    About a third of 40 school districts who were first to use artificial intelligence lack formal policies on the tool, a CRPE analysis found.

  • An overhead view shows people sitting in chairs in a U-shape inside a room. One person is standing in front of the people.
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    Nathan Howard via Getty Images
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    Schools spent $3.2B on conflict over divisive issues in 2023-24

    District leaders say hate mail, threats and public information demands are creating financial and emotional burdens for schools.

  • A 1st grade student receives a Covid-19 vaccine at in Chicago, Illinois.
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    CDC: Routine vaccinations decline while exemption rates increase

    Fewer kindergartners are vaccinated than pre-pandemic, "setting the stage for accumulation of clusters of undervaccinated children, which can lead to outbreaks.”

  • A zoomed in image of a young student's hand using a laptop computer.
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    Stock Photo via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    3 lessons from a school district’s IT modernization journey

    A district information technology director details how his team would be playing “a perpetual game of catch up” if it hadn’t addressed aging infrastructure.